What is it about?
We asked 68 adult Australians who read erotic fanfiction how it shapes their well-being, relationships and understanding of sex. Many found real comfort, a sense of community, and a place to learn about sex, consent and their own identity. But some struggled to switch off, or felt let down by real-life sex.
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Why is it important?
Sexually explicit fanfiction is read by millions, yet it is rarely studied and often dismissed or moralised about rather than examined. Ours is one of the first studies to ask adult readers directly how this reading shapes their well-being, relationships and understanding of sex. Readers described fanfiction as a resource for comfort, community and sex education, especially for LGBTQI+ readers and others underserved by mainstream media and formal sex education. The same features that made it supportive could also make it hard to moderate, and its idealised portrayals of sex sometimes left readers disappointed. Rather than treating fanfiction as simply good or bad, our work shows it is a double-edged resource, which matters for educators, clinicians and anyone designing narrative-based support.
Perspectives
I came to this research as someone with a deep affection for fanfiction and its communities. Part of what motivated me was the chance to bring something I valued onto the academic stage, and to draw together the voices of the readers to tell a story about just how meaningful this reading can be in all its complexity.
Daniel du Plooy
ACAP University College
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “It made life worth living at times”: A qualitative study of sexually explicit fanfiction as a narrative well-being resource., Psychology of Popular Media, July 2026, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000688.
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