The Complex Psychology of Rule 34 (old)

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]Boobs.

[00:00:00]>> No boobs.

[00:00:02]>> Butts.

[00:00:04]>> The eternal debate. Are you a boobs man or an ass man?

[00:00:08]>> Both.

[00:00:09]>> Both. Both. Both is good.

[00:00:11]>> Let me show you how deep this rabbit hole goes.

[00:00:14]>> Very poor choice of words.

[00:00:16]>> All joking aside, I've always wondered whether the answers to this question could provide insight into someone's personality, their tendencies, their struggles, their ambitions. What makes a boobs man different from an assman?

[00:00:30]Unsurprisingly, there have been many attempts at answering this question.

[00:00:34]It's the 1960s. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology publishes a study investigating the relationship between a man's personality and his preference for certain female characteristics. In this study, 95 male undergraduates in a psychology course are evaluated. The students are shown a series of 105 pairs of nude female silhouettes and were required to indicate which of the two figures they preferred. The silhouettes were all roughly based on a standard figure, but some had slight deviations in the chest, hips, and legs. They ranged from small, moderately small, standard, moderately large, and large. After rating these silhouettes, the students were asked to return 2 weeks later for another unrelated survey. In this survey, they were asked about their backgrounds, personalities, and life goals. According to the researchers, several patterns stuck out. Large everything represented a need for achievement, whereas small everything represented an upper class life, not cynical about authority. Large breasts specifically means non- nurturing and independent. Small breasts means religious, depressed, and nurturing. A large butt means a need for order. And a small butt represents individuals who do not need to be the center of attention. Let's address the elephant in the room. Okay, this study is just total [ __ ] I mean, come on.

[00:02:03]It's over half a century old and the sample size isn't large enough. But it does present us with an interesting line of thinking. Is there actually a way to predict someone's personality through their attraction to certain attributes, behaviors, and overall characteristics?

[00:02:19]Luckily, we found a modern sample size that's much, much larger. Roll 34.

[00:02:25]>> What in the actual [ __ ] So, I'm specifically interested in the idea of predicting someone's personality and sexual history through their porn consumption. I've done this by looking at Roll 34's top female characters and breaking them down into certain archetypes. I then do a bit of research to see if anyone has found any connections between straight men [music] and these specific characteristics. This video is largely constrained to straight men in order to narrow the study, but depending on the performance of this video, I may do another for gay men.

[00:03:19]Lucario, anyone? Before we start, we should ask why people are attracted to role 34 at all. Because it's a phenomenon that touches on human sexuality, psychology has to be involved to some degree. Rule 34 isn't anything new for our species. Ancient dildos dating back 2,000 years depicting potent animals. Heck, 9,000 years earlier, a cave drawing depicting a human having relations with some kind of ecquin, the original brony. But why? power, potency, transgressiveness, loss of control, [music] outbreeding, the evocation of uncontrollable desire, dominance, submission, large penises.

[00:04:01]>> Come.

[00:04:01]>> Roll 34 is attractive because it's different. They're experiences that are unique to fiction. They'll never be fully achievable in real life, although we're getting pretty damn close.

[00:04:12]Internet porn pushes the boundaries of what's possible. The first of our archetypes is the small and submissive.

[00:04:19]This is our baseline and the easiest to explain. Most relationships operate on a one-sided dynamic. A dominant force dictating the direction of the relationship and a submissive force who's just there to [music] play along and help when needed. In an ideal scenario, the dominant force likes to play the leading role. And the submissive force enjoys letting someone else take the reigns. For most of our history, straight relationship dynamics dictate that the man be dominant and the woman be submissive. [music] Even though our species has recently been introduced to new ways of thinking, the original dynamic still holds strong because it's had thousands of years to become ingrained into our natural tendencies.

[00:05:01]Men who seek submissive characters in Rule 34 likely do so because they're following along with their biology. It's arguably the simplest route. Men fantasize about a relationship where they get to take the dominant role.

[00:05:14]There's always a princess in Native Saving, and that's about as complex as it gets.

[00:05:21]Now, we get to the fun ones. The dominant archetype is what happens when the traditional dynamic is flipped exactly 180° all the way around. A dominant woman and a submissive man. In this [music] context, dominant can mean a lot of things. It can mean a woman who simply takes charge, a boss [ __ ] It can also mean a woman who is nurturing, who takes a more active role in taking care of her man by deciding certain things for him. Excuse me, he asked for no pickles. It is true that rule 34 imposes different interpretations of dominant onto the same characters. So, for the purposes of this video, we'll be grouping them together. These are your Rainonss, your Rouge the Bats, >> AND SHE HAD A DIAMOND IN HER VAGINA, >> AND YOUR LAW CARDS, the latter of whom is the top character on roll 34. Rainon is often depicted as a tall, dominant character because of the way their character is portrayed in the base media. Rouge is more confident, but not necessarily tall. And most importantly, Tifa Lockheart is described as motherly above all else. What causes men to seek out these dominant, possibly even motherly characters? [music] One explanation might be a need for validation. Similar to how a child seeks validation from their mother, a man might seek validation from their partner, their work, their choices.

[00:06:47]Maybe it's the outfit they picked to wear that day. They're searching for that approval because they might not have received enough of it from a young age. Men who gravitate towards these characters might find nurturing behavior attractive. And I know what you're thinking, candles. This is bordering on Freudian thinking, which can get really weird. To help me explain this point, I'm going to quote an excerpt from one really good article about this subject.

[00:07:13]Men who unknowingly seek a mother figure in their partners usually gravitate towards women who are nurturers. Take my friend John for example. Over the years, we noticed that he always ended up dating women who were extremely nurturing. Whether it was his high school sweetheart who always made sure he had his lunch ready or his most recent partner who always seemed to know what he needed before even he did. It took a while for us to recognize this pattern, but once we did, it was quite an eyeopener. Jon himself didn't realize that he was consistently choosing partners who mirrored the nurturing nature of his mother. Again, this isn't a conscious choice for most men. It's a subtle undercurrent that guides their preferences in relationships. Sometimes recognizing these patterns can help us understand ourselves and others better.

[00:08:02]It can be a different way of viewing things like role 34 and IRL relationships, and we have to be careful not to conflate the two. The argument that someone's personality can be mapped out by studying their pornography consumption is based on the assumption that partner attributes are at least a hint towards the role 34 characters they engage with. For example, if someone is particularly interested in role 34 of Tifa, we might be able to guess that they seek partners who act motherly and nurturing. It's all theoretical. If you're one of those Tifa heads, you might find it difficult to handle criticism and confrontation. You may have resonated with your mother's gentle words as a child, and that became the kind of language you respond to best.

[00:08:47]When people fire back at you or challenge your beliefs, you feel defenseless. [music] You may also feel a strong attachment to certain childhood memories. I could go on, but the personality type is clear. Men who seek dominant role 34 characters are more likely to prioritize emotional intelligence and security.

[00:09:07]The furry archetype is one that's kind of poorly understood outside of the community. Furries are often mistaken for Theorans who identify themselves as non-human beings. Furries, on the other hand, identify as regular old human beings. They just like to pretend to be animals as a comfort. Furries can be described in a hierarchy depending on their level of engagement. Base furries are people who just like anthropomorphic designs. If you like the Lion King, you're a furry. Tier 2 furries might make their own personas, which they might draw themselves or commission another artist to draw them. This is pretty much where I'm at, if [music] you're wondering. Tier three furries take it a step further by creating a fursuit and going to furry conventions.

[00:09:52]These fursuits can be insanely expensive, so you really got to love it to do it. And the fursuit tier is the one that most people think of when you say furry, but I'd say it's probably the smallest fraction of the furry population. There isn't a scientific way of categorizing furries, and this is pure conjecture, but I find it a helpful way to describe furries to people who are outside the community. Which tier engages with furry rule 34? Almost all of them. It's usually just two and three. The level of human to animal can also vary wildly. Most furry art and sonas feature muzzles and paws, but I like my furry characters to be a bit more diluted. Hence why Candles does not have a muzzle, too close to animal for me, but it varies from person to person.

[00:10:41][music] If you're wondering just who becomes a furry, there's an excerpt here that breaks it down incredibly well.

[00:10:47]Demographically, the furry fandom is comprised predominantly of white males in their teens to mid20s. For the most part, they represent what you would expect to find in a typical geek or nerd subculture. Above average school performance, nearly half are college students, an interest in computers and science, and a passion for video games, science fiction, fantasy, and anime.

[00:11:12]Less typical, however, is the fandom's LGBTQ demographics. [music] Furries are seven times more likely than the general population to identify as transgender and about five times more likely to identify as non-heterosexual. Given this composition, it should come as no surprise that the furry fandom is a community defined in no small part by its inclusivity. This fandom embraces the norms of being welcoming and non-judgmental to all. Yeah, if you've ever met a furry, they were likely to be extremely non-judgmental. That's the entire reason they became a furry in the first place, to be part of a community where they felt like they belonged. So, why furry? Well, stick with me on this because it's extremely hypothetical. It doesn't come from any one source. It's something I found through my research to be incredibly consistent. There may be a link between autism spectrum disorder, non-heterosexuality, gender non-conforming, and the furry community. Most furries are gay or trans or both. And there is an actual link between people on the spectrum and people who find connection with animals.

[00:12:19]This is a real study called autism and anthropomorphism by Dr. Gray Athetherton. According to their findings, people with autism feel a special connection to animals, especially cats. Cats tend to behave in ways similar to people who are on the spectrum. They're hyper sensitive to certain senses. They're most comfortable doing their own thing with a few exceptions. They thrive off routine and don't respond well to a changing environment. And of course, most of their communication is non-verbal yet clear. The candles community is a depiction of this connection. If you've been on the Discord, you know that a lot of people in this community are on the spectrum. Non-heterosexual, gender non-conforming, and furry. Lots of cat gifts because we feel that connection to cats and their behavior. I suspect something similar is going on in the furry community. There's a certain comfort in creating a human-based character which exhibits the autistic-like tendencies of a cat. If you're somewhere on the spectrum and you engage with furry 34, this comfort spills over into its tangent on the diagram of human behavior. Pleasure.

[00:13:29]The goth girl archetype is a strong one.

[00:13:31]How many of us had their awakening seeing Raven from Teen Titans? The reasons men like goths are pretty simple. The goth style is adjacent to BDSM. Corsets, fishnetss, collars, stiletto heels, and so on. The goth look seems almost primed to be sexualized, even if that's not the intention of the people who adopt this style. There may also be an element of weirdness to it.

[00:13:57]People are attracted to things that are different. Whether it's out of sheer boredom or an evolutionary need for genetic diversity, different is exciting. The goth archetype has a lot of overlap with the dominant archetype.

[00:14:10]Goths are typically self-affirming. They don't feel the need to be like everyone else. In fact, it's what drives their choice of fashion, the desire to be different. Men become [music] attracted to that difference. In a world full of starfires, of course, the one raven is going to peique his curiosity and make him stand out as the trailblazer. I suspect there may also be an I can fix her mentality going on here, the same way young women are attracted to the vampires and the werewolves. Sure, they're a character archetype that's emotionally distant, but I just know I can be the one to open their hearts.

[00:14:46]This creates loyalty to the one that opened their heart and got them to break down those walls. Goth girls are usually written to be a bit sassy as well.

[00:14:54]They're usually characters who know what they want and they have no trouble communicating that. This can be extremely attractive to the typical guy as they value clear intentions. You know exactly what they want, which is a nice reprieve from partners who constantly keep you guessing. Actually, this might explain why people are attracted to role 34 in the first place. You already know the character and you know what they want. Role 34 almost seems to be born out of a need for comfort. Men who may have issues expressing their need to be emotionally understood create characters who lay out their cards for everyone to see. All communication is clear and honest. [music] Even if that character is emotionally distant, at least you know how they feel. If you've been paying attention, you should notice a strong overlap to all of this. The most popular Role 34 characters are sexually dominant with a clear communication of their personality. Whether that's motherly and nurturing or sassy and confident, they might display a different way of thinking from the rest of the world, i.e. the goth way of thinking. Apply a furry aspect and you've created a character who on top of everything we just said brings the comfort of anthro characteristics which connect better to people on the spectrum, non-heterosexuals and gender non-conformists.

[00:16:15]You've created the perfect role 34 character and there are exactly two characters who are a match for every one of those characteristics.

[00:16:26]>> Who's that Pokémon?

[00:16:31]The Luna Roxy Diad is a striking display of energy in each character. You have the dominant build, the goth look, the sassy personality, and the furry design.

[00:16:43]I'm pretty sure these characters get confused with each other all the time.

[00:16:47]They're two very popular entries on Rule 34 because they display all of the popular characteristics. In fact, they are so ubiquitous that their features are often exaggerated far beyond the original design. Neither Luna or Roxy have prominent chests in their official renders. I mean, with Vizy's style, it's often hard to tell who does and who doesn't, but Roxy definitely doesn't.

[00:17:11]Yet, in a lot of fan art, these design restrictions are completely removed.

[00:17:16]This addition of curves is pretty common in row 34 in general, but it's especially prominent with these two characters. This fluctuation allows for their designs to match perfectly with almost every personality type.

[00:17:29]Nurturant, [music] non- nurturant, need for achievement, upper class, all of those findings we discussed in the beginning, even though they might be [ __ ] you could kind of apply them here. With everything we know about the most popular Rule 34 characters, it's no surprise these two pop up so often. I'm actually surprised we don't have many variations of this archetype who fit into the motherly category. From what I've seen, you can fit most female Rule 34 characters into two groups, motherly and sassy, or nurturing and avoidant.

[00:18:05]Both Luna and Roxy are avoidant, so it's kind of a shock we don't have any nurturing equivalents with the other characteristics. Tifa is consistently on top, though. Guess that motherly archetype eventually won out. Role 34 is a fascinating subject to me. The better my understanding of it, the more I can control my interactions with it. What Roll 34 really is is a library of human eroticism, a display of sexual diversity. And yet, at the end of the day, almost all of us gravitate towards the same goth furry domies. Anyway, [music] let me know what you think of what I've presented to you today. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? Whatever you think, I love reading your comments.

[00:18:50]Remember, we have the Patreon where you get scrap video ideas, unused outfits, and more. A very special [music] thank you to all of my supporters over there.

[00:19:00]Thank you for watching this video. I love you all. Good night.