"Naughty Schoolgirl on Her Knees": Understanding the Role of Gendered Stereotypes in Porn Classification Strategies Through a Q-Methodology.

Mainstream heterosexual pornography remains at the center of feminist and academic debates, particularly due to its reliance on gendered stereotypes that eroticize male dominance and female submission. While extensive research has examined the production of these stereotypes and their potential effects on viewers, much less is known about how viewers themselves interpret and classify pornographic content and what role gendered stereotypes play in these processes. Drawing on in-depth interviews based on Q-methodology with 81 participants, this study explored the diverse ways in which individuals make sense of and classify pornographic titles. We focused on pornographic titles, as they allow for systematic variation in gendered stereotypes without the interference of other confounding variables, while also representing a key factor in how viewers select pornography. Our analysis revealed five distinct viewer groups, each applying different interpretations based on three key classification principles: gendered pleasure, gendered power, and the continuum between fantasy and realism. Our findings show that while some viewers reproduce dominant gendered scripts in porn, others resist or reframe them based on personal values, lived experiences, and sexual fantasies. In doing so, this study contributes to the growing body of demand-side research on pornography, highlighting the active and varied ways in which audiences engage with gendered representations.