Effects of pornography

There has been quite a lot of discussion in the community lately about pornography, although this has mostly been personal stories about the merits or disadvantages it causes. In exploring the issue myself i came across the website which presents some fairly persuasive feminist-oriented arguments for the negative effects of porn.

In particular, these two studies caught my eye. Now I don’t know the background of these studies. I don’t know whether they were conducted correctly. However, I would be interested to hear a what others think, as they seem to paint a pretty bleak picture of the effects of stereotypical misogynistic porn.


The Zillman and Bryant laboratory studies (1986-1988):
The question of the research was “What is the effect of prolonged pornography consumption on subjects’ perceptions of their intimate relationships, marriage and family, personal happiness, and sexual satisfaction?”.
The experiment was undertaken in this way: A pool of male and female subjects, including college students and nonstudents, was divided into two groups. The “Exposure group” watched one hour of nonviolent pornography per week for six weeks. The “Control group” watched an equivalent amount of regular movies. Then all subjects completed a Value-of-Marriage Survey and the Indiana Inventory of Personal Happiness.
The results were:
* Subjects in the “Exposure group” showed higher levels of agreement with the following beliefs than the ones in the “Control group”:

  • Promiscuity in men and women is natural and preferable to exclusivity;
  • One’s sex partners are generally unfaithful;
  • Extramarital affairs are acceptable;
  • Restraining one’s sexual impulses leads to health risks;
  • Male-dominated relationships are preferable to equal relationships.

* Researchers were surprised to find a big drop in the desirability for serious relationships (such as marriage, etc.) among the Exposure group subjects, compared to the Control group (60% versus 39%).
* Exposure to pornography also significantly decreased the subjects’ desire to have children, especially female children.
* Pornography exposure decreased subjects’ satisfaction with:

  • The appearance of their partners;
  • Their partners’ sexual performance;
  • Their partners’ willingness to engage in new sex acts;
  • Their sex lives in general.

The conclusions were that prolonged exposure to pornography impacts the individual’s sexual and personal happiness, increasing distrust and dissatisfaction with one’s partner, increasing acceptance of infidelity and male-dominated relationships, and decreasing the desire to marry or raise a family. (1)
The Zillmann and Bryant laboratory studies (1982-1984):
The question of the research was “what are the consequences of continued exposure to pornography on beliefs about sexuality in general and on attitudes towards women?”. The experiment was undertaken in this way:
* Part One: 80 male and 80 female participants are divided into four subgroups. The “Massive Exposure Group” saw 36 short, non-violent (but degrading and dehumanizing) pornographic films (about 5 hours of film) over six weeks; the “Intermediate Exposure Group” saw 18 short, non-violent pornographic films and 18 regular films over six weeks; and the “No Exposure Group” saw 36 regular films.
* Part Two: All participants read about a rape case and were asked to recommend the length of the prison sentence for the rapist. They were also asked to indicate their support for the women’s rights movement on a 0 to 100 scale. Finally, they were asked to estimate the popularity of various sexual acts among the general population.
The results were:
* In recommending a prison term for a rapist: Subjects in the “Massive Exposure Group” chose, on average, prison terms that were half as long as terms recommended by the people in the No Exposure Group. (A five-year sentence versus a ten-year sentence);
* When asked to rate their support for women’s rights: Men and women in the “Massive Exposure Group” indicated a lot less support than participants in the “No Exposure Group” (38% versus 76%).
* Men and women in the “Massive Exposure Group” rated anal sex, group sex, and bestiality at least twice as common as did the “No Exposure Group”.
* Those in the “Massive Exposure Group” believed that more than twice as many adults had anal intercourse than those in the “No Exposure Group”. The “Massive Exposure Group” estimated that 30% of Americans had group sex, while the “No Exposure Group” estimated only 11% did.
* The “Massive Exposure Group” also estimated that 15% of Americans practised S&M, and that 12% of Americans were having sex with animals — gross estimations of actual sexual practices, according to all available data at the time.
The conclusions were that massive exposure to pornography made rape appear a more trivial offense, which seemed also to parallel a drop in support for women’s rights. Also, intensive pornography viewing led to beliefs that unusual sexual acts are far more common than they really are. (2)
(1) Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, “Effects of prolonged consumption of pornography”, Journal of Family Issues; 1988; “Pornography’s Impact on Sexual Satisfaction”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology; 1988.
(2) Dolf Zillman & Jennings Bryant, “Effects of massive exposure to pornography”, in Neil Malamuth and Edward Donnerstein Eds., Pornography and Sexual Aggression; 1984.
# Part One: 80 male and 80 female participants are divided into four subgroups. The “Massive Exposure Group” saw 36 short, non-violent (but degrading and dehumanizing) pornographic films (about 5 hours of film) over six weeks; the “Intermediate Exposure Group” saw 18 short, non-violent pornographic films and 18 regular films over six weeks; and the “No Exposure Group” saw 36 regular films.
# Part Two: All participants read about a rape case and were asked to recommend the length of the prison sentence for the rapist. They were also asked to indicate their support for the women’s rights movement on a 0 to 100 scale. Finally, they were asked to estimate the popularity of various sexual acts among the general population.
The results were:
* In recommending a prison term for a rapist: Subjects in the “Massive Exposure Group” chose, on average, prison terms that were half as long as terms recommended by the people in the No Exposure Group. (A five-year sentence versus a ten-year sentence);
* When asked to rate their support for women’s rights: Men and women in the “Massive Exposure Group” indicated a lot less support than participants in the “No Exposure Group” (38% versus 76%).
* Men and women in the “Massive Exposure Group” rated anal sex, group sex, and bestiality at least twice as common as did the “No Exposure Group”.
* Those in the “Massive Exposure Group” believed that more than twice as many adults had anal intercourse than those in the “No Exposure Group”. The “Massive Exposure Group” estimated that 30% of Americans had group sex, while the “No Exposure Group” estimated only 11% did.
* The “Massive Exposure Group” also estimated that 15% of Americans practised S&M, and that 12% of Americans were having sex with animals — gross estimations of actual sexual practices, according to all available data at the time.
The conclusions were that massive exposure to pornography made rape appear a more trivial offense, which seemed also to parallel a drop in support for women’s rights. Also, intensive pornography viewing led to beliefs that unusual sexual acts are far more common than they really are. (2)
(1) Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, “Effects of prolonged consumption of pornography”, Journal of Family Issues; 1988; “Pornography’s Impact on Sexual Satisfaction”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology; 1988.
(2) Dolf Zillman & Jennings Bryant, “Effects of massive exposure to pornography”, in Neil Malamuth and Edward Donnerstein Eds., Pornography and Sexual Aggression; 1984.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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