The (extra)ordinary sex lives of fanfiction readers

Finn Upham, Three Patch Podcast and New York University

Fan Studies Network Conference 2017

Fans asking fans about fandom and sexuality

Three Patch Podcast, a sex positive podcasting collective in the BBC Sherlock fandom.

Fandom and Sexuality Survey

• Fan def’n: self-identifies as a fan and consumes transformative works such as fanfiction and fanart.
• Wide coverage of topics:
• Demographics
• Fandom life
• Sex life
• Fandom & Sexuality
• 168 items, mostly opinion statements.
• Distributed via fandom media and social media (ex) in Sept 2016.
• 2195 participants from over 400 fandom.

Age restriction: 18 and over. Still, similar to distribution of similar surveys.

Similar to results of AO3 census (2013)

15.4% not Cisgender

10.7% non-binary (umbrella term)

Race and ethnicity: Overwhelmingly White identifying, with 83.6 % identifying as solely white. 8.1% reported mixed race identities.

Heterosexual participants less than majority, similar to AO3 census.

​

52.6% Broad sexual attraction, 33.2% Asexual Spectrum

Other biases in the population

• Community profile
• mostly M/M fanwork consumers:
• 87% at least weekly, vs 28% F/M, or 34% Gen
• mostly AO3 users (88% at least weekly)
• mostly tumblr users (75% daily)
• Lifestyle fans:
• Fanwork creators (83%)
• Multi-fandom (90%)
• Engaged in fandom at least daily (88%)
• Median 11 years since first fandom
• Chose to participate in a survey on fandom & sexuality.

Navigating sexual content in fanworks

Motivations for first engaging with fanfiction

13.8% disagree with both

22.9% disagree or somewhat disagree with both

Fanworks consumed

• Fanworks often features characters involved romantically or sexually (ships)
• Only 2.3% consumed Gen works more often that those with ships and/or sexual relationships.
• 77.5% consumed works with ships more often than gen works.
• Only 27.6% consumed sexually explicit fanworks categorically less often than non-explicit works.

Navigating Sexually Explicit Fanworks

Fans have strategies for controlling their engagement with explicit content in fanwork.

Preferences in sex scenes depicted in fanworks

These results are consistent with the romance focused theories of women’s sexuality.

Women, dudeslash, and evolutionary psychology

• Common evolutionary psychology view: gender differences in sexual behaviour are due to reproductive costs.
• i.e.,women’s sexual fantasies include relationship building.
• Salmon & Symons (2004) attempted to explain popularity of dudeslash among women fanfiction readers and creators:
• Presuming women identify with the female POV in M/F romance, female readers must then identify with “feminized” receptive partners in dude-slash. (Salmon & Symons, 2004)

Women, dudeslash, and evolutionary psychology

• These POV preferences should be most pronounced in the context of active sexual fantasy and sexual gratification.
• Is it consistent with the experiences of fans who engage with stories this way?

Women, dudeslash, and evolutionary psychology

• These POV preferences should be most pronounced in the context of active sexual fantasy and sexual gratification.
• Is it consistent with the experiences of fans who engage with stories this way?

When engaging in solitary sexual activity with fanworks or fandom-inspired sexual fantasy, I enjoy taking the perspective of…

* Considering only those participants who agree or somewhat agree to usually using fanworks and fandom fantasy for SSA.

When engaging in solitary sexual activity with fanworks or fandom-inspired sexual fantasy, I enjoy taking the perspective of…

Not so simple, not so different

• Romance was an initial draw for many of these readers, however their use of sexually explicit fanworks do not follow a single script.
• Most studies of sexual activity find differences between men and women, particularly in masturbation practices,
• However, the role of culture has often been underestimated.
• Many sexual behaviour differences decrease with lessening gender inequality (Petersen & Hyde, 2010).

Impacts of fandom culture on sexual activity

Sexual Activity Rates

• Rates of solitary sexual activity are much higher in this group than typical for women.
• UK survey (2008) found 37% of women participants had masturbated in 4 weeks
• US population study would predict 67% to have engaged in last year (2010)
• Participation bias likely contributed to high rates.
• How do known factors interact with SSA of these participants?

SSA rates given…

• … Access to partnered sexual activity.
• Compensatory theory of masturbation presumes that it is only an alternative to partnered sex.
• Proxy: SSA rates of participants living with a long term sexual partners
• Outcome: not substantially different from all participants.
• This pattern agrees with results of US population study (Hendricks et al., 2010).

Compensatory effect 2: SSA out of want

• Rather than access, contentment with amount of partnered sex found to a factor previously. In Regnerus, Price, & Gordon’s analysis of US population stats (2017):
• Of content women, 20% had masturbated in two weeks.
• Of discontent women, 50% had masturbated.
• Our Proxy: Agreement or disagreement with statement:

SSA rates given…

• … satisfaction with their sex lives.
• No effect of reported satisfaction on distribution of masturbation rates.
• One interpretation:
• Regardless of other sexual wants in their lives, these participants have sufficient control over their engagement in solitary sexual activity to satisfy this component of sexual health.

SSA rates given…

• … cultural norms around morality of women’s sexual pleasure.
• Shame easily interpreted as differences between masturbation rates in cultural groups. (Ex: Shulman, & Horne,2003)

SSA rates given…

• … cultural norms around morality of women’s sexual pleasure.
• Shame easily interpreted as differences between masturbation rates in cultural groups. (Ex: Shulman, & Horne,2003)
• However, in our participants, this had very little impact on rates.

SSA rates given…

• …cultural norms around morality of women’s sexual pleasure.
• This lack of impact is consistent with our participants current attitudes towards solitary sexual activity

SSA rates given…

• … straightness. From a study on UK populations, Sexual experience with same sex was a substantial factor:
• ”Among those participants who reported ever having had homosexual sex .. 69.1% of women reported masturbation [in the last 4 weeks], in contrast to … 35.1%, respectively, among those who did not report such experience (p < .0001 for both men and women).” [Gerressu et al., 2008]
• Our proxy: Sexual orientation.
• Outcome: Daily masterbation proportion different but no difference at the Weekly or Monthly levels comparable to the UK pop statistic.

Why don’t these factors not matter?

• Solitary sexual activity has a role distinct from partnered sexual activity.
• Exploration, pleasure, relaxation, and control (Goldkey et al., 2016)
• Fandom practice of celebrating and pursuing sexual pleasure gives participants reason to engage at their own rate, similar to queer women’s culture.
• This theory of fandom culture homogenizing participants practices of self pleasure is consistent with their reports on the impacts of sexually explicit fanworks.

Impacts of Sexually Explicit Fanwork

Focus on participants coming to fandom as adults

* fans engaging in SSA who first engaged with fandom after turning 25.

Since engaging with sexually explicit fanworks, my SOLITARY sexual activities ...

Focus on participants coming to fandom as adults

First engaged with fandom over the age of 25.

Since engaging with sexually explicit fanworks, my PARTNERED sexual activities ...

Sexual autonomy of fanfiction readers

• In this fandom culture, participants have:
• Ready access to sexual stimulus.
• Control over sexual engagement.
• Encouragement to engage in sexual play and pursuit pleasure for their own sake,
• according to their own interests and wants.

Download or read more about the data:

three-patch.com/sexsurvey

Contact Finn: @fffinnagain

Word cloud of responses to:

“Any last words on fandom and sexuality?”

References

Gerressu, M., Mercer, C. H., Graham, C. A., Wellings, K., and Johnson, A. M. (2008). Prevalence of masturbation and associated factors in a british national probability survey. Archives of sexual behavior, 37(2):266–278.

Goldey, K. L., Posh, A. R., Bell, S. N., and van Anders, S. M. (2016). Defining pleasure: A focus group study of solitary and partnered sexual pleasure in queer and heterosexual women. Archives of sexual behavior, 45(8):2137–2154.

Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S. A., Dodge, B., and Fortenberry, J. D. (2010). Sexual behavior in the united states: results from a national probability sample of men and women ages 14–94. The journal of sexual medicine, 7(s5):255–265.

Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S. A., Dodge, B., and Fortenberry, J. D. (2010). Sexual behaviors, relationships, and perceived health status among adult women in the united states: Results from a national probability sample. The journal of sexual medicine, 7(s5):277–290.

Regnerus, M., Price, J., and Gordon, D. (2017). Masturbation and partnered sex: Substitutes or complements? Archives of Sexual Behavior, pages 1–11.

Petersen, J. L. and Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993–2007.

Salmon, C. and Symons, D. (2004). Slash fiction and human mating psychology. Journal of Sex Research, 41(1):94–100.

Shulman, J. L. and Horne, S. G. (2003). The use of self-pleasure: Masturbation and body image among african american and european american women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27(3):262–269.

W. H. O. (2010). Measuring sexual health: Conceptual and practical considerations and related indicators.