1 in 5 straight men watch gay porn, according to researchers

A new study has tracked the porn-viewing habits of 821 gay, straight, and bisexual men.

The study, published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour, found that 55 per cent of men identifying as 'gay' watched 'straight' porn, while 21 per cent of men identifying as 'straight' watched 'gay' porn.

It prompted researchers to ask the question:

Are these men really identifying themselves as what they are?

Dr Martin J Downing, the study's lead researcher, said the study confirmed the men identifying as 'straight' didn't have sex with men, while the men who identified as 'gay' didn't report having sex with women.

Their behaviour and identity appeared to align, so Downing saw the viewing habits as “some level of evidence” of sexual attraction being a spectrum across sexes, at least in terms of the pornography people viewed.

Downing said the viewing habits of men identifying as 'bisexual' were quite different from men identifying as 'gay' or 'straight'. They reported watching a significant amount of 'straight' porn, 'gay' porn, and 'bisexual' porn.

[Bisexual men] are more like heterosexual men in some things, and more like gay men in other things, but that’s a reflection of their own unique attractions. They’re not identical to either group in terms of their porn viewing, which I think is really interesting for understanding bisexuality.

The study adds weight to arguments that male porn consumption is more varied than common preconceptions and that male sexuality is a broader and distinct spectrum than we previously thought.

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