New Study: Nobody Actually Likes Cumshots

A new study, published in the Sexes academic journal and perfectly titled “As Long as It’s Not on the Face”, suggests people are less keen on cumshots than porn would have you believe. “No previous study has focused on viewers’ perceptions and preferences regarding the male ejaculation,” writes study author Eran Shor of McGill University. He surveyed more than 300 porn watchers from different demographics and cultural backgrounds and found that “most viewers either did not care about the male ejaculation or its placement or preferred for it to be in the female partner’s vagina”. More than this, Shor suggests that many of the viewers found cumshots in the mouth or on the face “disturbing”.

Now, I know better than to wade into the Feminist Sex Wars, but surely the fact many people find cumshots disturbing can’t be groundbreaking news. For decades, a host of feminist scholars have argued that, because pornography is usually made by and for men, it reflects  dominant patriarchal expectations about female sexuality, making ejaculation a particularly sticky (excuse the pun) subject. In her 2005 article, which Shor refers to in his study, Terrie Schauer of Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University argues that “since male performers are depicted discharging on their victim’s faces… breasts, or buttocks – i.e. on the bodily spaces that are signifiers of feminine difference – the cumshot metaphorically debases femininity”. 

Of course, this viewpoint is not shared by all women, or all feminists. But this hasn’t stopped the general narrative going something like: “Feminists probably think cumshots are degrading, but fellas must like them”. On the surface, porn-watching habits seem to support this idea. A 2021 study found that 24 percent of the most-watched videos on Pornhub included male ejaculation on a woman’s face. On the surface, it seems porn cumshots are a simple case of supply and male demand.

But this study reveals this isn’t the case. When asked about their preferences, it wasn’t just anti-porn feminists calling out cumshots, but a cross-section of men and women, both queer and straight. Shor reports that most of the interviewees did not care or had no preference (27 percent) or they preferred to see male performers ejaculate inside the female performer’s vagina (38 percent of all interviewees and 48 percent of the women in the sample). Only about 9 percent said they preferred to see ejaculation on a woman’s face.

For a few interviewees, particularly heterosexual men, this seemed to be less a question of taste and more one of, well, timing. Liam, a straight 25-year-old Canadian, told the study: “I’m not a big watch-until-the-end kind of guy, so no preference.” Ivan, 22, a heterosexual student from Russia, said similar: “I don’t reach that point. So I don’t care.” Others felt more strongly about where a boy should goo. Christine, 19, a bisexual student from France, said she preferred vaginal ejaculation, “where I don’t see it”. Julian, a 20-year-old queer man from Canada, said male performers should ejaculate “on themselves; just keep it to yourself”.

Look, I’m not about to jump on a table and proclaim that this sample of a couple of hundred people is resounding evidence that no one likes cumshots. But it does seem to justify my sneaking suspicion that a lot of porn out there is giving “13-year-old boy has just learnt what he can do with it”. Jizz! Spunk! Cum! What fun! Now close the tab, get back to maths homework, and don’t think about the girl washing her face in the bathroom sink. Is this just me being old-school, though? 

“I’m anti-cumshots, I think they’re kinda gross,” says Bethany, 28, whose name has been changed for privacy reasons, like others in this piece. Twenty-nine-year-old Fiona echoes this. “I think it's gross and I don’t want that on my face, thanks.” These feelings aren’t just shared by women. “I think it’s disrespectful,” David, 31, tells me plainly. Others go for more practical criticisms. “It's an inconvenience,” Tom, 34, says. “It's not fair to make women wash their faces.” 

Fiona is of the opinion that the whole “cumshots are hot” narrative is a “lie spread by men”, borne out of cinematic necessity if nothing else. “It seems more like, ‘This is how we can visually show the dramatic conclusion of a porn narrative’,” she suggests. 

This brings us back to the sticky heart of the matter, because whether you love or hate cumshots in your own bedroom isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things (you do you, hun). The interesting thing is why porn makes it seem like sex has to finish with, well, a finish like a cumshot.

“The prevalence of cumshots in mainstream pornography raises an intriguing question,” neuroscientist and human behaviour expert Eldin Hasa tells VICE. “If only a minority of viewers express a preference for this act, why are cumshots so common in porn?” 

One possible explanation, he suggests, is that the porn industry “caters to certain preconceived notions of what is expected, perpetuating the idea that male ejaculation on a woman's face or in her mouth is a standard element of sexual encounters”. 

This is a vicious cycle, he adds. “The prevalence of cumshots in porn videos has the potential to shape viewers' perceptions and expectations of real-life sexual encounters,” Hasa says. “From a sex education perspective, it’s essential to critically assess the depiction of sexual acts in pornography and address any misinformation or unrealistic expectations it may perpetuate.”

In sex educator Emilie Lavinia’s view, the real issue is how free porn sites function by algorithm. “Porn on tube sites plays to algorithmic patterns,” she explains, “so the more of something you see, the more you'll be served. Because of this, a landing page on a free tube site that features cumshot videos will drive more clicks and drive up demand for those kinds of videos”. But this is, she argues, “a false economy.” Lavinia goes back to the recent study to make her point. “The study shows that the sample demographic doesn't typically seek out this type of erotic content, but they're served it nonetheless” on free porn sites, she says. 

“A crucial aspect of this whole discussion is whether male ejaculation can be filmed and performed in a manner that isn't regarded as debasing to women,” Hasa says. For Lavinia, this comes down to the intention and the language of the scene. “If the scene is intended to be humiliating, and semen is framed as being disgusting, you could very well surmise that the person receiving a cumshot is supposed to be humiliated by it,” she says. On the other hand, if the recipient is consenting and excited by the prospect, “this is probably a far less degrading scenario”. 

But, of course, porn is acting. “A lot of the issue with understanding the intention is not knowing where your porn comes from and not having any insight into the wellbeing of performers,” Lavinia says. “Which is why I maintain it's best to pay for your porn and not use free tube sites.”

To bring this back to cumshots, there are other reasons to be sceptical of the idea that all jizz to the face, chest or mouth is inherently degrading to women. “We can't forget that this type of finish is present in LGBTQ+ porn too,” Lavinia says. T6X87 describes himself as “a gay guy who watches a lot of porn and also makes porn” (T6X87 is his performer name). “There are reasons someone might prefer not to have cum in them,” he explains, ”the main one being that there's a higher risk of getting an STI from someone if there's that kind of exchange of fluids.”

If you look at porn from the 80s and 90s, during the AIDs crisis, T6X87 points out “the performers often look genuinely scared of the cum – it was shot onto people's faces and bodies and they kept their mouth closed and tried not to get it in their eyes.” This has obviously changed a lot, but the fact cumshots can now be filmed without fear is still “quite novel and exciting”, he says. “For lots of us it's a celebration that we have reached a point in the AIDS epidemic where those of us lucky enough to have access to PrEP, etc can now have sex without anxiety.”

In the end then, the important thing might not be the cumshot itself, but what you do with it. “In my opinion, it's the benign amusement of seeing a person covered in cum and then labelling them a slut or a whore because they've received a load that's misogynist,” Lavinia argues, pointing to the “slut-shaming” language used in SEO titles, comments and tube sites. Ultimately, the best thing to do is take all porn videos with a handful of salt. 

“Directors are the ones deciding what people see on camera and it's important to remember there's a small number of them relative to the audiences,” T6X87 points out. “Some might have some kind of artistic vision but mostly they're doing what they think will sell.” Basically, the next time you load up some porn, remember the most important part of a money shot is the money.