The Venus of Willendorf and other small statuettes carved during the Paleolithic period suggest that this thing for curvy women could be part of a long-term trend.
A couple of neuroscientists looked through a billion publicly available Web searches from about a million people and told Salon, “There are almost three times as many searches for fat women as there are for skinny women” and “men search for penises almost as often as they search for vaginas.”
Who knew? Well, if you’re a straight man, chances are you did. —PZS
Tracy Clark-Flory interviews one of the scientists, Ogi Ogas, on Salon:
As far as men’s interest in pornography goes, what of your findings were actually surprising? Because a lot of it—like the interest in large breasts—is totally expected.
I’ll give you the top three. No. 1 is that men prefer overweight women to underweight women. There are almost three times as many searches for fat women as there are for skinny women, and lest you think that’s some way we treated the search data, this is also reflected in popularity on adult sites. There are many more video sites devoted to overweight women than underweight women. Now, I should say as a caveat that men prefer healthy weight women overall. But if the choice is between a woman with a few extra pounds or a few less pounds, most guys will choose more pounds.
[...]
The third big surprise was the parts of anatomy that men prefer. It turns out that heterosexual men very much like looking at penises.
There’s pretty overwhelming evidence for it: Men search for penises almost as often as they search for vaginas. There’s about a thousand heterosexual sites dedicated to large penises, and large penises are a category of erotica in all the major porn video sites. We think the reason for this is because it’s actually from our evolutionary heritage. If you look at all the other primates, the penis is a prominent and versatile social tool used for many different purposes—to indicate aggression, to mark territory, to indicated sexual interest. The penis may also function as a sperm competition cue. That is a very specific hard-wired cue for men to trigger arousal—basically if a man has a reason to think that a woman recently had sex with a man it makes him more aroused and the penis must play a role in that.
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By ribbie149, May 19, 2011 at 9:51 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
And 18% of the public would vote for Sarah Palin.
Popular isn’t the same as sane or possessing good
taste. By extension I guess we should believe that men
like to view fat penises even more.
In our repressed culture sexuality is still hard to talk about or think about beyond the personal.
The researchers didn’t say “normal” they said “common” and the most chosen. The larger women may be because despite all the programming larger women are still considered deep down more sexual.
As for the penises well don’t such men want to compare and to out do each other on them? Even though size seems important it really is less important that what the women think. How you please her. But then whatever gets reproduced wins.
Me I look at all sexual organs, and other places besides.
I consider myself a normal male, whatever that is.
But according to someone’s study I’m not normal. I
much prefer to look at a thin woman than a piece of
lard. I also prefer to look at West Virginians than
Pennsylvanians. Oh, wait! That’s “Vaginas” not
“Virginians. I prefer Vaginas WITH HAIR. Most
Vaginas in porn flicks I studied are bald, a personally disgusting sight. God put that hair there
for a reason. Why do women shave for the camera?
Any answers?
Not only straight men, but all men, not only look at, but touch, shake, and jiggle a real penis several times each day, and for some, a bit more often at night.
Maybe they look for fat women because you don’t need a search to find skinny
women. Virtually every woman in every ad or “entertainment” photo is a skinny
woman.
Research says!: we can find each other in the dark; and! if the lights are on, we look at each other’s parts! The rest is all religion… it’s why every ancient ruin is somehow, a temple.
By SarcastiCanuck, May 16, 2011 at 11:23 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Please provide the names of these websites so we can become researchers too.Were these two researchers the famous Scottish team of Dr.Ben Doon and Dr.Phil McCrakin….I see a Pulitzer in this story Truth Dig.Bravo
Here’s a conundrum this post calls to mind, that really needs to be researched:
How come the ‘Net, which has almost miraculously placed all the world’s information, all the world’s knowledge, right at our fingertips, right in front of our eyeballs, has made us so much dumber?
By That guy, May 16, 2011 at 7:47 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I wasn’t really surprised when I heard the results.
I think on average…
Men who want to look at women who are skinny don’t have to type in the word “skinny” to a search engine, since the sites they are going to are just going to naturally have women that aren’t overweight. If they want to see overweight women they might have to do more of a specialized search.
If a man has a big penis he probably wants to indulge himself in adult sites where he can fantasize about himself being the “big man,” or a man with an average size penis would want some reassurance about how he measures up compared to other guys.
The point of this kind of research is to provide publications like Salon with mildly prurient, probably harmless material which will mildly titillate the mildly liberal, mildly intellectual readership of Salon with something about s-e-x and thus draw page hits. Apparently it is a potent draw, because here is its reflection on Truthdig.
Pretty wacky folks. Maybe they should’ve asked for the opinions of a pornologist to help interpret their findings? Here you go:
While the attractiveness of the man used in a shoot can matter to the tiny subset of viewers actually into that sort of thing, to the vast majority of lesbians and hetero males, he is merely a prop, and any activity that disrupts that (speak, or the camera lingering over his face for no reason) ruins that shoot for a lot of people.
Now then, since we know the man is generally a cipher, there are a few qualities that matter:
* The visible parts on camera can’t be totally gross, because, ew. What is with that mole, what the hell is that thing ew. (If the viewer really does have a certain deformity, that niche might enjoy that actor however.)
* The size of the penis obviously matters, since if the actor is teeny weeny, that makes you feel teeny weeny. And nobody wants to feel like they can’t do a Good Job.
* Race can play a big part. There are a lot of people who like to pretend they’re black, white, mexican, etc and those who don’t. This fact makes certain genres have broader appeal than you’d think they’d have, but then again that probably goes for all of the genres.
This goes for a lot of other things too: the reason procedural cop shows are popular is because it gives you a false sense of accomplishing something.
Some people see the internet as a tool for learning and exploring, others as
another way to be distracted, just as some see a hammer as a tool to build and
others see it as an instrument to be inserted in the anus for sexual gratification.
I’ve had previous run-ins with Ogi Ogas and would advise people to google his
name before calling him a neuroscientist. His “research” was disavowed by
Boston University when people contacted them about the numerous problems
with his survey techniques and methodology.
As for the points in the article, I can think of very easy counterpoints. One
reason there may be more searches for “fat women” than “thin women” is that if
you look at any generic porn site, most of the women are thin. There’s no need
to search for “thin women”. As for the websites dedicated to large cocks, that’s
a very shallow reading of it - they’re actually dedicated to women being
penetrated by large cocks, sometimes brutally. The penis is not the focus.
Now, you can certainly argue that men *do* look at penises. They absolutely do
- proper scientific research on how long people spend looking at particular
parts of an image of a person shows that while women spend most of their time
looking at faces, men will look at both the face and the crotch. That doesn’t
necessarily follow that they “like” looking at penises, though.
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By ribbie149, May 19, 2011 at 9:51 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
And 18% of the public would vote for Sarah Palin.
Report thisPopular isn’t the same as sane or possessing good
taste. By extension I guess we should believe that men
like to view fat penises even more.
By Night-Gaunt, May 18, 2011 at 6:30 pm Link to this comment
In our repressed culture sexuality is still hard to talk about or think about beyond the personal.
The researchers didn’t say “normal” they said “common” and the most chosen. The larger women may be because despite all the programming larger women are still considered deep down more sexual.
As for the penises well don’t such men want to compare and to out do each other on them? Even though size seems important it really is less important that what the women think. How you please her. But then whatever gets reproduced wins.
Me I look at all sexual organs, and other places besides.
Report thisBy louie, May 18, 2011 at 10:17 am Link to this comment
Please let this be a joke…..........
Report thisBy christian96, May 18, 2011 at 7:56 am Link to this comment
I consider myself a normal male, whatever that is.
Report thisBut according to someone’s study I’m not normal. I
much prefer to look at a thin woman than a piece of
lard. I also prefer to look at West Virginians than
Pennsylvanians. Oh, wait! That’s “Vaginas” not
“Virginians. I prefer Vaginas WITH HAIR. Most
Vaginas in porn flicks I studied are bald, a personally disgusting sight. God put that hair there
for a reason. Why do women shave for the camera?
Any answers?
By TDoff, May 17, 2011 at 7:34 pm Link to this comment
Not only straight men, but all men, not only look at, but touch, shake, and jiggle a real penis several times each day, and for some, a bit more often at night.
Report thisBy amy, May 17, 2011 at 6:40 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Maybe they look for fat women because you don’t need a search to find skinny
Report thiswomen. Virtually every woman in every ad or “entertainment” photo is a skinny
woman.
By Samson, May 17, 2011 at 12:30 am Link to this comment
Where do I get a research grant to study which porn
sites are most popular?
But hey, nice to know this is funded while we lay off
Report thisteachers and nurses.
By berniem, May 16, 2011 at 4:23 pm Link to this comment
Thin is in, but fat is where it’s at! May the spirit of John Holmes be with you!
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, May 16, 2011 at 3:37 pm Link to this comment
The research which disproves this research will be along in a couple of days.
Report thisBy johnnyfarout, May 16, 2011 at 1:02 pm Link to this comment
Research says!: we can find each other in the dark; and! if the lights are on, we look at each other’s parts! The rest is all religion… it’s why every ancient ruin is somehow, a temple.
Report thisBy omop, May 16, 2011 at 12:55 pm Link to this comment
Wonder if the SALON research team came across this video while
researching?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Report thisv=dZy5lbWb9Xg&feature=player_embedded#at=85
By SarcastiCanuck, May 16, 2011 at 11:23 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Please provide the names of these websites so we can become researchers too.Were these two researchers the famous Scottish team of Dr.Ben Doon and Dr.Phil McCrakin….I see a Pulitzer in this story Truth Dig.Bravo
Report thisBy BrunoDiderot1, May 16, 2011 at 10:07 am Link to this comment
This article is just another example of why SALON is quickly becoming like HUFFINGTON POST.
Report thisBy culheath, May 16, 2011 at 9:33 am Link to this comment
mmmmmm fat…penises…fat penises
ouch…its all about the ouch
Report thisBy TDoff, May 16, 2011 at 8:22 am Link to this comment
There are a couple of ‘neuroscientists’ in the world who should re-direct their research to the question of why their neurons are malfunctioning.
Report thisBy TDoff, May 16, 2011 at 8:20 am Link to this comment
Here’s a conundrum this post calls to mind, that really needs to be researched:
How come the ‘Net, which has almost miraculously placed all the world’s information, all the world’s knowledge, right at our fingertips, right in front of our eyeballs, has made us so much dumber?
Report thisBy TDoff, May 16, 2011 at 8:00 am Link to this comment
Another interesting tidbit is that most women search for vaginas more than for penises, except for straight women, who search more for a**holes.
Report thisBy That guy, May 16, 2011 at 7:47 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I wasn’t really surprised when I heard the results.
I think on average…
Men who want to look at women who are skinny don’t have to type in the word “skinny” to a search engine, since the sites they are going to are just going to naturally have women that aren’t overweight. If they want to see overweight women they might have to do more of a specialized search.
If a man has a big penis he probably wants to indulge himself in adult sites where he can fantasize about himself being the “big man,” or a man with an average size penis would want some reassurance about how he measures up compared to other guys.
Report thisBy Octopodian, May 16, 2011 at 7:14 am Link to this comment
And guns! Don’t forget the guns.
Report thisBy Anarcissie, May 16, 2011 at 5:20 am Link to this comment
The point of this kind of research is to provide publications like Salon with mildly prurient, probably harmless material which will mildly titillate the mildly liberal, mildly intellectual readership of Salon with something about s-e-x and thus draw page hits. Apparently it is a potent draw, because here is its reflection on Truthdig.
Report thisBy Bryan, May 16, 2011 at 5:01 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Pretty wacky folks. Maybe they should’ve asked for the opinions of a pornologist to help interpret their findings? Here you go:
While the attractiveness of the man used in a shoot can matter to the tiny subset of viewers actually into that sort of thing, to the vast majority of lesbians and hetero males, he is merely a prop, and any activity that disrupts that (speak, or the camera lingering over his face for no reason) ruins that shoot for a lot of people.
Now then, since we know the man is generally a cipher, there are a few qualities that matter:
* The visible parts on camera can’t be totally gross, because, ew. What is with that mole, what the hell is that thing ew. (If the viewer really does have a certain deformity, that niche might enjoy that actor however.)
* The size of the penis obviously matters, since if the actor is teeny weeny, that makes you feel teeny weeny. And nobody wants to feel like they can’t do a Good Job.
* Race can play a big part. There are a lot of people who like to pretend they’re black, white, mexican, etc and those who don’t. This fact makes certain genres have broader appeal than you’d think they’d have, but then again that probably goes for all of the genres.
This goes for a lot of other things too: the reason procedural cop shows are popular is because it gives you a false sense of accomplishing something.
Report thisBy basho, May 16, 2011 at 1:31 am Link to this comment
...another mind-blowing research project.
maybe someone should ask why O.O. found it necessary to spend time doing this ‘research’. get a life, idiot.
Report thisBy Geoph, May 16, 2011 at 1:04 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Some people see the internet as a tool for learning and exploring, others as
Report thisanother way to be distracted, just as some see a hammer as a tool to build and
others see it as an instrument to be inserted in the anus for sexual gratification.
By Kei, May 16, 2011 at 12:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I’ve had previous run-ins with Ogi Ogas and would advise people to google his
name before calling him a neuroscientist. His “research” was disavowed by
Boston University when people contacted them about the numerous problems
with his survey techniques and methodology.
As for the points in the article, I can think of very easy counterpoints. One
reason there may be more searches for “fat women” than “thin women” is that if
you look at any generic porn site, most of the women are thin. There’s no need
to search for “thin women”. As for the websites dedicated to large cocks, that’s
a very shallow reading of it - they’re actually dedicated to women being
penetrated by large cocks, sometimes brutally. The penis is not the focus.
Now, you can certainly argue that men *do* look at penises. They absolutely do
Report this- proper scientific research on how long people spend looking at particular
parts of an image of a person shows that while women spend most of their time
looking at faces, men will look at both the face and the crotch. That doesn’t
necessarily follow that they “like” looking at penises, though.
By blogdog, May 15, 2011 at 11:06 pm Link to this comment
good grief - who are these searchers… ‘fat women’, ‘penises’ ?
Report this