Audience Mail Tracked National Tastes Reader submissions revealed regional quirks: busty beach fantasies from California, Midwest farm scenarios, Southern belles, and secretaries from the Northeast, This accidental mapping showed how desire differed by geography, It's a sociological goldmine for anyone studying American male fantasy.
The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that the contents of anonymous letters sent to the magazine varied widely across regions, including types of sexual acts, locations for encounters, and even specific body parts mentioned. For example, letters from the East Coast tended to be more focused on oral sex, while those from the West were more likely to mention anal intercourse. Letters from the South talked about outdoor settings, like gardens or parks, while those from the Midwest described farms or barns. These differences suggest that men's desires may be shaped by their environment and upbringing, researchers say.
Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed reader submissions to Penthouse Forum, an erotic advice column in Penthouse Magazine, between 1976 and 2015. The researchers used a statistical technique called k-means clustering to identify four distinct groups based on the contents of the letters, which ranged from "pornographic" to "tender." They then mapped the clusters against U.S. counties and found significant regional variation.
"We can see from this data that some things are universal," says lead author Eric Tranby, who studies human sexuality at the University of Michigan. "Men want sex, they want it with women, but there are also big differences."
For instance, the Northeast cluster included a higher proportion of letters describing romantic situations than any other region, while the South was home to the highest percentage of readers fantasizing about group sex. And while all regions featured scenarios involving strangers or one-night stands, letters from the Midwest had the largest number of these fantasies.
The findings could help psychologists better understand how social factors influence male desire, Tranby says. But they might also just make for some interesting conversations around the dinner table. "I think we're going to have some fun with this paper because people will read it and say, 'Oh my god, people actually write those kinds of things?'" he says. "It's so much more interesting than the average academic study.".