Data Results

The Monstrous Desire Study data emerged from a voluntary survey taken by 2,202 respondents from various backgrounds and identities. The study’s purpose was to analyze the survey responses to observe the interpretations, assumptions, and desires of people who have ever found themselves either passively or actively attracted to monsters in media and pop culture.

By privileging the respondents both quantitative and qualitative data and contextualizing it within a historical framework that analyzes the cultural presence of erotic monsters globally, the study seeks to 1) produce the basis for a cohesive ethnography; 2) trace patterns and trends that emerge and interrogate media interpretations within a framework of race, gender, sexuality, class standing, and other forms of identity; 3) understand the history behind erotic monsters and their appeal; and lastly 4) define the connection between eroticism and monstrosity.

As it stands, the results of the study—while vast and rich due to the large number of respondents—cannot be viewed as a cohesive or comprehensive ethnography yet. The study, while anonymous, is not infallible to data-collection biases that are reflected in the results. For example, much of the data was collected via social media and digital spaces such as “Book”-stagram profiles, discord channels, Twitter, Facebook groups, teratophilia subreddits, etc., most if not all of which were run by people in North America. As such, the vast majority of the respondents are from North America. But this does not mean that monster lovers are all from North America, rather, those digital spaces through which the data was collected were populated by North Americans.

This should not dispel nor undermine the reliability of the study data, but rather, encourage further discourse about erotic monstrosity and its “whys” and “whos”. Instead, the data should be cross referenced with other established and existing ethnographies as well as cultural and historical references to illuminate the full picture. The study aims to do this through secondary material that can be read on the blog here. All the research, its collection methods, and presentation are my intellectual property, and will culminate towards a research book.