South South Journal of Culture and Development Vol 20(2), September, 2018
Cultural Research Publishers
Nwakanma, Emmanuel
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract
This study examines young persons‟ attitudes towards the proliferation of pornography and its effects on the society. Propelled by globalization, pornography is gradually becoming an acknowledged and normal part of our culture. Its availability, access and acceptance have made our environment to be inundated with sexually explicit sounds and images. Today, it is a lot easier to get pornography than to avoid it as the mainstream media readily make available all kinds of sexually explicit materials. The concern here is not „why‟ pornography in the society rather it is „how‟ pornography affects the society. Consequently, various scholars have concerned themselves with investigating how pornography affect people‟s behavior, particularly their sexual behaviour, attitudes towards men and women, and how pornography contributes to gender inequality, rape and other sex crimes prevalent today in our society. This study, using the survey design, combined theoretical and empirical data to expound on the effects of the growing porn culture in our society today. 300 persons between the ages of 15 – 35 years constituted the sample size of this study. The study revealed that pornography has become rampant in our society today and contributes to the rise of risky sexual behaviours amongst young persons in Rivers State. In the study, 70% (n=210) of the respondents agreed that pornography has affected negatively their attitude towards women and their understanding of gender differences. The study also revealed that many people feel pornography should be censured as 80.6% (n=242) of the respondents agreed that porn needs to be regulated in Nigeria.
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