Pornography has always been a touchy subject. When the first erotic novel
,
which followed the life of a London prostitute, was published in 1748,
it was widely banned and persecuted. In the 1970s, when porn was just emerging as a film genre
and was mostly financed by Mafia families, state and federal
prosecutors quickly shut down the movies. Today, though porn is a lot
less taboo and more accessible than ever, we’re still faced with
scrutiny of sexual material, particularly when it comes to portrayals of
women.
Although the research isn’t conclusive, there’s evidence that
watching certain types of porn may be harmful to spectators and can
change the way we think about gender equality, our intimate
relationships, and even how we perform in the bedroom.
What’s the Deal?
With the advent of the Internet, the days of leafing through magazines or renting X-rated flicks have nearly gone extinct. Now, 90 percent of pornography consumption happens on the web and more than 26 million sites are dedicated to online nooky.
Given porn’s widespread accessibility, it’s no surprise that
many people have taken a peek at least once. A study
of 813 university students found that 87 percent of men and 31 percent
of women reported using pornography, while a Canadian researcher who attempted to locate male “porn virgins”
couldn’t find a single guy that hasn’t watched it. And people aren’t
just peering at porn in the comfort of their homes — viewers also
include on-duty government workers such as U.S. SEC commissioners and British Parliament
members, who were guilty of 300,000 attempts to view explicit videos
while the U.K. legislature was in session. Watching online pornography
is also the leading cause of corporate Malware among top executives.
It’s pretty clear that most humans have dabbled in the world of X-rated videos — and have the browser history to prove it.
Odds are good that all of these porn viewers are being exposed to potentially problematic depictions of women. One study,
which analyzed 304 scenes in popular porn movies, found that 88.2
percent contained physical aggression, 48.7 percent contained verbal
aggression, and 94.4 percent of aggressive acts were directed toward
women [1]. Less than 10 percent of the scenes contained positive behaviors such as laughing, embracing, kissing, or verbal compliments [1].
Now,
aggressive sex isn’t necessarily a bad thing (providing both partners
have happily given consent, of course). But when virtually all the
mainstream pornographic depictions of sex involve aggression toward
women, it’s time to question what all this porn watching is doing to our
attitudes about women, sex, and relationships in general.
Why It Matters
Even before it was an Internet
sensation, sociologists, psychologists, and feminists were studying the
effects of porn on behavior, attitudes, and relationships. Though they
generally agreed that an occasional peek wasn’t that bad — in fact,
looking at nudie pics may help reduce stress
— researchers were concerned that more avid viewership (as well as
watching violent and sadomasochistic porn) could provoke serious
consequences such as sexist attitudes, aggression and violence against
women, and even increased acceptance of harassment and rape (although
this last finding remains a subject of debate
) [3] [4].
Current studies suggest the subject is more complex than researchers may have previously thought; there are a
lot of factors at play when we watch porn. Several studies have found that
pornography
may indeed reinforce sexist attitudes, but predominantly in individuals
who already hold strong sexist beliefs, score high for risks of aggression, and are low in agreeableness [5].
So, it’s unlikely that watching a couple minutes of a sexy romp will
make anyone suddenly aggressive or misogynist. What matters more is
whether that person was already predisposed to act and feel in those
ways.
Perhaps surprisingly,
sexist attitudes among porn viewers aren’t confined to the male domain:
A longitudinal study found that when men and women were exposed to
sexually explicit media as adolescents, both groups had less progressive
views of gender roles [6]. Another study of porn-viewing individuals found that both men and women were less likely to support women’s rights.
Because violence goes hand-in-hand with intimacy in many X-rated videos, some experts worry that porn can teach viewers that aggression is pleasurable to
everyone — potentially motivating people to model that behavior
during sex. Research has also found that pairing aggression with arousal can produce misogynistic attitudes
, and may foster the belief that sexual satisfaction can always be achieved without affection and emotional attachment
.
This isn’t to say that people who watch aggressive porn are guaranteed
to become violent sexual partners, but what these studies do suggest is that watching porn can change how we view pleasure in intimate relationships.
In response to these findings, an alternative porn movement is slowly building. One study
found that Norwegian X-rated media depicts women in more empowering
positions than American or Japanese porn, showing that porn does have
the potential to portray women as equals. The feminist pornography movement has emerged as video producers and activists seek to portray women in more power-equal positions, show couples in more loving, intimate relationships, and provide safe and healthy working environments for sex workers of all genders. There are even plans to roll out a 24/7 porn channel for women
in the U.S. next year (it’s currently available in the Netherlands).
Meanwhile, countries such as England and Australia have outright banned violent pornography.
The Takeaway
Porn’s effects on its viewers are complicated, and it’s difficult to
make sweeping statements because everyone’s cultures, beliefs,
personalities, and porn preferences are different. And since most
research focuses strictly on heterosexual porn, the LGBTQ community and
LGBTQ-friendly porn are woefully unstudied.
That said, current studies generally agree that the sole act of
watching porn won’t make anyone suddenly aggressive or hostile toward
women (although certain individuals are at risk if they are already
aggressive or hold sexist beliefs). But research does suggest porn may
make us think differently about intimate relationships and influence
people’s perceptions of what is acceptable and “normal” during sex.
The takeaway? T
here’s no need to scale down your porn habits
(unless they’re interfering with normal daily life), but research
suggests it’s a good idea to steer clear of the violent stuff
and instead explore less aggressive, more relationship-friendly X-rated
media. Thankfully, there’s more sex-positive porn out there today than
ever before.
Got something to say? Share in the comments below or get in touch with us on Facebook
!
A
member of the House of Representatives representing Oredo Federal
Constituency, Edo State, Mr Rasaq Bello-Osagie, yesterday, said the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently on “intensive care” and
stands no chance of winning as the party is fighting a lost battle with
Nigerians.
