5/18/10
Wise Guys: What’s the Appeal of the Money Shot?

Advice from three of our guy friends. This week they answer the following: “Why are money shots so prevalent in porn? What’s the appeal? And is this something that doesn’t translate into real life or would most guys like to see their own money shots more?”

colin_adamo_100Straight Single Guy (Colin Adamo): If it weren’t for money shots in pornography, male ejaculation would be the worst thing in the world. We as men feel pretty cheated when it comes to our orgasm in comparison to women’s. Seriously, what a mess! And where’s all the intensity? (Sure, I’ve had some orgasms that are out of this world, where I feel like a firework exploding, but those are once in a blue moon. I’ve also had plenty of orgasms that are like an exaggerated sneeze, too.) But with decades of money shots now enmeshed in our cultural conceptions of sex, we’ve put some thick layers of lipstick on a pretty ugly pig. After you watch enough videos of women delightedly begging for it all over their face, bodies, and mouths, you can start to believe that your ejaculation is the most coveted prize on the planet. With this sort of mentality, all anxieties are pushed aside and we’re super psyched to come.

Every guy probably wants to see their money shot just once — to know what it’s really like. But it’s not something we need all the time. We recognize all the problematic weight it carries to finish on you the same way we usually do with a dirty sock or wad of tissues, so most of us aren’t up for doing this all too often in the real world. But everyone’s got to try everything once… right?

terence_100Gay Committed Guy (Terence): Why does everyone turn to watch the champagne be uncorked. Don’t they know they could lose an eye? Money shots are the champagne explosions of porn, and everybody loves champagne. So for the same reason the crowd continues to cheer and hoorah after the fifth bottle of bubbly being popped, so too will multiple money shots in porn make a man smile.


anonymous_suitStraight Married Guy (Fred): Well, for guys, ejaculation is the grand finale of sex.  It’s the big explosion at the end of a Hollywood movie.  Why wouldn’t you show it, really?  What I want to know is, what’s with all the money shots in women’s faces?  It seems 90% of the time porn ends that way.  I think it’s weird.  It most certainly has a defiling component.  Like he’s pissing on her or marking her in some way.  It definitely puts her below him.  Is that necessary?  It’s popular, so I’m guessing that, generally speaking, men like it.  Are men really that angry at women?  Did I answer with a question?

Our “guys” are a rotating group of contributors. Colin Adamo is an undergrad at Yale University where he directs the biennial Sex Week at Yale; Terence is an American living in Sydney; Fred is a little shy. To ask the guys your own question, click here.



26 Comments

  1. Wow, such deep, introspective and angst over what is a biological imperative. To procreate in spite of culture war and religion is a glorious victory. Yes, most men desperately need for their sexual partner to not only approve of their ejaculation but to desperately desire it. If you as a man have never experienced this, I pity you for there is little that compares short of surviving mortal combat. Don’t let your life end without this experience. A man and a woman in their purest form are a survival team dedicated to reproduce and nurture their offspring to face a hostile world. We are still in the infant stages of understanding our place in the universe. Don’t be distracted by those who seek to understand it, find your mate and face adversity together while you raise the next generation. To do otherwise is to undermine the human race.

    1. But Bob, if the all-encompassing drive is to procreate, then by your argument, the sexiest thing would be to get the ejaculate INSIDE the woman, and not waste it outside — in fact, you could argue that a money shot should be pretty anti-climactic because it so obviously misses the whole point by entirely missing the true target (her egg).

      1. Well, let’s not question a mortal combat survivor – winner, rather!

        Bob there is a manosphere guy, based on his rhetoric, and here’s the main thing about the manosphere: they’ve got it ALL figured out. Like most people who adhere to an ideology, they’re great salad-bar samplers when it comes to explaining the world. They’ll cite Ev Psych when it suits them, tradition when it suits them, social values when it suits them, morality when it suits them… it’s like, which is it? Dispassionate natural selection, or Spartan masculine idealism (without the man-on-man sex, of course, because that’s immoral and unnatural…)? Etc.

        Like most ideologies, the manosphere is a great echo chamber. There’s no one point out how all over the place they are.

        1. Oh, and sceince! They’ll quote scientific studies when they support Manosphere ideologies, but reject studies in general as liberal, feminized, PC bullshit when they don’t.

  2. Honestly, as a woman, I love the money shot. It took my boyfriend (now husband) a really long time to get used to the idea of it, at first he respected me too much for it. Eventually, I explained to him why I like it when a guy comes on my tits. It makes me feel powerful and sexy, now he will do it occasionally, but I do have to ask him to for it. I still love it, but again it is about consent I get why some women and men aren’t into it. However, if your partner is into it, then why not try it.

  3. as a straight male (married 25 yrs Sept) I see absolutely nothing enjoyable about splurging on my wifes face, the same way I see nothing fun about fucking her tits and shooting my load on her chin. I don’t know if I would call it degrading but it sure isn’t much fun. I would much rather shoot a big hot load inside of her and see her face as she feels it shooting out of me and into her. But to each his own

  4. Yes, I am straight female and I do not love the money shot on a woman’s face, do not understand it. It is not a turn on for me in any way. I would much rather see a woman in a porn truly enjoying herself (instead of faking it) and orgasming then the guy. I really do not care too much about the guy. It is sad to me that porn is generally all about the man’s pleasure and the women just fake it. It also contributes to more men being clueless about how to give women pleasure and orgasms.

  5. I think people have grown accustomed to this and other vantages the industry has provided. Originally when people did not know as much or enjoyed seeing a woman do something they could usually only fantasize about. We have all evolved and some porn can be credited for ultimately our education. These acts were taboo, foreign …ect As for a women. Most don’t have gushing, squirting and visible orgasms so it is difficult to truly know if they did or did not orgasm. Once a man passes a certain point you will see and pretty much know how he feels. And his partner can and should be happy for getting him there. There are times with our partners we, make love. There are times we want to *&%# her like a porn star. It is not meant to be degrading. We like different things and usually at different times. However, with a partner sex should be an endless buffet of options, choices, support, opportunity and a shared expression that strengthens the relationship. Open mind, open heart, open up. And Enjoy.

  6. I find the money shot a bit tedious, but I really like the new “cream pie” trope in porn . . . where the camera sort of lovingly lingers over the man actually coming inside the woman. I suppose it could be faked, but part of what’s exciting is seeing his balls tighten a bit, and his cock pulse, so if they are faking, they’re doing a darn good job. And of course, pulling out and letting it trickle out for the camera. Same basic concept as the “money shot,” but more focused on the sex act that I enjoy (having someone come inside me).

    Oh, and I read a great post from pro domme/blogger Mistress Matisse a while ago about whether facials are inherently degrading. Along the lines of, if someone thought he was degrading her by coming on her face, she’d react by looking disappointed and saying, “Oh, that was a facial? Somehow I thought it would be . . . different. Are you dehydrated?”

  7. Jeez, Old Timer, is it that hard to use the scroll button? If you know IN ADVANCE you won’t like MY comments, in particular, just don’t read them.

    Have a LOVELY day.

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