New study sheds light on women’s attraction to aggression in pornography

A new study reports that many pornography viewers, especially women, find depictions of aggression arousing, particularly when scenes combine expressions of both pleasure and pain. The research provides evidence that for a sizable group of viewers, pleasure and pain are not seen as opposites but are often experienced as deeply connected. The work was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The study was designed to investigate how viewers interpret aggression, pain, and pleasure in pornographic content, with a particular focus on scenarios involving female performers on the receiving end of aggression. The researcher, Eran Shor, was interested in understanding whether viewers find these scenes arousing, how they reconcile feelings of discomfort or guilt, and what social or psychological meanings they attach to the experience.

The debate over the relationship between pleasure and pain has persisted for centuries. While early Western philosophers tended to view them as opposites, later perspectives from neuroscience, psychology, and sociology have pointed to more complicated interactions. Some evidence suggests that painful sensations can be transformed into pleasurable experiences depending on how they are perceived, the presence of emotional intimacy, and cultural context.

This research builds on work showing that consensual pain during sexual activity—particularly within BDSM practices—is often experienced positively. In these settings, pain is not simply tolerated but sometimes desired, interpreted by participants as contributing to arousal or emotional release.

The study draws on 302 in-depth interviews with adults who regularly watch pornography. Participants were recruited through online advertisements and social media platforms targeting students and general audiences in North America and abroad. The sample was diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geographic background, although younger, educated individuals were overrepresented.

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Participants were interviewed in English or French by trained research assistants, with interviews conducted anonymously via audio calls to encourage openness. They were asked about their pornography preferences, specifically in relation to aggressive content, and how they perceived expressions of pain and pleasure during those scenes. Responses were analyzed through a mix of quantitative coding and qualitative thematic analysis.

Roughly half of the participants identified as women, and their responses were compared to those of men and gender-diverse individuals. Questions covered a range of topics, including the types of pornographic scenes they watched, whether they found aggression arousing, and under what conditions pain could be part of a sexually stimulating experience.

More than half of all participants said they found at least some level of aggression in pornography to be arousing. This preference was especially common among women. About 69 percent of women in the study said they enjoyed at least some aggressive content, compared to 40 percent of men. Women were also more likely than men to report arousal from “harder” forms of aggression, such as choking or gagging, and were more likely to actively seek out pornographic videos that featured aggression.

Notably, nearly 70 percent of all participants reported that they found it arousing when performers expressed pleasure in response to aggression. This was true regardless of whether the viewer typically enjoyed aggressive pornographic content overall. Some participants said the display of pleasure made the scene feel consensual or affirming. In their view, expressions of enjoyment from the recipient helped justify the aggression as mutual rather than abusive.

A smaller but still significant portion of participants—about one in four—said they found it arousing when performers displayed pain in response to aggression. Again, this was more commonly reported by women than men. However, many of these viewers emphasized that they only enjoyed pain in specific contexts, such as when it was paired with pleasure or presented as brief and voluntary.

The interviews revealed that many viewers conceptualized pain and pleasure not as opposites but as deeply intertwined. One 22-year-old woman from India stated it simply: “There’s no pleasure without pain.” Another male viewer explained his perspective, noting, “Pain is part of pleasure. So, if it’s obviously just pain, I’ll close the video. But if she’s uncomfortable and likes it, I like it.”

This idea of “good pain” was a recurring theme. A 24-year-old woman from Canada said she found pain arousing “if it looks like it’s good pain, enjoyable.” For many, the key was the performer’s perceived desire for the experience. One participant noted that she found a woman’s moans of pain arousing only under certain conditions: “If she’s saying ‘yeah, hit me’ or ‘do it!’”

The BDSM genre emerged as a key area where viewers found this mix of sensations appealing. Many respondents mentioned that BDSM scenarios helped them feel more comfortable with aggressive content because the genre often includes cues about consent. As one 21-year-old male student explained, “I need to know at end of day that woman wants it and isn’t being forced. She needs to enjoy and ask for it… I need them to enjoy it for me to enjoy it too.”

For some, the appeal of dominance and submission in these videos was about a form of release. A 41-year-old university administrator from Canada described her enjoyment of submission, stating, “I find it liberating… It’s a way to let go.”

A few interviewees described their enjoyment of pain and aggression in terms of emotional processing or trauma. One participant shared that her early experiences with sexual assault shaped her perception of sex and led her to seek out pornography with aggressive themes. For her, watching this content felt like a way to reframe her history. “Pain is also pleasure, so it empowers my past. It’s a way to cope,” she explained.

Although rare, a handful of participants reported enjoying depictions of pain without any accompanying pleasure. These individuals often expressed feelings of guilt about their preferences. One man explained, “I guess I’m a sadist; can’t explain it otherwise… It’s about dominance, almost like the degree of suffering it’s causing.”

Importantly, many participants viewed their pornographic interests as distinct from their real-life behaviors and desires. A woman who enjoyed aggressive fantasy content clarified this boundary, saying, “In the context of my work, how people talk to me and men being superior to me, I don’t believe that. I have no tolerance for men who treat women like that. It should stay in the fantasy world.”

Several respondents also expressed feelings of shame or moral conflict. These emotions appeared tied to broader cultural values around gender equality and consent. One woman described her feelings after watching, saying, “I reflect on it and find it problematic… I think it’s fucked up, but I like to see both pleasure and pain in response to aggression.” Another male viewer voiced his confusion: “I mean, like, yes, I like it, but its warped. I’m like, ‘Why am I liking this?’”

The findings from the new study reinforce and expand upon earlier work by Shor. In a 2021 study, he interviewed 122 viewers and reported a similar gender pattern, finding that approximately 66% of women enjoyed aggressive content, compared to 40% of men. The current, larger study provides evidence for this same trend.

Both studies also highlight that viewers’ enjoyment is highly conditional. The earlier work noted that participants overwhelmingly rejected nonconsensual aggression, and both investigations found that many women framed their interest as a fantasy that was separate from their real-life sexual desires. The new research builds on this foundation by specifically investigating how viewers interpret performers’ reactions, suggesting that the combination of pleasure and “good pain” is a key element of the appeal for many.

The new study provides a rich dataset due to its large number of interviews. Still, the sample was not representative of the broader population, as it relied on volunteers who may have been more willing to discuss unconventional views. Older individuals and people from working-class backgrounds were underrepresented.

Future research could explore how these patterns manifest across different age groups and cultural contexts. The gender differences in responses also raise questions about how sexual scripts are evolving. Researchers might also investigate how viewers interpret the line between fantasy and harm, and what factors influence whether aggression is seen as acceptable or troubling.

The study, “‘It’s a Way to Let Go’: The Intersection of Pleasure and Pain in Pornography,” was authored by Eran Shor.