‘I prefer to look at women,’ but, ‘watching… male on male relations… I enjoy that’: The pornography, literary and film preferences of mostly straight and mostly lesbian women

This study is part of a wider research project into non-exclusive sexuality categories and identities of women. This project furthers our understanding of cisgender women who identify as ‘mostly straight’ or ‘mostly lesbian’ by exploring the pornography, literary and film preferences of 32 participants. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that media preferences did not map onto sexual identity categories i.e. ‘mostly straight’ women enjoyed gay male porn. Thematic analysis indicated that sociocultural factors interact with or supersede sexuality and sexual identity in influencing media preferences. Themes emerging included the impact of feminism, the intersection of sexuality and faith, the overt politicisation of LGBT+ media, heteronormative socialisation, and the preferences of straight male partners.