The Three Ps of Porn: Picking the Right Porn for You

Whether you are a porn-watching newbie or connoisseur, nothing’s worse than getting a video home only to realize in the first minutes that it’s not what you expected or wanted.  Feeling like picking out satisfying porn is sometimes a shot in the dark?

When trying to articulate what kind of porn we’re looking for, many of us feel like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart when he famously said that although he could probably not intelligibly define pornography, “I know it when I see it.”  To increase your chances of picking porn you like, we’ve created the following guide to The Three Ps of Porn.  This guide will help you consider the features of a porn flick that are important to you, and will help you verbalize what you’re looking for when getting recommendations from the Smitten Kitten staff.

The Three Ps of Porn

• Performers
• Performances
• Production

Performers
Key question: Who do you want to see in your porn?

This category is all about people — which performers get you hot, and which turn you off?  If you haven’t found performers you’re into yet or want to branch out, think about what aspects of porn casting are important to you.  For example, some people only enjoy watching films that feature actors who share a genuine chemistry or are real-life couples.  Do you prefer to see a diversity of body types, ethnicities, gender identities, and orientations, or do you have more specific tastes?  Is there a particular aesthetic (alt, retro, fantasy/historical, etc.) that turns you on?

Performances
Key questions: What do you want to happen in your porn? How do you want it to happen?

Consider what sex acts you love to watch (or think you might) and how you would like those scenes to unfold.  Does your perfect porn include vaginal or anal penetration?  Oral sex?  Are movies that feature safer sex practices a turn on?  Some people prefer two-person scenes while others think solo masturbation scenes or orgies are just the ticket.   Are you looking for films that portray some aspect of BDSM/fetish practice, such as flogging, bondage, latex, medical settings, etc.?

Now that you know what you want to see, think about how you want to see it. Do you prefer wall-to-wall-style films, that get right to the action?  Or are films that have a heavy emphasis on story more your speed?  Is docu-porn, with its mix of sex and on-camera interviews fascinating and hot?  If you want to learn more about a particular technique and get off, many of our educational films are great at fulfilling both goals.

Production
Key question: What filmmaking aesthetics make or break your porn?

This category may not seem important at first, but some customers become more successful at picking satisfying porn titles once they realize that low production quality turns them off.  So take a moment to consider if lighting, setting, and camera work are important to you when watching porn.  Or perhaps a grittier production style is a turn on; films that feature video voyeurs or gonzo-style camera work may be just what you’re looking for.

Consider how important the presence (or absence) of music is to you.  Porn films have not historically been known for their soundtracks, but some recent films are bucking this trend.

Do you like to jump right to your favorite scene or skip over a section that turns you off?  A small detail like DVD chapter settings may not make or break your porn-watching experience, but may be a post-production feature to look for when browsing for a new movie.

Don’t forget that your tastes may evolve over time. Think of these guiding questions as helping you pick the porn you want to see now, not forever. Also, remember that Fourth P of Porn: Purpose. The films that are right for you might change depending on why you’re watching: to get yourself off, connect with a partner, or learn something new.

Just as it’s easier to get a glass of wine you like when you can describe your perfect Chardonnay as dry and oaky, we hope that considering these aspects of porn films will help you get the best recommendations from us, whether in the store or over email.