At a time where women are more vocal than ever about our lives, there’s an elephant in the room when it comes to porn. Most women aren’t talking to each other about what they do and don’t do with it, and no one is asking the questions we all have about how it might be affecting us. Pornhub claims at least a third of their current user base are women, and a study from the British Board of Film Classification found a difference of just 18% between the use of young boys and young girls. In a world where porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined, what we need is a ‘me too’ moment for porn.

Combining popular culture, research and thinking from the past thirty years, with real-life accounts taken from one hundred women aged from 18 –70, Women on Porn answers the call for an accessible, informed, evidence- based exploration of what pornography means for women (and to us all). Women on Porn claims that we’ve been thinking about women and porn all wrong. We are used to dividing women into those who watch porn and love it, and those who don’t and are scared of it, jealous of it, or hate it. Women who are in it are either empowered or exploited and it either helps or harms those who use it, with no space in between. But given the ubiquity of men’s use and porn’s place in popular culture, these simple stories no longer fit. It’s time to have the conversation we need to have about the real extent of porn’s impact.

Praise

‘Vera-Gray writes that “women’s relationship to pornography has been largely overlooked”. This book is an effort to rectify that, drawing on more than 100 conversations with women aged between 18 and 70, of various classes and races … That makes Women on Porn a briskly confronting read … The strength of this book is its neutrality. Vera-Gray is here to listen, not to lecture …Vera-Gray may say my feelings are beside the point: porn is an inescapable part of the environment we all share and should be talked about honestly, not wished away. This book is an important start.’
Sarah Ditum, The Sunday Times

‘One in four pornography viewers are women…Dr Vera-Gray’s book, based on interviews with one hundred women about their pornography habits, sheds light on this enigma. The women’s narratives reveal a complex relationship with pornography, shaped by societal expectations, personal curiosities, and the quest for sexual understanding. Their stories offer a nuanced perspective on why women engage with porn and how it influences their perceptions of sex and pleasure… Their stories, as captured in Dr Vera-Gray’s book and the StoriesOfOurTimes podcast, offer valuable insights into the intersection of pornography, pleasure, and perception.’
BNN

‘This is a sensitively written and generous piece of work. Vera-Gray’s lack of judgement shines from her prose and from her approach to her interview subjects, allowing women no longer to be simply the passive product in the conversation around porn.’
Megan Nolan, The New Statesman

‘Taking on the darker side of women’s lives, Women On Porn by Dr Fiona Vera-Gray… which features 100 interviews with women aged 18 to 70… celebrates women’s sexuality but also unflinchingly reveals the truth of how women are perceived- and used- in society by men.’
The Stylist’s pick of the best non-fiction for 2024

Vera-Gray’s ‘sensitivity to violence suffered by women at the hands of men shines through’, with the book full of ‘eye-opening reflections.’
Patricia Nilsson, Financial Times