Voyeurism is a common plot device in both:
Serious films, e.g., Rear Window (1954), Klute (1971), Blue Velvet (1986), Disturbia (2007), and X (2022) and
Humorous films, e.g., Animal House (1978), Gregorys Girl (1981), Porkys (1981), American Pie (1999), and Semi-Pro (2008)
Voyeuristic photography has been a central element of the mis-en-scene of films such as:
Michael Powells Peeping Tom (1960), and
Michelangelo Antonionis Blowup (1966)
Pedro Almodovars Kika (1993) deals with both sexual and media voyeurism. In Malèna, a teenage boy constantly spies on the title character. The television movie Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story (2002) is based on a true story about a woman who was secretly videotaped and subsequently helped to get laws against voyeurism passed in parts of the United States. Voyeurism is a key plot device in the Japanese movie Love Exposure (Ai no Mukidashi). The main character Yu Honda takes upskirt photos to find his Maria to become a man and get his first taste of sexual stimulation. Literature
In the light novel series Baka to Test to Shōkanjū, Kōta Tsuchiya is subject to voyeurism, explaining why he is referred to as "Voyeur". Manga
The manga Colourful, Nozo×Kimi and Nozoki Ana included elements of voyeurism in their plot. Music
"Voyeur", the second track on blink-182s album Dude Ranch, written by Tom DeLonge, features explicit references to the practice of voyeurism. "Sirens", also written by DeLonge, from Angels & Airwaves album I-Empire is also about voyeurism, albeit in a more subtle way. Photography
Merry Alpern with his works, Dirty Windows, 1993–1994. Kohei Yoshiyuki with his works called The Park.
Voyeurs who are not also exhibitionists tend to be from a higher socioeconomic status than those who do show exhibitionist behaviour. Gender differences
Research shows that, like almost all paraphilias, voyeurism is more common in men than in women. However, research has found that men and women both report roughly the same likelihood that they would hypothetically engage in voyeurism. There appears to be a greater gender difference when actually presented with the opportunity to perform voyeurism. There is very little research done on voyeurism in women, so very little is known on the subject. One of the few studies deals with a case study of a woman who also had schizoid personality disorder, which limits the degree to which it can generalize to normal populations.A 2021 study found that 36.4% of men and 63.8% of women were strongly repulsed by the idea of voyeurism. Men were more likely to be mildly or moderately aroused than women, but there was little gender difference among those who reported strong arousal. Men reported slightly higher willingness to commit voyeurism but, when risk is introduced, willingness diminishes in both sexes proportionally to the risk involved. Individual differences in sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity were found to contribute to the sex differences in voyeurism. Current perspectives
Lovemap theory suggests that voyeurism exists because looking at naked others shifts from an ancillary sexual behaviour, to a primary sexual act. This results in a displacement of sexual desire making the act of watching someone the primary means of sexual satisfaction.