Whether or not we realize it, gender roles play a significant part in modern life. Everything from the jobs people hold to how we interact with each other is influenced by these roles. Modern media is not immune to this influence, which is why it’s so important to understand how they work and why they exist.
Speaking of media, adult content is heavily impacted by gender roles, with men traditionally dominating women. However, many people prefer content that twists and bends these roles, such as femdom VR. So let’s dive into gender roles and how they shape the ways we get off.
The Science Behind Traditional Gender Roles
One of the biggest questions regarding the differences between men and women is how many of these distinctions are brought about by nature and how many are created by one’s upbringing? The nature vs. nurture debate is critical when examining why traditional gender roles are so ingrained in modern society.
On the scientific side, these differences seem rooted in how men and women think. Generally speaking, women are better at connecting different regions of the brain, while men are better at connecting neural pathways within each section.
In laypeople’s terms, women are naturally better at jumping from one thought to another, while men are better at doing a deep dive into a topic. This biological difference can explain why women are often better at multitasking, and men can often focus entirely on one task, shutting out the rest of the world.
However, there’s more going on than just brain activity. Body sizes and types also play a role, particularly because men are generally larger than women. Because of this size discrepancy, men feel like they’re naturally more powerful and entitled to more than women. As a rule, female traits are seen as “weak” while male traits are “strong.”
Finally, gender roles can be shaped by sexual activity. Since men are the ones penetrating women, they’re seen as “in control” of the situation. Also, men are actively engaging in sex since they’re thrusting into the woman. Realistically, a woman can just lie still and receive penetration until the man finishes. The very act of having sex is a study in dominance and submissiveness, with men in the dominant position.
How Gender Roles Affect Adult Scenes (and Beyond)
It’s easy to see why gender roles are such an integral part of adult content. Since these scenes focus on the act of penetration and control, it makes sense for the participants to fall into traditional roles.
But what happens when these roles are flipped? What if the woman is the one penetrating the man or dominating him? Because this doesn’t usually happen in real life, the experience can be much more engaging and arousing. For example, if a man is used to being dominant in his own life, he may prefer content where women are dominant, and he’s submissive (or vice versa).
Another side effect of swapping gender roles is that it gives women much more agency when having sex. Usually, women are seen as sexual conquests. They’re gatekeepers of their bodies, and it’s up to men to “unlock” women to have sex with them. However, when women are the ones initiating sex, they’re no longer objects – they’re active participants and fellow human beings.
So, it could be said that femdom scenes can help increase gender equality, both in adult entertainment and beyond. If more men accept that women are their equals in the bedroom, they may also accept them as equals in the boardroom. Fortunately, sites like SexLikeReal are promoting this kind of content to millions of men worldwide, meaning they’re planting the seeds of equitable change for the future.