While supporters and opponents of pornography break spears, trying to prove its benefit or harm, researchers refute some stereotypes and see similarities between porn and alcohol: you can use it, but not for everyone and in certain doses.
A lot has been written about the impact of pornography on the psyche, but the reliability of most theories is seriously questioned. Supporters of the liberal approach claim, for example, that the legalization of porn leads to a decrease in the number of sexual crimes. Opponents, on the contrary, believe that viewing pornography stimulates sexual aggression. Feminists are convinced that pornography creates inequality because it initially reduces women to the position of an object whose purpose is to satisfy the needs of men. And none of these claims are supported by sufficient scientific evidence.
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“Non-handshake” theme
The fact is that relevant studies are extremely difficult to organize. To begin with, pornography is clearly not among the priority scientific areas – even in those countries where it is allowed in principle. And finding funding for this kind of research is more than an easy task. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the very definition of pornography remains vague and is interpreted too broadly. Finally, volunteers for such studies (although this may surprise some) are also hard to find.
However, scientists do not give up and continue to work. One of them, psychologist Taylor Kohut, recently published the results of a study1, “inspired” just by the feminist point of view. After analyzing the materials of the largest and most authoritative sociological polls in the United States, the General Social Survey, Kohut came to the conclusion that radical feminists are mistaken. Porn fans turned out to be not only no less, but even greater supporters of equality than those who do not accept pornography. For example, people who reported watching pornography were more willing to recognize women’s right to take leadership positions and build their careers beyond household chores. At the same time, no differences were found in relation to supporters and opponents of porn to basic family values.
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However, Taylor Kohut himself admits that it is too early to draw unambiguous conclusions. And to the list of difficulties mentioned above in research, he adds another one – the bias of the scientists themselves. Almost every one of them has their own opinion about porn, and this may well influence the results of the studies. “I doubt that any of us are truly objective and impartial on this issue,” says Kohut.
Almost like alcohol
Another researcher, Neil Malamuth, has previously tried to trace the relationship between pornography viewing and sexual aggression. And found that porn can give impetus to aggressive behavior – but only in certain categories of men2. The results of Malamute’s research show that men who grew up in an atmosphere of domestic violence, are prone to anti-social behavior, tolerate violence against women in principle, as well as striving for dominance and having pronounced narcissistic personality traits, may indeed unconsciously perceive pornography as an incentive to sexual violence. . However, this allows us to qualify pornography only as a secondary risk factor. It increases the threat of sexual aggression from those who are already prone to aggression. And it does not have a similar effect on those who are not at risk.
Pass the tests
- What really turns you on?
For all the weakness of any analogy, Neil Malamute suggests, at least until more scientific results emerge, that porn should be looked upon as something like alcohol. The “use” of both definitely affects the psyche, but the effect is largely dependent on the person. For someone, a couple of glasses of alcohol is enough to get into an aggressive state and do a lot of harm to themselves and others. And someone needs the same pair of glasses to relieve stress and put themselves in a great mood. The same is the case with pornography,” says Neil Malamute. It can provoke some to the manifestation of sexual aggression, while others may well help to achieve harmony in intimate life.
1 Taylor Kohut at al. «Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample». Онлайн-публикация на сайте журнала The Journal of Sex Research от 25.08.2015.
2 Neil Malamuth et al. “Pornography and Sexist Attitudes Among Heterosexuals”. Online publication on the Journal of Communication website dated 10.06.2013/XNUMX/XNUMX.