When a Savvy Miss member had the following question, we turned to Dr. Patti Britton for her expert opinion.

Sometimes to get myself in the mood before masturbating, I watch soft porn or flip through magazines. Strange thing for me is that, while I’m a twenty-eight-year-old heterosexual woman, it’s the images of other women that turn me on. Is this normal? Could this mean that I’m a lesbian and just don’t know it?

Dear Playboy Preferred:

I want to begin with a sincere “Congratulations” for taking charge of your own eroticism. Wahoo! Not many women will admit that they watch porn of any kind or look at sexy images on a glossy page. But most women (like men) need some mental stimulation to get in the mood. In my work, I integrate the mind, emotions, body and spirit. What goes on in your mind, with or without “dirty pictures,” is a necessary part of your erotic curve.

Speaking of curves, liking women as fantasy may be the turn-on you need to cross over the line into your arousal zone. Why? Because maybe for you, seeing other women naked and in sexually-evocative poses gives you permission to unleash your wild side. Or maybe you, like a large number of other proclaimed heterosexual women, find the idea or the imagery of women arousing. In fact, it may be that using this as a fantasy is working just because it’s something you would never take action on. What we fantasize about is not necessarily what we want to do sexually or romantically.