Sexuality & Culture
pp 1–15
Emmers-Sommer, Tara M.
Link to abstract
Abstract The purpose of this investigation is to examine the associations among gender and reasons for pornography consumption as well as attitudinal impacts. One hundred and forty-three participants, ranging in age from 18 to 48 (M = 21.22), participated in an online study at a large, southwestern university. Seventy-six of these participants identified as current consumers of pornography and are the primary focus of the analyses. Findings indicate that regardless of gender, pornography is preferably consumed in a solitary fashion for masturbatory purposes with a perceived positive physical, but not psychological, sexual satisfying impact for the self as well as for the consuming partner. Further, regarding attitudinal impacts, current male consumers of pornography report significantly higher adversarial sexual beliefs, rape myth acceptance and sexual conservatism than do current female consumers of pornography. Discussion and future directions follow.
Keywords – Gender Pornography Reasons Attitudes
References Abelson, R. P. (1981). Psychological status of the script concept. American Psychologist, 36, 715–729.CrossRef Google Scholar Allen, M., Emmers, T. M., Gebhardt, L. J., & Giery, M. (1995). Exposure to pornography and acceptance of rape myths: A research summary using meta-analysis. Journal of Communication, 45 (1), 5–26.CrossRef Google Scholar American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). New York: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar Burt, M. R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 217–230.CrossRef Google Scholar Byers, E. S. (1996). How well does the traditional sexual script explain sexual coercion? review of a program of research. In E. S. Byers & L. F. Sullivan (Eds.), Sexual coercion in dating relationships (pp. 7–26). New York: Haworth Press.Google Scholar Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159.CrossRef Google Scholar Corne, S., Briere, J., & Esses, L. (1992). Women’s attitudes and fantasies about rape as a function of early exposure to pornography. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 454–461.CrossRef Google Scholar Emmers-Sommer, T. M. (2002). Sexual coercion and resistance in M. Allen, R. Preiss, Gayle, & N. Burrell (Eds.), Interpersonal communication: Advances in meta-analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah (pp. 315–343).Google Scholar Emmers-Sommer, T. M., Farrell, J., Gentry, A., Stevens, S., Eckstein, J., Battocletti, J., et al. (2010). First date sexual expectations, sexual- and gender-related attitudes: The effects of who asked, who paid, date location, and gender. Communication Studies, 61, 339–355.CrossRef Google Scholar Emmers-Sommer, T. M., Hertlein, K., & Kennedy, M. A. (2013). Pornography use and attitudes: An examination of relational and sexual openness variables between and within gender. Marriage and Family Review, 49, 349–365.CrossRef Google Scholar Emmers-Sommer, T. M., Triplett, L., Pauley, P., Hanzal, A., & Rhea, D. (2005). The impact of film manipulation on men and women’s attitudes toward women and film editing. Sex Roles, 52 (9–10), 683–695.CrossRef Google Scholar Hammaren, N., & Johansson, T. (2007). Hegemonic masculinity and pornography: Young people’s attitudes toward and relations to pornography. Journal of Men’s Studies, 15, 57–71.CrossRef Google Scholar Hynie, M., Lydon, J. E., Cote′, S., & Wiener, S. (1998). Relational sexual scripts and women’s condom use: The importance of internalized norms. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 370–380.CrossRef Google Scholar Kohut, T., Baer, J. L., & Waits, B. (2016). Is pornography really about “making hate to women”? Pornography users hold more gender egalitarian attitudes than nonusers in a representative American sample. Journal of Sex Research, 53, 1–11.CrossRef Google Scholar Lambert, N. M., Negash, S., Stillman, T. F., Olmstead, S. B., & Fincham, F. D. (2012). A love that doesn’t last: Pornography consumption and weakened commitment to one’s romantic partner. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 31, 410–438.CrossRef Google Scholar Liberatore, S. (2017). More women watch porn on smartphones than men: Pornhub reveals 80% of its female viewers use mobile devices. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/women-watch-porn-mobile-phones9997081 . Accessed June 9, 2017. McKee, A. (2005). The objectification of women in mainstream pornographic videos in Australia. The Journal of Sex Research, 42, 277–290.CrossRef Google Scholar Metts, S., & Spitzberg, B. H. (1996). Sexual communication in interpersonal contexts: A script-based approach. In B. R. Burleson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 19 (pp. 49–91). Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar Morris, C. (2015). Things are looking up in America’s porn industry. http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/things-are-looking-americas-pornindustryn289431 . Accessed May 17, 2017. Poulsen, F. O., Busby, D. M., & Gallovan, A. M. (2013). Pornography use: Who uses it and how it is related to couple outcomes. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 72–83.CrossRef Google Scholar Roberts, S. (2015). https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/movies/candida-royalle-maker-of-x-rated-films-dies-at-64.html?_r=0 . Accessed June 12, 2017. Romito, P., & Beltramini, L. (2011). Watching pornography: Gender differences, violence and victimization. An exploratory study in Italy. Violence Against Women, 17, 1313–1326.CrossRef Google Scholar Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1984). Sexual scripts. Society, 22, 53–60.Google Scholar Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1987). Sexual scripts: Permanence and change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 97–120.CrossRef Google Scholar Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (2003). Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative Sociology, 26, 491–497.CrossRef Google Scholar Stack, S., Wasserman, I., & Kern, R. (2004). Adult social bonds and the use of Internet pornography. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 75–88.CrossRef Google Scholar Staley, C., & Prause, N. (2012). Erotica viewing effects on intimate relationships and self/partner evaluation. Archives of Sexual Behavior . doi:10.1007/s10508-012-0034-4 .Google Scholar Tiefer, L. (2006). Sex therapy as a humanistic enterprise. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 21, 360–375.CrossRef Google Scholar Weinberg, M. S., Williams, C. J., Kleiner, S., & Irizarry, Y. (2010). Pornography, normalization and empowerment. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1389–1401.CrossRef Google Scholar Wiederman, M. W. (2005). The gendered nature of sexual scripts. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13, 496–502.CrossRef Google Scholar Wright, P. J. (2013). Internet pornography exposure and women’s attitude towards extramarital sex: An exploratory study. Communication Studies, 64, 315–336.CrossRef Google Scholar Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1986). Shifting preferences in pornography consumption. Communication Research, 13, 560–578.CrossRef Google Scholar