No more porn only for men: Porn for women getting big in Japan

Japan may well have the largest porn industry in the world and a vibrant sex toys market, but so far it has almost entirely been for the male consumer. Now porn for women is finally catching on in Japan.

Actually part of this is thanks to magazine Anan, which has run regular sex-themed special editions that have generated publicity and mainstream acceptance for fashion-minded women reading about sex. A recent August sex issue featured a freebie DVD from Soft on Demand’s Silk Labo porn-for-women brand.

Soft on Demand has also placed women employees in senior positions and started a range of new sex toys and products aimed at the female market, including the Silky Body Soap. Tenga too (now a subsidiary of SOD) created the iroha. SOD’s brand Silk Labo releases female porn titles, handled by female directors. There are three labels at the moment: Silk, Undress, Cocoon.

While there have been female sex toy brands in Japan for a while, it is very significant that a major name in an industry dominated by men has joined in the fray. Female porn and female sex toys are now totally mainstream. SOD also has a showroom in Akasaka for its Lovely Pop vibrators. We also saw a lot of female sex and masturbation aids at adult expo Pink Tokyo, mostly from importers, indicating that consumers and local brands want to learn from the designs already available overseas.

In female-friendly porn, the story leading up to the, ahem, business is important. Communication between the couple is highlighted, as is the way they meet. The male partner is also more sensitive during the sex itself.

What kind of men appear in the porn? It’s not the hunky types but rather sweeter-looking men with slender figures.

And who are the viewers for this porn? Housewives in their thirties and forties — the same demographic who turned adultery site Ashley Madison into an immediate hit in Japan.

In the last two or sex years the publishing industry has seen erotic books for women do well, with Kadokawa’s “Fleur” online erotic novel series going from strength to strength since 2013.

The small world of Japanese male porn performers has also acquired a following at last, with events where the man talk to fans proving popular. One such event in March in Shinjuku saw 140 female fans gather to list to four male performers talk. One fan said she had come all the way from Nagoya over 10 times!

We can’t get any solid info on sales for the porn but the fact that SOD et al are pushing on with their belated experiment shows things can’t be going badly!

Beyond gender equality, though, what’s the really good news about all this? Silk Labo is now recruiting “eromen”.