Article

Gender (In)equality in Internet Pornography: A Content Analysis of Popular Pornographic Internet Videos

Taylor & Francis
The Journal of Sex Research
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Abstract

Although Internet pornography is widely consumed and researchers have started to investigate its effects, we still know little about its content. This has resulted in contrasting claims about whether Internet pornography depicts gender (in)equality and whether this depiction differs between amateur and professional pornography. We conducted a content analysis of three main dimensions of gender (in)equality (i.e., objectification, power, and violence) in 400 popular pornographic Internet videos from the most visited pornographic Web sites. Objectification was depicted more often for women through instrumentality, but men were more frequently objectified through dehumanization. Regarding power, men and women did not differ in social or professional status, but men were more often shown as dominant and women as submissive during sexual activities. Except for spanking and gagging, violence occurred rather infrequently. Nonconsensual sex was also relatively rare. Overall, amateur pornography contained more gender inequality at the expense of women than professional pornography did.

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... A longitudinal study examining Dutch adolescents' trajectories of SEIM use found that approximately two in three boys and almost one in ten girls regularly watch SEIM (Doornwaard et al., 2015). Concerns about SEIM often bring in stereotyped, unequal gender roles that tend to be promoted in its content (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Women in SEIM are more likely than men to act sexually submissive and be the victim of sexual aggression (Gorman et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
... Concerns about SEIM often bring in stereotyped, unequal gender roles that tend to be promoted in its content (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Women in SEIM are more likely than men to act sexually submissive and be the victim of sexual aggression (Gorman et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). According to a script perspective of sexual media effects, exposure to such biased representations of sexuality may gradually impact adolescents' cognitive scripts (Wright, 2011). ...
... Due to the different sexual socialization and experiences of boys and girls and the corresponding sex differences in SEIM content, boys and girls may respond differently to the portrayed sexual messages (Gorman et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Ward, 2003). Boys are traditionally socialized to take a dominant and active role in sexual actions, while girls are expected to be more passive in sexual interactions and to function more as sexual objects (Wiederman, 2005). ...
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This longitudinal study examines long-term associations between the use of sexually explicit internet material (SEIM) during adolescence and engagement in unwanted sexual behaviors in emerging adulthood. Drawing on a four-wave panel study among 377 participants (aged 18–24, 44.3% male), using logistic regression analysis, we found that SEIM use during adolescence predicted a higher odds of having sexually touched a stranger and of having insisted on sex with someone who had refused by emerging adulthood, 5 years later. That said, the proportion of participants committing these unwanted sexual behaviors is relatively small. Respectively 10.3%, 8.5%, and 1.1% of emerging adults had sexually touched a stranger, insisted on sex with a partner who had refused, or had used force to try to have sex.
... First, we determined the gender of the initiator of the portrayed sexual activity. Based on other studies, the initiator was identified as the person who first expressed interest in sexual activity, either verbally or through physical gestures (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Terán et al., 2022;Vannier et al., 2014). Codes were either woman, man, not shown or, if both partners displayed reciprocal interest, mutual initiation. ...
... She reaches orgasm when they arrive at the top floor of the hotel. We additionally assessed whether the displayed orgasms were authentic or faked, drawing from previous studies (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). The primary (2007) assertion that Kappa coefficients of 0.70 are deemed acceptable and with a low risk of misinterpretation, we decided to include the variable "manual stimulation of men's genitals by woman" in our study. ...
... Although this disparity was statistically significant, it is considerably smaller than for orgasm portrayal in pornographic films. In these films, the ratio lies at one orgasm shown by women for every four to five orgasms shown by men (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Séguin et al., 2018). Additionally, in our analysis men's orgasms were more frequently shown as isolated events, whereas women's orgasms were more often depicted in conjunction with men's orgasms. ...
Article
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Media representations of sexuality can play a relevant role in the development of gender stereotypes and sexual learning processes. In the current pre-registered study, we examined the representation of sexuality in content on Netflix, a dominant force in global mass media consumption. We coded 271 mixed-gender sexual scenes across seven highly popular Netflix series for orgasm portrayal, depiction of sexual behaviors, including clitoral stimulation, and gendered sexual scripts (i.e., initiation, control, and expression of desires). Our results revealed a nuanced picture of women’s sexual pleasure representation. Women’s orgasms were depicted less frequently than men’s, although orgasm portrayal was generally rare. Sexual behaviors were mostly limited to penile-vaginal intercourse, though cunnilingus was depicted more frequently than fellatio. Regarding gendered sexual scripts, women were portrayed as equally sexually agentic as men, initiating sexual encounters, taking control, and expressing their needs and desires. Our findings indicate that this content simultaneously reinforces and challenges gender stereotypes related to sexual experiences, highlighting the need for sexual educators to critically address the realism of mainstream media portrayals to foster a nuanced understanding of sexuality and pleasure.
... These questions have especially been fueled by concerns regarding the sexual content depicted in online pornography. Particularly, research shows how pornographic content can often be considered biased, unrealistic, and stereotypical (e.g., Fritz & Paul, 2017;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
... Paraphilic pornography then encompass bondage and dominance (B&D) and sadomasochism (S&M), violent sex (e.g., simulated rape, aggression, and coercion), fetishes (e.g., race fetishes, latex), and unusual or extreme content (Hald & Štulhofer;Leonhardt et al., 2019). Paraphilic pornography is known to be more biased than mainstream pornography, especially when it comes to gender dynamics since women are more often recipients of violent acts (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
... In this view, Wright's (2011) script acquisition, activation, and application model (3AM) argues that pornography can provide viewers with novel scripts (i.e., acquisition), activate scripts that have previously been acquired (i.e., activation), and encourage youth to use these scripts by depicting behaviors as normative and appropriate (i.e., application). Given the biased and unrealistic content often depicted in online pornography (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), scholars have argued that individuals may feel less sexually satisfied if they contrast their own sexual lives with the scripts in idealized sexual portrayals of pornography (e.g., Grubbs et al., 2019). ...
Article
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Health communication scholars are becoming increasingly cognizant of the potential health implications of youths’ pornography consumption. However, while research on pornography viewing and adolescent health and development has become increasingly common, the possible importance of distinguishing between mainstream and paraphilic consumption and within-and-between person dynamics has been underemphasized. Accordingly, the present study explored relations between adolescents’ preferences for mainstream and paraphilic pornography and their sexual satisfaction and sexual arousability in three-wave panel data using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. At a between-person level, only mainstream pornography viewing was positively related to adolescents’ sexual arousability. No relations were found between mainstream and paraphilic pornography viewing and sexual satisfaction at a between-person level. Results further revealed that an increased exposure to mainstream pornography and paraphilic pornography was not associated with sexual arousability and sexual satisfaction at the individual level. Null findings regarding paraphilic pornography viewing may be explained by the presence of a floor effect. Further, no differences in the investigated relations were found between sexually inexperienced and experienced adolescents, and between single adolescents and adolescents in a relationship. The findings are discussed in light of recent commentary on the uses of random-intercept cross-lagged panel models in the communication discipline.
... A strong body of research upholds that younger age at sexual initiation is linked with negative outcomes in adulthood (Heywood, Patrick, Smith, & Pitts, 2015). While some research suggests that negative outcomes of early sex may be a product of sexually conservative attitudes and gendered sexuality (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), other studies have shown that early sexual debut is linked to risky sexual behaviors, decreased likelihood to engage in protected sex, higher risk of sexually transmitted infection, and higher likelihood of sexual abuse (Heywood et al., 2015) along with increased number of sexual partners (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
... A strong body of research upholds that younger age at sexual initiation is linked with negative outcomes in adulthood (Heywood, Patrick, Smith, & Pitts, 2015). While some research suggests that negative outcomes of early sex may be a product of sexually conservative attitudes and gendered sexuality (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), other studies have shown that early sexual debut is linked to risky sexual behaviors, decreased likelihood to engage in protected sex, higher risk of sexually transmitted infection, and higher likelihood of sexual abuse (Heywood et al., 2015) along with increased number of sexual partners (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
... Thus, if certain acts are frequently viewed in pornography, viewers (and especially younger viewers) may begin to see those behaviors as normative or acceptable. Klaassen and Peter (2015) found that the more frequently adolescents are exposed to pornography, the more likely they are to perceive pornographic content to be similar to real-world sex as well as to believe that pornography is a useful source of information about sex. As many popular pornographic videos normalize having multiple sexual partners or suggest that having more sexual partners will lead to greater sexual satisfaction (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), it could be expected that those who view pornography more frequently, especially starting at younger ages, will have more sexual partners. ...
... Recent reviews on the matter seem to show an unequivocal relationship between current pornography and unrealistic, sexist, and dangerous beliefs on sex, especially in young people (Barker, Gill & Harvey 2018, Dill & Thill 2007, McCarry 2009. Pornographic content has been proven to distort youths' perception of sex due to the depiction of traditional gender roles with emphasis on the dominant role of men and the submissive one of women (Klaassen & Peter 2015, Peter & Valkenburg 2016, Springate & Omar 2013. More specifically, in the Rapid Evidence Assessment commissioned by the English Office of the Children's Commissioner, it was found that sexual beliefs are indeed affected by exposure to pornographic material, including, but not limited to, conducts such as 'unrealistic attitudes about sex, ' 'beliefs that women are sex objects, ' and 'less progressive gender role attitudes' (Horvath, Alys, Massey, Pina, Scally & Adler 2013: 7). ...
... When trying to empirically analyze whether pornography reflects heteropatriarchal patterns of male oppression, it is control, objectification and initiative which have often been the factors observed and measured (Bridges, Wosnitzer, Scharrer, Sun & Liberman 2010, Klaassen & Peter 2015) -though controversial and hard to define (Smith 2009: 25). These notions are theoretically and methodologically complex to pinpoint, and they are often identified by relying on the presence of absence of particular sex acts and behaviors (McKee 2005: 278). ...
... If we take a more realistic view on sex and on the diverse ways in which sexual partners interact, McKee's (2005) definition of objectification seems a better fit: objectification consists of 'ignoring the wishes of one sexual partner and treating him or her as an object' (McKee 2005: 279). This is the approach taken by most content-analytic studies on the matter (Gorman, Monk-Turner & Fish 2010, Klaassen & Peter 2015, McKee 2005, Prince 1987, Salmon & Diamond 2012, Vannier, Currie & O'Sullivan 2014, which have 'largely found no significant differences between the degree of agency accorded to female and male characters' (Lischinsky 2017: 3). However, agency is 'sometimes impossible to determine in a precise fashion' and '[t]he comparability and validity of measures of sexual agency still raise important concerns' (Lischinksy 2017: 4; McKee 2005). ...
Article
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Pornography is commonly criticized for allegedly representing and promoting sexual dominance of men over women. Studies have shown varying results, with no scientific consensus reached on the matter. To contribute to the discussion with empirical discourse analysis evidence, I examine the linguistic choices reflected in a corpus of erotic novels to test whether there are gendered patterns of agency in the representation of sexual interactions. The construal of prominence is correlated to the notion of agency to find which participant specifies the trajector status and agent role in every relational expression. Results show that male participants take prominence over females in an overwhelming majority of the cases, while expressions with plural agency are marginal. The approach of this paper, combining cognitive grammar with linguistic participation roles, provides comprehensive and realistic results by attempting to operationalize agency as the linguistic expression of a particular cognitive pathway.
... Most researchers argued that mainstream pornographic materials tended to objectify women more than men (Cowan et al., 1988;Fritz & Paul, 2017;Klaassen & Peter, 2014). Whereas a few researchers proposed that pornography did not objectify women more than men. ...
... The results were contradictory, however. Male characters typically displayed more orgasms than females (Fritz & Paul, 2017;Klaassen & Peter, 2014;McKee, 2005). Vannier, et al. (2013) found that it was more likely for males to control the pace/direction of sexual activities than females. ...
... Vannier, et al. (2013) found that it was more likely for males to control the pace/direction of sexual activities than females. Nonetheless, some studies observed no gender differences in the initiation of sex (Klaassen & Peter, 2014;Vannier et al., 2013), or more women as the initiators (McKee, 2005). Mukai and collaborators' (2022) examined the top best-selling sex comics in 2010 and 2020. ...
... They conclude by stating that "a significant level of hatred of women is now available for viewing in our living rooms and bedrooms" (Cowan et al. 1988: 308-310). In some more recent research where objectification was operationalised differently, however, it did not significantly differ across genders (Klaassen, Peter 2014). McKee (2005) even found men to be objectified more than women on the whole. ...
... Moreover, violence (including spanking and gagging for instance) would be almost exclusively directed towards the female participant (Carotte, Davis, Lim 2020). Females would also be the more likely participant to be dehumanized and overall portrayed as submissive (Klaassen, Peter 2014). ...
... The amount of physical movement during sex could be a potential variable that could explain more. The same goes for initiating sexual intercourse, where there are differences between pornography (see the studies cited in Klaassen, Peter 2014) and real life (Grøntvedt, Kennair, Mehmetoglu 2015;Kennair et al. 2009). As such, the linguistic evidence could be a reminder that people may take on more roles during a single sexual encounter. ...
Article
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Despite the magnitude of its consumption by the general public, online pornography has to date received comparatively very little attention within linguistics. The paper explores the language in video titles on the pornographic site Pornhub using a corpus-driven approach. A corpus of 17,000 titles compiled specifically for the purposes of the study yielded a word list, which, together with an interdisciplinary literature review, was used to formulate two research questions. With gender as a key variable, the first research question focuses on the linguistic representation of agency by looking at verb objects, while the second examines expressions (nouns and adjectives) used to ascribe roles to the participants. A quantitative evaluation of the data indicates an interplay between gender and the observed features in both questions. The lexicalisation of agency was found to be more complex than previously thought; nine categories were found, and the role of passive voice differed depending on gender. As for gender characterisation, descriptions of women’s roles are not only more frequent but also more heterogenous and evaluative compared to those of men.
... La cosificación se divide en dos dimensiones: deshumanización e instrumentalidad (Klaassen y Peter, 2015). Por un lado, la instrumentalidad implica tratar a una persona como medio para conseguir un fin, con independencia de sus experiencias y emociones (Nussbaum, 1995). ...
... En primer lugar, las partes sexuales del cuerpo de la mujer ocupan los primeros planos de los vídeos (Fritz y Paul, 2017;Klaassen y Peter, 2015). Esto implica la reducción de la representación del yo sexual de la mujer a sus genitales, favoreciendo la deshumanización. ...
... En segundo lugar, la función de la mujer se reduce a garantizar el placer masculino (Strager, 2003). Esta instrumentalidad está presente en el énfasis en su cuerpo, la presencia de actos sexuales centrados en el placer masculino y el desequilibrio en la representación de orgasmos (Klaassen y Peter, 2015). Distintos estudios muestran la presencia de la eyaculación en los vídeos (Bridges et al., 2010;Fritz y Paul, 2017;McKee, 2005) en comparación con la infrarrepresentación del placer de la mujer. ...
Article
La enorme presencia, prevalencia y consumo de pornografía en la actualidad la sitúan como un fenómeno susceptible a ser estudiado por múltiples disciplinas. Desde la psicología, se ahonda en los efectos del contenido pornográfico a nivel conductual, cognitivo y emocional. El presente estudio analiza cómo se representa a la mujer en la pornografía convencional y sus implicaciones a nivel psicosocial a través de la compilación y el análisis de distintos estudios e investigaciones realizados hasta el momento. Para ello, se adopta una perspectiva de género y psicosocial a través de la cual se explora la violencia sexual, la cosificación sexual, el canon de belleza femenino, los roles y guiones sexuales, la sexualidad de la mujer, la erotización de la violencia contra la mujer y los mitos, tabúes y creencias sexuales erróneas presentes en la pornografía. Se pretende integrar las aportaciones existentes en todas estas dimensiones para establecer conclusiones acerca de cómo se reviste y representa la figura de la mujer en la pornografía, pues podría tener una potencial influencia en las representaciones, actitudes, expectativas y comportamientos sexuales de los consumidores en sus relaciones con las mujeres. Los resultados permiten considerar que la pornografía reproduce la desigualdad sexual entre hombres y mujeres a través de la construcción de las categorías de “hombre” y “mujer” bajo un modelo dicotómico jerarquizado: agresor-víctima, dominación-subordinación, sujeto deseante-objeto deseado, individuación-deshumanización. La desigualdad de género está arraigada en la pornografía a través de la cosificación, distribución desigual del poder y violencia contra la mujer. De las implicaciones sociales, clínicas y educativas derivadas, se concluye la necesidad de avance en el campo de investigación relativo a la pornografía, de implementación de programas de prevención primaria, secundaria y terciaria y de una educación afectivo-sexual alternativa.
... Such theoretical and empirical efforts notwithstanding, most of what we know about variations in the content of pornography comes from descriptions provided by empirical content analysis rather than studies of pornography use (e.g., Bridges et al. 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Shor, 2019;Shor & Seida, 2019;Vannier et al., 2014). Although few if any content-analyses appear to be directly inspired by the aforementioned typologies described above, there has been notable attention directed towards assessing the prevalence of violence in pornography. ...
... Although few if any content-analyses appear to be directly inspired by the aforementioned typologies described above, there has been notable attention directed towards assessing the prevalence of violence in pornography. Recent content analyses, for example, have estimated that around 40% of contemporary pornography exhibits violence (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Shor, 2019;Shor & Seida, 2019). At the extreme end, one highly publicized study suggested that the figure could be as high as 90% (Bridges et al. 2010). ...
Article
Although content differences in pornography play an acknowledged role in many theories concerning the use and consequences of such material, relatively few studies have attempted to describe and understand the use of different types of pornography. To begin to address this gap, N = 367 participants who were in predominately mixed-sex relationships were asked open-ended questions about the pornography they used alone and the pornography they used with a romantic partner. A mixed-methods analysis employing both thematic analysis and content analysis to the same set of responses indicated that participants’ responses frequently focused on the gender of the performers, the sexual behaviors they engaged in, and the number of performers present in the pornography they watched. Other content features ranging from the presence of BDSM and rough sex to the race of performers were also mentioned by participants but to a lesser extent. Exploratory quantitative analyses indicated that the content of shared pornography use was more mono- and heteronormative than the content of solitary pornography use. Also, gender differences in the content of pornography tended to be more accentuated with respect to solitary pornography use than shared pornography use. The findings confirm that men and women may be using different kinds of pornography when they use it alone and are the first to suggest that consumers may be using different materials when they use pornography alone than when they use it with a partner. The results of the current study reinforce the importance of adopting content-specific measures of pornography use and suggest a potential avenue for conceptualizing a new taxonomic system for organizing pornographic materials.
... Objectification is prevalent in several types of media. For instance, in online pornography, women are used for men's pleasure and are objectified through frequent close-ups of their sexual body parts (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Music videos in the R&B and hip-hop genres often depict women as primarily decorative (Stevens Aubrey & Frisby, 2011). ...
... The media often depicts a world where men should be sexually assertive and women are viewed as passive sexual objects, aligning with the traditional SDS norms of men as sexually active and dominant and women as reactive and passive (Kim et al., 2007;Ward, 1995). More specifically, girls are more likely than boys to present themselves in a sexy way on social media (Vandenbosch et al., 2015) and men are depicted as sex-driven whereas women are depicted as sexual objects in pornography (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), many music videos, and fiction TV genres (Ward, 2003). This also seems to be true of reality television. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study examined associations between sexualized media consumption, sexual double standard (SDS) norms, and sexual coercion perpetration and victimization in late adolescence and whether these associations were moderated by gender. Participants were sexually active Dutch secondary school students aged 16–20 years (N = 255, 58.4% girls). Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire at a single time-point. Overall, more sexualized media consumption was associated with higher odds of both sexual coercion perpetration and victimization. These associations did not differ by gender. Specifically, viewing online pornography and sexually oriented reality television more frequently were associated with higher odds of sexual coercion perpetration, whereas viewing others’ sexy social media posts more frequently was associated with higher odds of sexual coercion victimization. Finally, stronger endorsement of SDS norms was associated with lower odds of sexual coercion perpetration in girls, but with comparatively higher odds of sexual coercion perpetration in boys. Results indicate that consuming sexualized media and societal sexual double standards is associated with an increased risk of sexual coercion experiences in adolescence.
... Some content analysis studies show that mainstream pornography often portrays women in degrading and/or objectifying ways, with frequent themes of female submission, male domination, and exploitation [11,12]. When unequal power dynamics are depicted, women are typically shown as submissive partners, and the focus of pornography is often men's rather than women's pleasure. ...
... When unequal power dynamics are depicted, women are typically shown as submissive partners, and the focus of pornography is often men's rather than women's pleasure. Additionally, the inclusion of "degrading" sexual acts in mainstream pornography has been cited as evidence that much of it objectifies and debases women [12]. This emphasis could reinforce men's attitudes toward gender subtypes, the degrees to which men and women are often categorized and stereotyped [13], and sexist beliefs based on gender stereotypes (e.g., women are dependent on men) [14]. ...
Article
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The relationships among pornography use, sexist ideology and false or stereotypical ideas about rape are controversial. This study specifically examines the associations of problematic pornography use (PPU) with sexism and rape myth acceptance among both male and female participants within the Italian context utilizing a cross-sectional methodology. Based on data from 815 participants collected through an online questionnaire, the study identifies significant gender-based differences, with men typically exhibiting higher scores on sexism, rape myth acceptance, and token resistance beliefs. Correlation analysis revealed that in men, there was a positive relationship between pornography cravings and sexist beliefs but not between pornography cravings and minimizing rape or accusations of lying (rape myth). Women showed significant positive correlations across all problematic pornography use dimensions with sexist ideology, although the relationship with rape myth acceptance varied. These findings underscore the critical need for acknowledging these relationships to enhance strategies for preventing gender-based violence.
... There are concerns about the effects of depictions of aggressive sexual behavior and male sexual dominance over women (Ferguson & Hartley, 2022). Analyses of popular pornographic content have shed light on some of the issues that underlie the disquiet: they have shown that men are more often depicted as dominant and women as submissive, with women significantly more likely to be the recipients of any violence (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). One study revealed high levels of both physical aggression (88.2% of the scenes) and verbal aggression (48.7% of scenes) (only 10.2% of the scenes analyzed did not portray aggressive acts), with the perpetrators being typically male and the targets being typically female (Bridges et al., 2010). ...
... However, it should be noted that the high levels of physical aggression reported in the study by Bridges et al. (2010) were partly explained by the inclusion of gagging, spanking, and slapping as forms of aggression. In contrast, a study by Klaassen and Peter (2015) reported that when gagging and spanking were excluded as acts of violence in its analysis, other acts of violence were rare and severe acts of violence were extremely rare. Further, a study analyzing the content of a sample of videos uploaded to PornHub between 2008 and 2016 concluded that aggressive content did not appear to be on the rise and was less likely to be either viewed or considered favorably by users (Shor & Seida, 2019). ...
... Gorman et al. (2010) described that the content of 45 randomly selected online videos depicted a variety of themes (e.g., showed domination 33% of the time, exploitation 22%, reciprocity 20%, and autoeroticism 22%) and sexual behaviors (i.e., 90% involved genital stimulation, 79% fellatio, 68% vaginal penetration, 50% kissing, 38% female masturbation, 37% cunnilingus, 32% anal penetration, and 13% male masturbation). Other studies have highlighted different levels of violence (Shor & Seida, 2019), sexism (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), and racism (Shor & Golriz, 2019) depicted in pornographic videos. A large-scale study conducted among 2,337 frequent pornography users from Croatia who reported their arousal level toward 27 pornographic contents showed that heterosexual men and women were more aroused by "vanilla" sexual themes (e.g., oral sex, vaginal sex, and masturbation), group sex themes (e.g., threesomes, orgies, and gang bangs), and, for heterosexual men specifically, by female-specific sexual themes (e.g., big breasts, mature/'mother I would like to fuck' (MILF) women, Lolita/teen; Hald & Štulhofer, 2016aHald & Štulhofer, , 2016b. ...
... This variability in the content of pornography highlights the limitations of past studies focusing on the frequency of pornography use and not differentiating between types of content, which hinders the possibility to identify specific contents associated with more negative outcomes than others. Moreover, while these studies highlighted the variety of existing pornography contents (Gorman et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Shor & Golriz, 2019;Shor & Seida, 2019) or reported levels of arousal to different contents (Hald & Štulhofer, 2016a(Hald & Štulhofer, , 2016b, proportion of use were rarely reported, and potential gender differences in the frequency of use of these contents have not been examined thoroughly. ...
Article
Pornography offers a wide variety of sexual contents and has documented potential positive (e.g., higher sexual satisfaction) and negative associations (e.g., lower sexual function) with sexuality. The aims of this study were to describe the proportion of use of five different contents of pornography (i.e. group sex, passion and romance, gender-bending, taboo transgression and forbidden sex, power, control, and rough sex pornography), to examine gender-based differences in the frequency of use of these contents, and to examine the associations between the frequency of use of these contents and sexual satisfaction and function, considering potential differences among genders and individuals with and without a romantic or sexual partner, and controlling for frequency of masturbation. A sample of 827 young adults (503 women; Mage = 23.44) completed online self-report questionnaires. Results of path analysis indicated that, controlling for frequency of masturbation, the use of passion and romance pornography was associated with higher sexual satisfaction, whereas the use of power, control, and rough sex pornography was associated with lower sexual satisfaction. Cisgender men's use of power, control, and rough sex pornography was also associated with lower sexual function. These findings suggest different associations between pornography use and sexual satisfaction and function depending on the pornographic contents used.
... There are concerns about the effects of depictions of aggressive sexual behavior and male sexual dominance over women (Ferguson & Hartley, 2022). Analyses of popular pornographic content have shed light on some of the issues that underlie the disquiet: they have shown that men are more often depicted as dominant and women as submissive, with women significantly more likely to be the recipients of any violence (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). One study revealed high levels of both physical aggression (88.2% of the scenes) and verbal aggression (48.7% of scenes) (only 10.2% of the scenes analyzed did not portray aggressive acts), with the perpetrators being typically male and the targets being typically female (Bridges et al., 2010). ...
... However, it should be noted that the high levels of physical aggression reported in the study by Bridges et al. (2010) were partly explained by the inclusion of gagging, spanking, and slapping as forms of aggression. In contrast, a study by Klaassen and Peter (2015) reported that when gagging and spanking were excluded as acts of violence in its analysis, other acts of violence were rare and severe acts of violence were extremely rare. Further, a study analyzing the content of a sample of videos uploaded to PornHub between 2008 and 2016 concluded that aggressive content did not appear to be on the rise and was less likely to be either viewed or considered favorably by users (Shor & Seida, 2019). ...
Article
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Only a few national cohort studies on using online pornography and buying sex have been published. The overall aim of this study, which analyzed data from a representative Danish national survey, was to provide an overview of incidence and associated population characteristics. The key aims were: first, to analyze frequencies of using online pornography and buying sex stratified by gender and other background characteristics; and, second, to investigate if and how using online pornography and buying sex were associated with sexual satisfaction, sexual activity, and violence. The findings revealed that having ever paid for sex and higher use of pornography were each associated with being male, younger, and not being in a relationship. Further, among men, having ever paid for sex and higher use of pornography were associated with not being sexually satisfied and, in part of the analysis, having committed violence to another person in the last year; however, these particular relationships were not statistically significant in the appropriately controlled regression analysis. We discuss gender, age, sexual aggression, and sexual satisfaction as factors associated with higher pornography use and buying sex.
... Research on visual portrayals of orgasm in pornographic videos has shown that men are much more likely than women to be shown reaching an orgasm and visibly ejaculating [1][2][3]. This disparity reflects a real-life orgasm gap, as a large host of studies have reported that men are much more likely than women to experience an orgasm during sexual intercourse [4][5][6][7] and that both men and women care more about the male orgasm than about the female orgasm [8][9][10]. ...
... Content analyses of visual pornography consistently show that depictions of male orgasms and ejaculations are much more prevalent than those of female orgasms [1][2][3]22,24,33,34]. This gap in pornographic representations reflects a real-life orgasm gap. ...
Article
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Feminist scholars have suggested that male ejaculations in pornographic videos, particularly ejaculations on a sexual partner’s face or in their mouth, are often used to symbolically debase and humiliate women. However, no previous study has asked pornography viewers about their perceptions and preferences regarding male ejaculation. In this article, I investigate these perceptions and preferences using a large sample of more than 300 pornography viewers representing diverse demographics and cultural backgrounds. I find that most viewers either did not care about the male ejaculation or its placement or preferred for it to be in the female partner’s vagina. In contrast to common assumptions found in the literature, very few viewers expressed a preference for ejaculation on a woman’s face or in her mouth and many of them found such practices disturbing.
... Content analysis finds that verbal and mild forms of physical aggression are common in popular pornographic films; these acts are most often perpetrated by men and directed at women (Bridges et al., 2010). One study of internet pornographic videos found sexual objectification of actors was common, although the specific form of objectification differed by gender (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). For instance, over half of the analyzed videos showed close-ups of women's body parts while less than one-fifth showed close-ups of men's body parts. ...
... But women are sexual agents. And, although there exists an imbalance in the objectification of women (by men) and the objectification of men (by women) across mainstream pornography content (Bridges et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015), the reduction of another human being to a body/thing to be used can be understood as harmful (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997;Haslanger, 2012;MacKinnon, 1989;Stock, 2015) and is worthy of analysis. ...
Article
Researchers have demonstrated associations between use of pornography and sexual objectification of women. We examine whether self-reported preference for degrading pornography moderated the relation between use frequency and sexual objectification of others. Participants were 1,342 heterosexual women and men residing in the United States. In women and men, pornography use frequency was associated with the sexual objectification of others, even after controlling for interest in generally explicit content. In men, interest in degrading pornography content significantly predicted sexual objectification of women. Our results suggest greater pornography use is associated with greater sexual objectification of others, across a variety of content categories.
... Pornography also often presents representations of harmful traditional gender norms. Men are often depicted in more dominant, and sometimes aggressive, roles and women are depicted as more submissive, and sometimes the target of aggression (Klaassen and Peter 2015;Fritz et al. 2020). Women are also more likely than men to be sexually objectified and degraded in pornography (Vangeel, Eggermont, and Vandenbosch 2020;Klaassen and Peter 2015;Wright 2014). ...
... Men are often depicted in more dominant, and sometimes aggressive, roles and women are depicted as more submissive, and sometimes the target of aggression (Klaassen and Peter 2015;Fritz et al. 2020). Women are also more likely than men to be sexually objectified and degraded in pornography (Vangeel, Eggermont, and Vandenbosch 2020;Klaassen and Peter 2015;Wright 2014). ...
... Other content analyses of popular pornographic videos on Internet websites find rates of verbal aggression ranging from 5% to nearly 50% and physical aggression rates ranging from <5% to >50%. Across these content analyses, the perpetrators of aggression are mostly men and the targets of aggression are nearly always women (Bridges et al., 2010;Fritz et al., 2020;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Consent in pornography is largely gendered, implicit, and nonverbal. ...
... Social learning theory emphasized how people can learn from behavioral modeling, including watching others' behaviors (in person or in media), and not just from direct experience. According to social learning theory, sexually explicit media that objectifies women and shows sexual domination of women (as popular pornography often does; Bridges et al., 2010;Fritz et al., 2020;Klaassen & Peter, 2015) can influence how society views women vis-à-vis men. Even outside of modeling aggression toward women, pornography tends to show women as insatiable and indiscriminate, sexually willing partners (Mundorf et al., 2007), which feeds into cognitive schemas of women as "nymphomaniacs" (p. ...
... ex., statut inégal entre l'homme et la femme, insultes et dénigrements, coups, cheveux tirés, étranglement). Ces études ont aussi démontré que les personnes plus vulnérables ou marginalisées, comme les femmes (Carrotte et al., 2020;Klaassen et Peter, 2015) et les personnes racisées (p. ex., personnes noires, hispaniques;Cowan et Campbell, 1994;Monk-Turner et Purcell, 1999) sont plus souvent victimes de violence dans les scènes pornographiques analysées, peu importe la façon dont la violence est définie. ...
... ex., personnes noires, hispaniques;Cowan et Campbell, 1994;Monk-Turner et Purcell, 1999) sont plus souvent victimes de violence dans les scènes pornographiques analysées, peu importe la façon dont la violence est définie. À titre d'exemple, une étude réalisée par Klaassen et Peter (2015) a analysé les 400 vidéos pornographiques les plus populaires sur certains sites Internet. Il et elle ont démontré, entre autres, que les femmes étaient significativement plus susceptibles d'être victimes de violence et d'être instrumentalisées que les hommes (p. ...
Article
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Cet examen de la portée visait à synthétiser les connaissances sur le profil sociodémographique et psychosexuel des acteur.trices dans les films pornographiques. L’étude a été effectuée selon les lignes directrices PRISMA adaptées pour la rédaction d’un examen de la portée (scoping review). Une recherche de la littérature a été effectuée dans cinq bases de données électroniques et des recherches manuelles ont été effectuées. Les critères étaient les suivants : (1) les données doivent provenir de sources primaires; (2) les participant.es doivent avoir été payé.es pour travailler en tant qu’acteur.trices dans un film pornographique et avoir participé à une activité sexuelle dans ce film; (3) les données doivent inclure des informations sur le profil de ces participant.es. Les études anecdotiques ont été exclues. Au total, 18 études ont rencontré ces critères. Les résultats montrent que la majorité des acteur.trices étaient caucasien.nes et hétérosexuel.les. La majorité avait au moins un diplôme d’études secondaires et un salaire annuel de 25 000 $. Les résultats montrent que ces acteur.trices vivent des difficultés et ont des besoins dans plusieurs sphères de leur vie personnelle et professionnelle (p. ex., antécédents de traumas, risque élevé de contracter des ITSS, problèmes de consommation et de santé mentale), mais qu’ils et elles démontrent certaines forces (p. ex., bonne estime de soi, bonne qualité de vie perçue). L’argent est leur principale motivation à jouer dans des films pornographiques. Ces résultats montrent l’importance de développer des programmes de prévention et d’intervention adaptés à leur réalité et qui répondent à leurs besoins.
... The internet has become the primary way people access pornography due to its convenience and the anonymity it offers (D'Orlando, 2009;Fisher & Barak, 2001;Price et al., 2015;Cooper et al., 2000;Hearn, 2008). The sexual drives and desires of individuals can exhibit substantial variations, which are deemed normal as long as such behaviors do not result in harm or functional issues for the individuals involved (Lykke & Cohen, 2015;Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Gorman et al., 2010;Stark et al., 2018). Adult pornography itself isn't inherently harmful; concerns arise when it portrays unrealistic sexual interactions that degrade women (Lykke & Cohen, 2015;DeKeseredy, 2015;Wright & Donnerstein, 2014;Hare et al., 2014;Walker et al., 2015;Shaw, 1999). ...
Article
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The study of online pornography use and its correlation with sexist attitudes has long intrigued the global scientific community. Despite diverse perspectives, opinions regarding the impact of pornography on an individual’s psychology and sexuality vary. In Greece, there is also a lack of research exploring the possible relationship between these two phenomena. This study aims to investigate the relationship between problematic internet pornography use, sexism, and other related factors like viewing frequency, preferred type of pornographic material, and sexist attitudes. An online, synchronous study was conducted with a sample of 535 adult individuals (350 males, 178 females, 7 identified as “other”) with an average age of 38.9 years (SD = ± 13.5) from the general population on the most popular social media platforms. The Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS) and Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) measured problematic pornography use and sexism. In comparison to women and individuals of “other” genders, men exhibited significantly higher levels of both hostile sexism (p < 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively) and benevolent sexism (p < 0.007 and p = 0.002, respectively). Age and rural residence correlated with higher sexism levels (p < 0.001 and p = 0.018, respectively). Higher levels of education were associated with lower levels of benevolent sexism, emphasizing education’s positive impact (p < 0.001). Problematic internet pornography use was significantly correlated with higher levels of sexism (p < 0.001). The Greek scientific community should focus on monitoring and investigating problematic internet pornography use to better understand its potential associations and implications.
... Pornography has a privileged place in the learning of sexuality, and the networks are its main support. Anyone can create, upload and share pornographic content (Klaassen and Peter 2015). ...
Article
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Adolescence is a time of elation and sublime emotions which are also reflected in partner relationships, within a context characterised by materialism and social structures in which gender relations are affected by the domination/subordination model. This paper analyses the affective-sexual relationships of adolescents as a place of violence, power relations, domination and submission. It also studies the importance of social networks in their way of interacting and learning. The methodology used was, on the one hand, the review of bibliographic material regarding romance, partner relationships, gender violence and using of networks, and, on the other hand, the analysis of the results obtained from two studies carried out by the University of Granada, with quantitative and qualitative information on adolescents in Andalusia. The results of this research indicate that relationships are permeated by the idealisation of romantic love and by stereotypes leading to practices of control and possession.
... While objectified individuals in pornography are not limited to women but also include men (Bridges et al., 2024) and people beyond the gender binary (Pavanello, 2023), we expand the research on objectification of women for several reasons grounded in the current literature. Research has consistently shown that pornography typically emphasises male pleasure, with a typical script focusing on male orgasms and close-ups of female bodies (Klaassen & Peter, 2015), which further reinforces the objectification of women. ...
Preprint
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Excessive online video pornography consumption is associated with sexual objectification, particularly in male consumers. However, previous studies have not considered that there is a subgroup of internet users whose consumption may become excessive due to their internet sex addiction. Such users may, in response to internet sex addiction symptoms such as craving, have increased levels of sexual objectification. In a sample of 1,272 male consumers of online video pornography (Mage = 32.93, SDage = 9.44), we examined whether internet sex addiction is linked to sexual objectification. We fitted a series of structural equation models and found that men who scored higher on internet sex addiction were more likely to objectify women. More importantly, this link did not cease when controlling for the frequency of online video pornography consumption. Our findings suggest that there are other mechanisms related to addictive symptomatology, than just the link through online video pornography consumption, that may contribute to sexual objectification. Addiction-related factors may have a unique role in fostering sexual objectification. Isolating internet sex addiction as a potential driver highlights the need to address objectifying behaviors in individuals struggling with this addiction.
... For instance, these studies indicate that 45% of scenes on one of the most visited pages involve at least one act of physical aggression (spanking, slapping, choking, or hair-pulling) towards women, carried out by men in 76% of cases (Fritz and Paul, 2017). In a study by Klaassen and Peter (2014), it is highlighted that men tend to be more dominant, while women adopt submissive roles. In addition to this, Alario (2021) has conceptualized a series of messages conveyed by pornography, including the eroticization of women's lack of desire and their physical pain. ...
Article
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In recent years, there has been an increase in the consumption of pornography, particularly among young people and adolescents, with implications that are beginning to be more thoroughly examined in Spain. Therefore, the objective of this research is to understand the relationship between the consumption of pornography in Spanish adolescents and young men and women and its repercussions on their sexual behaviors. The sample was drawn from the study published in 2020 by the Youth Institute of the Spanish Government, comprising a total of 4,562 individuals aged between 15 and 29. The results indicate that, in most cases, when they started having sex, men had already consumed pornography several times a week, while women did not or had done so only once in their lifetime. Both women and men who had done things they did not want to do in their sexual relationships consumed more pornography than those who had not done things they did not want to do. Men and women who consume more pornography tend to refrain from using condoms because they feel the sexual encounter more, although the trend is not very clear. The study concludes on the significance of pornography as a socializing and educational element among young men and women.
... Third, by depicting sexual mechanics, pornography satisfies the need to understand the "how to" of sex (Peter & Valkenburg, 2006). Close-ups of sexual body parts are commonplace, but more often occurring in scenes with female characters (61%) than scenes with male characters (19%; Klaassen & Peter, 2015). On average, scenes from mainstream pornographic videos contained 2.15 indicators of sexual objectification (e.g., extended focus on genitals, stripping for the camera; Fritz & Paul, 2017). ...
Article
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Based on social cognitive processes (Bandura, 2009), sexualizing media likely provide adolescents with credible role models for their own sexualized self-presentation in other mediated contexts, such as sexting. A survey of 6,093 US adolescents was conducted (Mage = 15.27 years, SD = 1.37; 69.1% cisgender girls; 26.8% cisgender boys, 4.2% gender-minority participants) to examine relations between three types of sexualizing media exposure (reality television, music videos, pornography) and active sexting behaviors (i.e., requesting and sending). Among cisgender boys, exposure to sexually oriented reality television was positively related to active sexting behaviors, but this link was not found for cisgender girls or gender-minority participants. Music video exposure was related to active sexting behaviors only among cisgender boys and pornography consumption was positively related to active sexting behaviors among all gender groups. A positive outcome expectancy (i.e., sexting is fun) consistently mediated these relations. A negative outcome expectancy (i.e., sexting is risky) only mediated the relations between pornography consumption and active sexting behaviors among cisgender girls. Results are discussed in light of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2009) and the 3AM Model (Wright, 2011).
... The potential for porn consumption to shape individuals' attitudes and beliefs about sex and relationships have been studied worldwide. Some research suggests that pornography consumption may be related to the development of misconceptions about sex and relationships, which may 23 include inaccurate and stereotyped beliefs about women , unrealistic expectations about sexual performance and body 24 image , and exaggerated beliefs about the importance of 25 certain sexual activities, such as oral and anal sex . ...
Article
Background: India now has easier access to sexually explicit media (SEM) on more platforms given the technological revolution. Less research has been done on how viewing it affects youth regarding their sex related concepts. To comprehend the connection between its exposure and sexual misconceptions,empirical analysis is necessary.Aim:We aimed to investigate the extent of exposure to SEM including various modality of exposure like images, audio, video or their combination; sex related misconceptions held by study population and a possible correlation of exposure of SEM and the number of misconceptions held. Materials and Methodology: Through the use of an online survey,data from 504 participants were gathered, and regression and factor analysis were used to examine the results. Results: The results showed a statistically significant positive link between the two variables, which supported the hypothesis that SEM exposure and sexual misconceptions are related.Plus, compared to frequency of viewing,the length of time spent watching SEM had a bigger influence on the development of misconceptions. Additionally, the study found that there were three major categories of misconceptions,indicating that the formation of misconceptions is not a uniform process and may vary widely among individuals. Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study are consistent with the premise that SEM exposure influences college students' development of sexual misconceptions.To completely comprehend the connection between SEM exposure and the development of sexual misconceptions, additional research is required. However,the study also raises the possibility that there may be other factors at work.
... Victim and perpetrator blame have been popular subconstructs within this framework for investigating experimental effects of exposure to sexually objectifying material (Beck & Rose, 2021;Bernard et al., 2015Bernard et al., , 2018Loughnan et al., 2013;Noël et al., 2021). In correlational research, the most thoroughly investigated sexually objectifying material has been pornography, arguably the epitome of sexually objectifying visual media (Fritz & Paul, 2017;Hedrick, 2021;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Selfreported rape myth acceptance attitudes have been heavily utilized when attempting to quantify the socio-cultural effects of pornography. ...
Article
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Deliberate and effortful attempts to gaze at the bodies of women is emerging as a valuable marker of sexual objectification in men. Some preliminary evidence suggests that pervasive body gaze behavior may also accompany insidious attitudes which can facilitate sexual assault. The present study aimed to further explore this potential by examining pervasive body gaze associations with explicit, implicit, and physiological sexual assault propensity measures. We presented 110 heterosexual male participants with images of fully and partially dressed women with and without injuries while measuring their skin conductance responses. We also captured implicit and explicit sexual assault measures in addition to self-reported pervasive body gaze behavior. Pervasive body gaze behavior was significantly correlated with rape myth acceptance attitudes, prior perpetration of sexual assault, a stronger implicit association between erotica and aggression, and lower physiological reactivity during exposure to partially dressed injured women. These findings suggest that body gaze towards women could be a behavioral marker for inclinations to victim blame, preferences for rough sexual conduct, and a physiological desensitization towards female victims. This study further validates a five item self-reported body gaze measure as a valuable tool for detecting deviant sexual objectification attitudes and affective states. As such, measurement and observation of body gaze behavior could be useful for developing risk assessments, estimating intervention efficacy, and enhancing public awareness.
... The portrayal of same-sex male sexual encounters in mainstream media and porn has historically been constrained and continues to be limited within mainstream media (Seif 2017). However, the internet and social media have facilitated the creation and dissemination of gay porn over the past three decades, catering specifically to the sexual interests and desires of sexual minority men and increasingly also catering to the diverse sexual interests and fetishes present within these communities (Grov et al. 2014;Klaassen and Peter 2015). This increased availability of gay porn has provided sexual minority men with a readily available platform to explore their sexual identities, desires, and preferences in an easily accessible and largely anonymous environment (Grov et al. 2014;Binnie and Reavey 2020). ...
Article
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The digital age has amplified exposure to pornography, particularly among gay and bisexual men, intensifying the ongoing research debate surrounding its impact on well-being. We recruited 632 Australian gay and bisexual men to participate in an online survey to examine the relationship between porn use and their psychosocial/psychosexual well-being. Data on demographics, psychosocial well-being, understandings of sexuality, sexual self-esteem, connectedness to the LGBT community, and porn use, including porn use statements developed for this study, were collected. Most participants reported viewing porn a few times per week or once a day. Associations were identified between frequency, length of porn use, and other concepts. Older participants used porn less frequently, while those with higher psychological distress tended to be at opposite ends/poles of porn use frequency. Higher connectedness to the LGBT community was associated with less frequent porn use. Certain beliefs about porn were correlated with the frequency and length of porn use; for example, participants engaging with 'kinkier' porn and considering themselves 'kinkier' had longer viewing sessions. The findings offer insights into the interplay between individual characteristics, well-being, and patterns of porn usage in this population, contributing to a deeper understanding of the relationships between these concepts. ARTICLE HISTORY
... An extensive body of research has been conducted on the manner in which women are portrayed in advertising (e.g., Stankiewicz & Rosselli, 2008), print publications (e.g., Matthews, 2007), social media (e.g., Sever et al., 2021), pornographic content (e.g., Klaassen & Peter, 2015), and as fictional characters across entertainment media such as films (e.g., Bleakley et al., 2012;Flicker, 2003), television (e.g., Lotz, 2001), and video games (e.g., Gestos et al., 2018). Problematic trends emerge across nearly all media formats, such that women are often under-represented overall, are shown less often as lead characters, and are more frequently sexualized through their appearance and behavior than their male counterparts, to name just a few of the many problematic trends that have long been noted by feminist media scholars (e.g., Sarkar, 2014;Thornham, 2007;Tuchman, 1979;van Zoonen, 1994). ...
... It is imperative to control the Internet usage of the respondents as the advent of the Internet has made millions of pornographic websites available to young individuals in the privacy of their homes, 24/7, at low or zero cost (Cooper, 1998). 16 It is also possible for anyone to create, upload, and share pornographic content (Klaassen & Peter, 2015). ...
Article
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Are youths who consume pornography more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors? Using longitudinal data from the National Study of Youth and Religion and an individual fixed effects strategy, this paper investigates the relationship between pornography use among 13‐ to 23‐year‐olds and a range of subsequent risky sexual behaviors. It also estimates a lagged dependent variable model where risky sexual behavior of the previous wave is included as a control. The findings suggest that moderate and frequent pornography use increases the likelihood of engaging in acts such as unprotected sex and having multiple sexual partners. Finally, a heterogeneity analysis by gender reveals that males and females behave differently in response to exposure to pornography, but that is true for only a few indicators of risky sex. The paper's findings provide critical information on determinants of risky sexual behavior and meaningful evidence for the policy debate on government censoring and monitoring online behavior.
... Rights reserved. different hierarchical positions (e.g., doctor and patient), indicating an impersonal relationship (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Vannier et al., 2014). ...
Article
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Media effects theories suggest that attitudes and behaviors are affected by long-term habits of media use. However, the nature of effects of such long-term media use trajectories has remained mostly unexplored. In the current four-wave panel study (N = 400), a latent growth model for sexually explicit internet material (SEIM) use frequency over a period of six years was estimated and its growth factors were used to predict impersonal sex. Supporting the long-term media effects assumption, a trajectory that reflects higher levels of SEIM use throughout adolescence predicted more impersonal sexual attitudes among male emerging adults. In turn, more positive attitudes toward impersonal sex predicted a higher likelihood of having engaged in a one-night-stand by emerging adulthood.
... For example, in the majority of porn clips, women are shown to be easily orgasmic (Salmon & Diamond, 2012), orgasm primarily from penis-vagina intercourse, and the depicted sex ends with the male orgasm (Séguin et al., 2018). The women received less oral stimulation (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;A. W. Smith, 2015;Vannier et al., 2014), fewer orgasms (Séguin et al., 2018), and showed less agency (Fritz & Paul, 2017) than the men. ...
Article
Watching mainstream porn today is a main source for men and women to learn how to behave sexually, including how to erotically stimulate one another. To date, research into the content analysis of pornography has been limited to the measurement of the frequency or prevalence of sexual behaviours or themes. In contrast, little is known regarding porn presentation of the specific location and duration of touch, vital for orgasm, pleasure, and sexual satisfaction for both women and men. Eighty “most-viewed” video clips were selected from two popular porn sites and coded for the gender of toucher/receiver, location, and duration in seconds of erotic touch. Results showed that women received significantly less genital stimulation than men overall, with this difference drastically increasing with non-penetrative erotic touch. The men in these videos received stimulation to their main sexual organ (penis) 10 times more than women received on their most sensitive sexual organ (clitoris), and the women were found to do the majority of non-reciprocal genital touch. While accurate information is widely available regarding competent erotic touch necessary for pleasure and orgasm, unbalanced and inadequate touching is still strongly represented in popular heterosexual pornography. This study elucidates how popular, freely accessible pornography is normalizing beliefs that men’s sexual touch and pleasure are primary and that clitoral stimulation is not a priority for women’s pleasure. Implications for how these normative aspects of sexual stimulation that may be leading to difficulties in sexual pleasure, orgasm, and satisfaction are discussed.
... Other content analyses of pornography (Jozkowski et al., 2019;Klaassen & Peter, 2015) showed that 6-7.4% of women are portrayed as non-consenting to the sexual act, communicating a message of women accepting verbal and physical abuse as well as degrading acts (Harsey, 2021). Hanson (2022) findings suggest that doll owners do not conform to certain social norms, including the expectation that individuals seek romantic partners or that heterosexual men desire regular sexual encounters with women. ...
Article
It is a growing concern that the use of sex dolls and robots could affect human sexuality. This concern has led to a ban of childlike sex dolls in several countries and a call to ban adult-like sex dolls and robots by some scholars. However, empirical data is largely missing supporting this claim. Here, we present retrospective self-reported quantitative and qualitative data of a large sample (N = 224, 90.5% men, Mean age = 31 years, SD = 14.2) of teleiophilic (i.e., sexual orientation toward adults) and pedo-hebephilic participants. Using an online survey, we found that users reported an overall reduction in sexuality-related behaviors (e.g., porn consumption or visiting of sex workers) in response to doll ownership. Users in a relationship with a human were less affected by doll use, while those in a relationship with a doll reported greater effects. Interestingly, pedo-hebephilic users reported a greater reduction of sexual compulsivity compared to teleiophilic participants following doll use. Additionally, pedo-hebephilic participants more often reported acting out of illegal sexual fantasies with their dolls and a loss of interest in (sexual) intimacy with real children through doll use in the qualitative data. These self-reported data challenge the view that doll use is dangerously affecting human sexuality and instead suggest that dolls may be used as a sexual outlet for potentially dangerous and illegal (sexual) fantasies.
... However, research shows that much of pornography centers on violence and aggression towards women, and is targeted towards a (presumed) male audience (Carrotte et al., 2020;Bridges et al., 2010;Klaassen & Peter, 2015). Studies have also found that there is an entire genre of "lesbian porn" that is created and consumed by heterosexual men at the expense of queer women; this particular "lesbian porn" perpetuates stereotypes surrounding queer women, and leads to the sexualization and violence against queer women by cishet (cisgender and heterosexual) men (DeGenevieve, 2007;Russo, 2007). ...
Conference Paper
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Queer pornography encompasses varying gender identities and sexual orientations exploring sexual pleasures and desire in multiple ways. Much of queer porn creates a "democratization of desire" where feminist, queer, LGBTQIA+ visibility contributes to a shift in the boundaries surrounding and regulating sexuality (McNair, 2002). Utilizing a queer feminist perspective, the present study examines how women and AFAB (Assigned-Female-At-Birth) individuals who have had queer sexual experiences may navigate their experiences of porn and their own sexual pleasures. The present study drew from qualitative life story data collected in 2019-2020 from 30 women and AFAB individuals (mean age= 30.8, SD= 6.63). 26 out of 30 participants (87%) identified within the LGBTQIA+ community. In this study, porn is an important part of many women and AFAB folk's sexual lives, as 29 out of 30 participants in the study remarked using it. Findings suggest that the representation of self in porn is a form of sexual liberation for many participants. That is, that queer porn in particular, encourages participants to deconstruct traditional sexual scripts and gendered norms around what "typical" or "appropriate" sex may look like, and in fact encourages 1) sexual discovery and education, 2) communication with sexual partners, and 3) sexual fantasy. Therefore, participants utilize queer porn as a tool to create their own form of sexual liberation and active resistance to heteronormativity. However, this data also stresses the importance of creating accessible, queer inclusive sex education resources, as many participants found themselves relying on porn sites to learn about their bodies and sexual behavior. Furthermore, participants problematize the larger porn landscape, which perpetuates particular standards of beauty and attraction (e.g. white, cisgender, straight, thin). Consequently, these narratives point to the importance of finding porn that is representative of queer identified women and AFAB individual's interests and sexual desires.
... A few studies have found that male and female characters are equally likely to initiate sex in pornography, 18,19 equally likely to be of a higher social status, 20 and typically share control of the direction of the sexual encounter. 21 When power is not shared equally, men are more likely to be depicted as the dominant partner, and women are more likely to be depicted as submissive. ...
Chapter
This chapter reviews research into the contents and consumption of pornography to provide sex educators with a picture of the average porn consumer and the messages they would receive through their consumption. Such information has the potential to inform both programs designed to bolster porn literacy and the use of pornography to promote sexual learning. Research into the contents of pornography is varied and, at times, complicated to parse. For example, answering the question of whether pornography is degrading requires a nuanced consideration of ways in which agency and objectification may be expressed. Some aspects of pornography are more plainly problematic from a sexual education perspective (e.g., infrequent depictions of condom use, minimal overt discussion of consent). Pornography use is close to ubiquitous, especially among younger men. Around half of younger men are frequent porn users. Pornography is most frequently used for solitary masturbation, although use with a sexual partner is not uncommon (especially among female porn users).
... In the current perspective, we explore the role of heightened sexual arousal and intrasexual differences in the mating motivation of men. In view of gender-specific responses to sexually arousing stimuli (Klaassen & Peter, 2015;Paul & Shim, 2008), the influence of ovulation on women's mate preferences (Durante et al., 2012;Provost et al., 2008;Gangestad et al., 2004), and gender-divergent sexual mating strategies (Baumeister, 2000;Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Gangestad & Simpson, 2000), we will focus on the role of heightened sexual arousal in mating motivation of women in a separate paper. ...
Article
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Individual differences in men’s short-term mating interest are well studied, both at state and trait levels. Yet, the role of sexual arousal as a source of intra-individual variation has been neglected. This research represents the first attempt to integrate sexual arousal into the human mate plasticity literature. We argue that sexual arousal directly impacts the short-term mating motivation among men regardless of their personality, relationship status, and sociosexuality. Across four experiments, we found that heightened sexual arousal consistently increased men’s short-term mating motivation relative to participants in neutral and arousing control groups. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that sexual arousal increased participants’ general short-term mating motivation and their preference for a short-term relationship over a long-term one. Experiment 3 replicated the findings of the first two experiments whilst also demonstrating that this effect was not moderated by personality (i.e., Dark Triad, Big Five) or relationship status. Heightened sexual arousal also led to decreased “state” long-term mating motivation. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that sexual arousal increased the participants’ preference for a short-term relationship over a long-term one, an effect that was not moderated by sociosexuality. Together, the results suggest that sexual arousal has a powerful effect on men’s short-term mating motivation, and that this effect is independent of intrasexual differences in personality, relationship status, and sociosexuality.
Article
While public and academic discussions on pornography’s effects are often plagued by moralistic claims, research on the self-perceived preferences and effects of pornography has been growing in recent years. Yet, we still do not know enough about the role pornography plays in the lives of regular viewers, particularly LGBTQ+ individuals. In this study, we examine the perceptions and views of 87 regular pornography viewers who identified as non-heterosexual, non-cis-gendered, or both (these 87 were part of a larger sample of 302 regular pornography viewers). Our study joins a growing body of work that explores the views, experiences, and preferences of individuals who consume pornography. We found that pornography played a crucial role for LGBTQ+ individuals, helping them to form their gender and sexual identities, serving as a practical guide for the technical aspects of engaging in non-heterosexual sex, and normalizing non-heterosexual orientations, acts, and identities.
Article
A pesar de que tradicionalmente se le ha denominado «cine para adultos», lo cierto es que la pornografía no tiene ya exclusivamente un público mayor de dieciocho años. Hoy en día, los menores también visualizan en la red estos contenidos, muchos de cuales son ofrecidos de manera gratuita. La presente contribución pretende explorar las principales consecuencias lesivas que se han asociado al consumo de pornografía por menores. Concretamente, serán consideradas las siguientes: la realización por los menores de prácticas de riesgo offline (sexo sin preservativo) y online (sexting), la insatisfacción corporal y/o sexual y, muy en especial, el desarrollo de actitudes favorables hacia la violencia sexual contra las mujeres.
Research
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Drawing on a diversity of research literatures, Pornography and Human Futures, the first issue of Fully Human (https//:fullyhuman.org.uk) explores the nature of free online porn and what this means for core parts of what it means to be human: our relationships, our values, our self-acceptance, and our autonomy. It has a particular focus on what this all means for children and young people.
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Desde hace algunos años, la nueva pornografía se ha convertido en uno de los temas centrales del debate sobre la socialización de los adolescentes y jóvenes, al menos en lo que se refiere a las relaciones interpersonales. Se sabe que el nivel de consumo no ha dejado de crecer, desde la generalización de las tecnologías 4G, en 2008; también se conocen buena parte de las consecuencias de dicho consumo, en especial cuando supera determinados límites. Finalmente, cada vez se conoce mejor el negocio capitalista que promueve la pornografía, en conexión con el sistema prostitucional. Lo que se conoce menos son los mecanismos que explican los altos niveles de consumo, la aceptación de prácticas claramente no normativas y las consecuencias para las relaciones interpersonales y sociales (violencia contra las mujeres, invitación al incesto, cosificación de las mujeres, etc.). En el capítulo se revisan las investigaciones más recientes sobre los impactos de la pornografía distribuida en internet, tanto en las relaciones interpersonales como sociales, centrando la revisión en la violencia sexual. Además, se introduce no solo la influencia de la pornografía sobre las percepciones, actitudes y conductas, sino también el uso del porno como arma de ataque contra las mujeres en el porno de venganza, ataque y acoso.
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Research on pornography use and sexual coercion has provided inconsistent results. One explanation for this is the lack of a valid, reliable, and comprehensive measure of pornography use. This study seeks to address this need by developing a comprehensive pornography use instrument consisting of four domains identified in research: type of pornography used, sexual scripts, habits, and compulsivity. A sample of 324 college men was used. Results of the study yielded factor structures for these domains and evidence of reliability and validity. Findings present the initial development of a pornography use instrument that could improve research in this area and aid practitioners in treatment and supervision decisions.
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Abstrac: This article is to find out in the study of Islamic normativism about pornography as a social phenomenon caused by technological advances and the development of social media in people's lives. In the Islamic view, pornography is certainly strictly prohibited because it has an impact on moral decadence for the perpetrator. In Islamic studies, there is no clear mention of pornography because what is explained is only the issue of aurat and the consequences of adultery behavior that can damage the cultivation of life if not anticipated. Analysis of pornography in the current context must get answers from religious teachings so that the problems faced can be solved humanely so that the interpretation developed is not based on assumptions but through Islamic normative studies. Keywords: Reinterpretation, Islamic, Pornography, Social Media, TechnologicalAbstrak: Artikel ini untuk mengetahui dalam kajian normativisme Islam soal pornografi sebagai sebuah fenomena sosial yang diakibatkan salah satunya karena kemajuan teknologi dan perkembangan media sosial dalam kehidupan masyarakat. Dalam pandangan Islam, pornografi tentu sangat dilarang karena berdampak pada dekadensi moral bagi pelakunya. Dalam kajian keislaman tidak disebutkan secara jelas tentang pornografi karena yang dijelaskan hanya persoalan aurat dan akibat yang ditimbulkan dari perilaku perzinahan yang dapat merusak tatanam kehidupan apabila tidak diantisipasi. Analisis tentang pornografi dalam konteks kekinian harus mendapat jawaban dari ajaran keagamaan agar persoalan yang dihadapi dapat diselesaikan secara manusiawi sehingga interpretasi yang dikembangkan bukan atas dasar asumsi akan tetapi melalui kajian normatif keislaman. Kata Kunci: Reinterpretasi, Islam, Pornografi, Media Sosial, Tekhnologi
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Adolescents/Teenagers are exposed to pornography due to a variety of factors and it is accepted as a process of sexual exploration/normal development of sexuality. However, early exposure to pornography and unregulated/excess exposure to pornography during the formative years of adolescence has been seen to have various long-term deleterious effects on sexual maturation, sexual behavior, Internet addiction, and overall personality development. To safeguard the growing minds of the teens from the harmful effects of pornography, few rules/regulations have been passed in India as well as banning of porn sites. However, there are very limited research on the impact of pornography on various aspects of adolescents’ growth and development. This mini-review covers the issues pertinent to the effect of pornography with regard to adolescent sexuality.
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Recent reviews of the pornography literature have called for the development of valid and reliable measures that assess multiple facets of pornography use. Moreover, despite pornography use having important implications for romantic relationships, there are currently no self-report assessments of pornography use specifically within the context of romantic relationships. To address these limitations, the current paper reports on two studies regarding the development and psychometric evaluation of a 38-item multidimensional measure of pornography use within the context of romantic relationships: the Pornography Use in Romantic Relationships Scale (PURRS). Study 1 (n = 739) reports on an Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analytic approach to determine the factor structure of the PURRS. Study 2 (n = 765) reports on the cross-validation of the factor structure of the PURRS, before assessing the criterion validity of the measure. The PURRS exhibited good internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion validity. The findings suggest that the PURRS is best modeled by 13 first-order factors, though a higher-order factor structure comprising four broad factors may also be used. The PURRS significantly extends on past assessments of pornography use, and in particular, advances the assessment and study of pornography use within the context of romantic relationships.
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Pornography use is multidimensional, yet most studies of the topic use variable-oriented methods (e.g., frequency of use) that reduce the experience to a single dimension. In this study, we sought to identify different multidimensional patterns of pornography genre preferences among a sample of women (n = 206) and examine how those patterns are differentially associated with sexual experiences and beliefs examined in previous literature. Latent Class Analysis uncovered four patterns (or classes): Heterogeneous (39%), Traditionally Feminine (27%), Female Pleasure (23%) and Rough/violent (11%). Class membership was differentially predicted by prior sexual victimization, sexual esteem, and diverse sexual experiences while controlling for frequency of use. These findings suggest that genre preference could account for much of the mixed findings of prior work that measured pornography use with unidimensional approaches.
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Studies have found that pornography consumption is associated with a higher likelihood of having condomless sex. Past research was primarily conducted with Western populations from developed countries. Consequently, less is known about sexual and reproductive health in developing countries and regions. A national sample of 11,957 university-level students was used to investigate the association between pornography consumption, sexual attitudes, and condomless sex. Our findings suggest that a higher frequency of pornography consumption is associated with an increased likelihood of having condomless sex and more positive attitudes toward premarital sex and one-night stand.
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Decades of research and theoretical development has suggested that the media can exert a significant influence on children and adolescents’ gender identities and beliefs. Such effects may be problematic given the stereotypical nature of media content. This chapter focuses on the gender related content of different types of media that are frequently used by children and adolescents (i.e., television and movies, social and online media, videogames), and reports findings from research on how such content can affect the development of gender beliefs, directly as well as in interaction with other biopsychosocial factors.
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Viewing free online pornographic videos has increasingly become a common behavior among young people, although little is known about the content of these videos. The current study analyzed the content of two popular female-age-based types of free, online pornography (teen and MILF) and examined nuances in the portrayal of gender and access to power in relation to the age of the female actor. A total of 100 videos were selected from 10 popular Web sites, and their content was coded using independent raters. Vaginal intercourse and fellatio were the most frequently depicted sexual acts. The use of sex toys, paraphilias, cuddling, and condom use were rare, as were depictions of coercion. Control of the pace and direction of sexual activity was typically shared by the male and female actors. Moreover, there were no gender differences in initiation of sexual activity, use of persuasion, portrayals of sexual experience, or in professional status. However, female actors in MILF videos were portrayed as more agentic and were more likely to initiate sexual activity, control the pace of sexual activity, and have a higher professional status. Implications regarding the role of pornography in generating or reinforcing sexual norms or scripts are discussed.
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This investigation uses dyadic power theory (Dunbar, 2000, 2004; Rollins & Bahr, 1976) to examine the relationship between dominance and power and the behavioral manifestations of power in close relationships. Ninety-seven couples (58 married, 39 cohabiting) completed a problem-solving task together while being videotaped. The videotapes were coded for a variety of verbal and nonverbal dominant control attempts including dysfluencies, interruptions, frequency of adaptor and illustrator gestures, vocal characteristics, and general perceptions of dominance. The results revealed that individuals’ perceptions of power led to more dominant communication behavior during discussions with their partner. Comparisons between the perceptions of participants and observers and the implications for future research are also discussed.
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This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification theory posits that girls and women are typically acculturated to internalize an observer's perspective as a primary view of their physical selves. This perspective on self can lead to habitual body monitoring, which, in turn, can increase women's opportunities for shame and anxiety, reduce opportunities for peak motivational states, and diminish awareness of internal bodily states. Accumulations of such experiences may help account for an array of mental health risks that disproportionately affect women: unipolar depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders. Objectification theory also illuminates why changes in these mental health risks appear to occur in step with life-course changes in the female body.
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Using a probability-based sample of young Danish adults and a randomized experimental design, this study investigated effects of past pornography consumption, experimental exposure to nonviolent pornography, perceived realism of pornography, and personality (i.e., agreeableness) on sexist attitudes (i.e., attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism). Further, sexual arousal mediation was assessed. Results showed that, among men, an increased past pornography consumption was significantly associated with less egalitarian attitudes toward women and more hostile sexism. Further, lower agreeableness was found to significantly predict higher sexist attitudes. Significant effects of experimental exposure to pornography were found for hostile sexism among low in agreeableness participants and for benevolent sexism among women. These experimental exposure effects were found to be mediated by sexual arousal. In the controversy about effects of pornography, attitudes have long held a central role, with concerns about exposure to such materials increasing sexist and related attitudes. Given consistent cross-cultural findings of high prevalence rates of pornog-raphy consumption among the general population (Hald, Seaman & Linz, 2012), investigating the extent to which pornography consumption may adversely affect sexist attitudes is highly important in order to qualify the debate on effects of pornog-raphy and efforts being made to effectively reduce such or related attitudes. This study was specifically designed to investigate effects of exposure to pornography on sexism as it is present in current society (see also Glick & Fiske, 1996) and elucidate some of the mechanisms by which pornography may influence some individuals, thereby rectifying important shortcomings of available research in the area. In this introduction, we begin by presenting a definition of sexism and reviewing core relevant research on effects of pornography on sexist attitudes (for a more
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Russell (Dangerous relationships: Pornography, misogyny, and rape, 1988) argued that essential features of pornography were the inclusion of more female than male nakedness and the portrayal of men in dominant roles. Utilizing a sample of 45 Internet adult web sites, a content analysis was conducted to see if free and easily available Internet adult videos may generally be described as pornography in line with Russell’s (1988) work. A majority of videos in our sample portrayed more female than male nakedness as well as much higher representations of men in sexually dominant positions. The prevalence of violence in this sample of video and the presence of various acts (name calling, ejaculating on the face, submission, and eagerness to participate in any sex act) were also content analyzed and used to establish prevalent themes. We found a significant difference in the likelihood of a video having a theme of exploitation or domination and whether or not the video portrayed one of these acts. If the video had a theme of exploitation or domination, 92% of the videos also included a minimum of one of these acts while those videos that had themes of reciprocity or autoeroticism were significantly less likely to contain such acts. This study contributes to the literature on gender and pornography by examining issues of degradation and power relations within the context of a rapidly expanding cybersex industry.
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Introduction Concerns have been voiced that the use of sexually explicit materials (SEMs) may adversely affect sexual behaviors, particularly in young people. Previous studies have generally found significant associations between SEM consumption and the sexual behaviors investigated. However, most of these studies have focused on sexual behaviors related to sexually transmitted infections or sexual aggression and/or failed to adequately control for relevant covariates. Thus, research more thoroughly investigating the association between SEM consumption and a broader range of sexual behaviors is needed. Aims The study aims to investigate SEM consumption patterns of young people, and to assess the strength of the association between SEM consumption and a range of sexual behaviors, controlling for a comprehensive array of variables previously shown to affect these relationships. Methods Online cross‐sectional survey study of 4,600 young people, 15–25 years of age, in The Netherlands was performed. Main Outcomes Measures The main outcome measures were self‐reported SEM consumption and sexual practices. Results The study found that 88% of men and 45% of women had consumed SEM in the past 12 months. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses to control for other factors, the association between SEM consumption and a variety of sexual behaviors was found to be significant, accounting for between 0.3% and 4% of the total explained variance in investigated sexual behaviors. Conclusions This study suggests that, when controlling for important other factors, SEM consumption influences sexual behaviors. The small to moderate associations that emerged between SEM consumption and sexual behavior after controlling for other variables suggest that SEM is just one factor among many that may influence youth sexual behaviors. These findings contribute novel information to the ongoing debates on the role of SEM consumption in sexual behaviors and risk, and provide appropriate guidance to policy makers and program developers concerned with sexual education and sexual health promotion for young people. Hald GM, Kuyper L, Adam PCG, and de Wit JBF. Does viewing explain doing? Assessing the association between sexually explicit materials use and sexual behaviors in a large sample of Dutch adolescents and young adults. J Sex Med 2013;10:2986–2995.
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A qualitative content analysis was conducted on lyrics to identify predominant themes in popular music. The songs for analysis were determined by “The Hot 100” list generated by Billboard Chart Research Services. Feminist and cognitive social learning theories provided a foundation to identify themes. Power over, objectification of, and violence against women was the overall framework that emerged from the lyrics. Within this framework, six themes were identified: men and power, sex as top priority for males, objectification of women, sexual violence, women defined by having a man, and women as not valuing themselves. These themes send gender and relationship messages to music listeners, who are predominantly adolescents. As marriage and family therapists, we can utilize these deconstructed lyrical messages to teach clients about power socialization and its negative effects on relationships.
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La communication dite «relationnelle» est traditionnellement reputee se deployer selon deux ou trois dimensions. On presente ici, a partir d'une analyse multidisciplinaire (anthropologie, psychotherapie, expression des emotions, analyse de contenu...) un schema en douze dimensions: dominance/soumission, intimite, affection/hostilite, implication personnelle, inclusion/exclusion, confiance, profondeur/superficialite, vivacite des emotions, sang-froid, ressemblance, formalisme, socialite
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This research examined the role of mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Regulatory self-sanctions can be selectively disengaged from detrimental conduct by converting harmful acts to moral ones through linkage to worthy purposes, obscuring personal causal agency by diffusion and displacement of responsibility, misrepresenting or disregarding the injurious effects inflicted on others, and vilifying the recipients of maltreatment by blaming and dehumanizing them. The study examined the structure and impact of moral disengagement on detrimental conduct and the psychological processes through which it exerts its effects. Path analyses reveal that moral disengagement fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression. The structure of the paths of influence is very similar for interpersonal aggression and delinquent conduct. Although the various mechanisms of moral disengagement operate in concert, moral reconstruals of harmful conduct by linking it to worthy purposes and vilification of victims seem to contribute most heavily to engagement in detrimental activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Analyzed 150 sexually oriented home videos with respect to their sexual, aggressive, and sexually aggressive content. While the primary focus was on sexually explicit, "triple-X" videos, a number of more mainstream "adult" videos were also analyzed for comparison. As anticipated, triple-X videos depicted sexual content significantly more explicitly than did adult videos. Contrary to expectations, however, it was the adult videos that contained significantly more aggressive and sexually aggressive content and that depicted this violence with significantly greater severity. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Racism and sexism were examined in interracial (Black/White) X-rated pornography videocassettes. Five female coders coded 476 characters in the sexually explicit scenes in 54 videos. Characters were coded on aggregate measures of physical and verbal aggression, inequality cues, racial cues, and intimacy cues, as well as other specific indices. Sexism was demonstrated in the unidirectional aggression by men toward women. Racism was demonstrated in the lower status of Black actors and the presence of racial stereotypes. Racism appeared to be expressed somewhat differently by sex, and sexism somewhat differently by race. For example, Black women were the targets of more acts of aggression than were White women, and Black men showed fewer intimate behaviors than did White men. More aggression was found in cross-race sexual interactions than in same-race sexual interactions. These findings suggest that pornography is racist as well as sexist.
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This study analyzed 40 Music Television (MTV) music videos across gender role based content categories. Videos were rated at 30-second intervals by four trained raters using a consensus model. Results included the following: (a) men appeared nearly twice as often as women; (b) men engaged in significantly more aggressive and dominant behavior; (c) women engaged in significantly more implicitly sexual and subservient behavior; and (d) women were more frequently the object of explicit, implicit, and aggressive sexual advances. Overall, MTV video content primarily included implicit sexuality, objectification, dominance, and implicit aggression. Implications of these findings with respect to sex role stereotyping and the development of negative attitudes toward women were discussed.
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This study was designed to investigate whether adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment is associated with stronger beliefs that women are sex objects. More specifically, we studied whether the association between notions of women as sex objects and exposure to sexual content of varied explicitness (i.e., sexually non-explicit, semi-explicit, or explicit) and in different formats (i.e., visual and audio-visual) can be better described as cumulative or as hierarchical. Further, we investigated whether this association was contingent on gender. Based on data from an on-line survey of 745 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 18, we found that the relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects followed a hierarchical pattern: Starting with adolescents’ exposure to sexually semi-explicit content, the statistical significance of the relationship with notions of women as sex objects moved from semi-explicit to explicit sexual content and from visual to audio-visual formats. Exposure to sexually explicit material in on-line movies was the only exposure measure significantly related to beliefs that women are sex objects in the final regression model, in which exposure to other forms of sexual content was controlled. The relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects did not differ for girls and boys.
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The common approach to the multiplicity problem calls for controlling the familywise error rate (FWER). This approach, though, has faults, and we point out a few. A different approach to problems of multiple significance testing is presented. It calls for controlling the expected proportion of falsely rejected hypotheses – the false discovery rate. This error rate is equivalent to the FWER when all hypotheses are true but is smaller otherwise. Therefore, in problems where the control of the false discovery rate rather than that of the FWER is desired, there is potential for a gain in power. A simple sequential Bonferroni-type procedure is proved to control the false discovery rate for independent test statistics, and a simulation study shows that the gain in power is substantial. The use of the new procedure and the appropriateness of the criterion are illustrated with examples.
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According to models of objectification, viewing someone as a body induces de-mentalization, stripping away their psychological traits. Here evidence is presented for an alternative account, where a body focus does not diminish the attribution of all mental capacities but, instead, leads perceivers to infer a different kind of mind. Drawing on the distinction in mind perception between agency and experience, it is found that focusing on someone's body reduces perceptions of agency (self-control and action) but increases perceptions of experience (emotion and sensation). These effects were found when comparing targets represented by both revealing versus nonrevealing pictures (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) or by simply directing attention toward physical characteristics (Experiment 2). The effect of a body focus on mind perception also influenced moral intuitions, with those represented as a body seen to be less morally responsible (i.e., lesser moral agents) but more sensitive to harm (i.e., greater moral patients; Experiments 5 and 6). These effects suggest that a body focus does not cause objectification per se but, instead, leads to a redistribution of perceived mind.
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This study had three goals: first, to investigate whether sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) affects sexual risk behavior; second, to study whether these effects differ between adolescents and adults; and third, to analyze, separately for adolescents and adults, whether gender and age moderate an influence of SEIM on sexual risk behavior. The authors conducted a 2-wave panel survey among nationally representative random samples of 1,445 Dutch adolescents and 833 Dutch adults. SEIM use increased sexual risk behavior among adults, but not among adolescents. More specifically, moderator analyses showed that SEIM use increased sexual risk behavior only among male adults, but not among female adults. In the adolescent sample, no moderating gender effect occurred. Neither among adolescents nor among adults did age moderate the effects. Our study shows that SEIM may influence outcomes related to people's sexual health. It also suggests that male adults may present a potential risk group for adverse effects of SEIM.
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Research on exposure to television and movie violence suggests that playing violent video games will increase aggressive behavior. A metaanalytic review of the video-game research literature reveals that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Experimental and nonexperimental studies with males and females in laboratory and field settings support this conclusion. Analyses also reveal that exposure to violent video games increases physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings. Playing violent video games also decreases prosocial behavior.
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This paper highlights a few of the ways that the Internet is having a profound effect on sexuality. For the sake of simplicity, and to better elucidate the points, the Internet's effect on sexuality is divided into the three broad categories: negative patterns, positive connections, and commercial aspects. In addition, three of the key factors that combine to give the Internet its power are delineated. They include Access, Affordability, and Anonymity or as they are called here the "Triple A". Finally, suggestions for how the field should deal with this phenomena are offered.
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What are the social roles assumed by men and women in contemporary sexually explicit movies, and in what contexts are their actions portrayed? Perhaps more important, have the predominant themes of pornography shifted in response to the public scrutiny and criticism popular in the mid-1980s? In this investigation we addressed these questions using a random sample of 50 pornographic videotapes drawn from an archive of essentially all such materials targeted for heterosexual consumers available in the international marketplace from 1979 to 1988. The findings revealed that some thematic aspects of modern pornographic movies have shifted over time. Significant increases were evident in the frequency of portrayals of sex between casual acquaintances, males engaging in sex with female superordinates, female characters persuading males into sexual activities, and the performance of fellatio as the initial sexual behavior among heterosexual partners. Over time, a significant decrease in the number of depictions involving sex between colleagues in a workplace or a prostitute-client relationship was also apparent. Taken together, however, the data show that contemporary pornographic movies continue to spotlight the sexual desires and prowess of men while consistently and persistently portraying women as sexually willing and available.
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Pornography is a lucrative business. Increasingly, women have participated in both its production, direction, and consumption. This study investigated how the content in popular pornographic videos created by female directors differs from that of their male counterparts. We conducted a quantitative analysis of 122 randomly selected scenes from 44 top-renting adult videos in 2005 (half male- and half female-directed). Findings revealed that all films shared similar depictions: Verbal and physical aggression was common, women were the primary targets of aggression, and negative responses to aggression were extremely rare. Compared to male-directed films, female-directed films were significantly more likely to portray women-only scenes and sexual acts. Even when controlling for main characters' gender, female-directed films showed significantly more female perpetrators aggressing against female targets and significantly more depictions of women as perpetrators of aggression. We highlight the importance of economic forces, rather than director gender, in dictating the content of popular pornography.
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Philosophers have argued that when people are objectified they are treated as if they lack the mental states and moral status associated with personhood. These aspects of objectification have been neglected by psychologists. This research investigates the role of depersonalization in objectification. In Study 1, objectified women were attributed less mind and were accorded lesser moral status than non-objectified women. In Study 2, we replicated this effect with male and female targets and extended it to include perceptions of competence and pain attribution. Further, we explored whether target and perceiver gender qualify depersonalization. Overall, this research indicates that when people are objectified they are denied personhood. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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I am grateful to many people for comments that have helped me revise the article, among them: Mary Becker, Joshua Cohen, Richard Craswell, David Estlund, Robert Goodin, John Hodges, Robert Kaster, William Landes, Lawrence Lessig, Charles Nussbaum, Rachel Nussbaum, Richard Posner, Roger Scruton, Cass Sunstein, Candace Vogler. Above all, I am grateful to the students in my Feminist Philosophy class at Brown University, who discussed the article with relentless critical scrutiny, and especially to: Kristi Abrams, Lara Bovilsky, Hayley Finn, Sarah Hirshman, James Maisels, Gabriel Roth, Danya Ruttenberg, Sarah Ruhl, and Dov Weinstein.
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