PORNOGRAPHY HARMS WOMEN

1. “Attitudinal effects of degrading themes and sexual explicitness in video materials”, Golde JA, Strassberg DS, Turner CM and Lowe K (2000), Sex Abuse, 12(3), 223-32

   Abstract: This study examined the independent and interactive effects of sexual explicitness and degrading themes toward women on mens' attitudes following exposure to video presentations of male-female interactions. Subjects were 83 male college students who viewed video vignettes under one of four stimulus conditions: (a) sexually explicit/degrading, (b) sexually explicit/nondegrading, (c) nonexplicit/degrading, and (d) nonexplicit/nondegrading. Results revealed that men exposed to degrading material, regardless of explicitness, were significantly more likely to express attitudes supportive of rape, while explicitness had no significant main or interactive effect on these attitudes. Further, the interaction of explicitness with degradation was found to impact scores on a measure of sexual callousness. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

2. Treating women as sexual objects”, McKenzie-Mohr D and Zanna M (1990), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16(2), 296-308

   Abstract: The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to nonviolent pornography would prime a heterosexuality subschema in gender schematic males and thus lead these males to view and treat a woman as a sexual object. In a 2 x 2 design, 60 male subjects, half gender schematic and half gender aschematic, watched either a pornographic or a control video prior to being interviewed by a female research assistant. Although she was blind to condition, the female experimenter found the gender schematic males who had viewed the pornographic video to be significantly more sexually motivated than subjects in the three other conditions. Further, in the first minute of a free recall task given after the interview, 72% of the information recalled by this group of males concerned the physical features of the female experimenter, as compared with 49% for the males in the other conditions. The implications of these findings for real-world settings are discussed.

3. Sexual climate and reported rape: a state-level analysis”, Jaffee D and Straus MA (1987), Arch Sex Behav, 16(2), 107-23

   Abstract: Data on the US states are used to study two aspects of sexual climate: sexually liberal attitudes and sex magazine readership, and their relationship to reported rape. The two sexual climate measures are correlated (r = 0.50), but each also seems to measure a different facet of sexual climate: tolerance for the sexual behavior of others in the case of the Sexual Liberalism Index, and perhaps sexuality per se in the case of sex magazine readership. States in the Northeast have the highest average sexual liberalism score, and states in the West have the highest average readership of sex magazines. The relationship between sexual climate and the incidence of reported rape was investigated using multiple regression. Results indicate no relationship between sexually liberal attitudes and rape, but that sex magazine readership, urbanization, poverty, and a high percentage of divorced men are each significantly associated with the incidence of reported rape. The findings are interpreted within a theoretical model that posits rape as a function of social disorganization and hypermasculine gender roles and sexuality.

4. “Effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women”, Linz DG, Donnerstein E and Penrod S (1988), J Pers Soc Psychol, 55(5), 758-68

   Abstract: In this study we investigated the effects of emotional desensitization to films of violence against women and the effects of sexually degrading explicit and nonexplicit films on beliefs about rape and the sexual objectification of women. Male subjects viewed either two or five R-rated violent "slasher," X-rated nonviolent "pornographic," or R-rated nonviolent teenage-oriented ("teen sex") films. Affective reactions and cognitive perceptions were measured after each exposure. Later, these men and no-exposure control subjects completed a voir dire questionnaire, viewed a reenacted acquaintance or nonacquaintance sexual assault trial, and judged the defendant and alleged rape victim. Subjects in the violent condition became less anxious and depressed and showed declines in negative affective responses. They were also less sympathetic to the victim and less empathetic toward rape victims in general. However, longer film exposure was necessary to affect general empathy. There were no differences in response between the R-rated teen sex film and the X-rated, sexually explicit, nonviolent film, and the no-exposure control conditions on the objectification or the rape trial variables. A model of desensitization to media violence and the carryover to decision making about victims is proposed.

5. “An empirical investigation of the role of pornography in the verbal and physical abuse of women”, Sommers EK and Check JV (1987), Violence Vict, 2(3), 189-209

   Abstract: In studies of male aggressiveness and pornography, social psychologists have found evidence to support the theory that consumption of pornography by males increases their aggressiveness and antisocial attitudes toward women. The research reported here studied the presence of pornography and both sexual and nonsexual violence in the lives of two groups of women: a group of battered women drawn from shelters and counseling groups, and a comparison group of women from a mature university population. It was found that the partners of the battered women read or viewed significantly greater amounts of pornographic materials than did the partners of the comparison group. In addition, 39% of the battered women (in contrast to 3% of the comparison group) responded in the affirmative to the question, "Has your partner ever upset you by trying to get you to do what he'd seen in pornographic pictures, movies, or books?" It was also found that battered women experienced significantly more sexual aggression at the hands of their partners than did the women in the comparison group.

6. "Pornography and abuse of women", Cramer E, McFarlane J Public Health Nurs 1994 Aug, 11:268-72

   Abstract: To study the association between male pornographic use and physical abuse of women, 87 battered women filing charges against their male partner at the district attorney's office in a large metropolitan city were surveyed. Forty percent reported that their male partner used one or more such materials. Use of the materials was significantly associated with the women being asked or forced to participate in violent sexual acts including rape.

7. “Shifting preferences in pornography consumption”, Zillman D and Bryant J (1986), Communications Research, 13(4), 560-578

   Abstract: Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to one hour of common, nonviolent pornography or to sexually and aggressively innocuous materials in each of six consecutive weeks. Two weeks after this treatment, they were provided with an opportunity to watch videotapes in a private situation. G-rated, R-rated, and X-rated programs were available. Subjects with considerable prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography showed little interest in common, nonviolent pornography, electing to watch uncommon pornography (bondage, sadomasochism, bestiality) instead. Male nonstudents with prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography consumed uncommon pornography almost exclusively. Male students exhibited the same pattern, although somewhat less extreme. This consumption preference was also in evidence in females, but was far less pronounced, especially among female students.

8. "Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Are there reliable effects and can we understand them?", Malamuth N, Addison T and Koss M, (2000), Annual Review of Sex Research

   Full article here

   Abstract: In response to some recent critiques, we (a) analyze the arguments and data presented in those commentaries, (b) integrate the findings of several metaanalytic summaries of experimental and naturalistic research, and (c) conduct statistical analyses on a large representative sample. All three steps support the existence of reliable associations between frequent pornography use and sexually aggressive behaviors, particularly for violent pornography and/or for men at high risk for sexual aggression. We suggest that the way relatively aggressive men interpret and react to the same pornography may differ from that of nonaggressive men, a perspective that helps integrate the current analyses with studies comparing rapists and nonrapists as well as with cross-cultural research.

9. "Predicting sexual aggression: the role of pornography in the context of general and specific risk factors.", Vega V and Malamuth NM, Aggress Behav. 2007 Mar-Apr;33(2):104-17

   Abstract: The main focus of the present study was to examine the unique contribution (if any) of pornography consumption to men's sexually aggressive behavior. Even after controlling for the contributions of risk factors associated with general antisocial behavior and those used in Confluence Model research as specific predictors of sexual aggression, we found that high pornography consumption added significantly to the prediction of sexual aggression. Further analyses revealed that the predictive utility of pornography was due to its discriminative ability only among men classified (based on their other risk characteristics) at relatively high risk for sexual aggression. Other analyses indicated that the specific risk factors accounted for more variance in sexual aggression than the general risk factors and mediated the association between the general risk factors and sexual aggression. We illustrate the potential application of the findings for risk assessment using a classification tree.

10. "Flesh and Blood: Does pornography lead to sexual violence?", Baxter, M., New Scientist, 05 May 1990, 104-17

    Full article here

    This article provides an overview of scientific research into pornography up to 1990