Neuroscience
Radical feminism conceives of pornography as fundamentally harmful to women; it is, in the words of anti-pornography activist Gail Dines, “the most succinct and crisp deliverer of a woman-hating ideology.” But past research on how porn influences how we think about equality for women has been inconsistent and often reliant on underpowered studies. Now, a US survey published in The Journal of Sex Research and involving 24,000 men and women who were quizzed between 1975 and 2010 has shown no link between pornography use and nonegalitarianism. In fact, male and female users of pornography were significantly more willing to endorse women in positions of power, working outside the home, and as having the right to make their own decisions over abortion.
These correlational effects run contrary to the claims about pornography’s power to condition attitudes against women. Taking the balance of findings, lead author Taylor Kohut concludes that they appear to indicate “that pornography use may not be associated with nonegalitarian attitudes toward women in the manner implied by radical feminist theory. In light of this evidence, continued anti-pornography rhetoric proclaiming that ‘pornography is what the end of the world looks like’ appears unjustified.”
--Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample
_________________________________
Post written by Alex Fradera (@alexfradera) for the BPS Research Digest.
Our free fortnightly email will keep you up-to-date with all the psychology research we digest: Sign up!
- Extras
10 eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: We perceive people we trust as more physically similar to ourselves "Cougars on the prowl? New perceptions of older women's sexuality" Using magic tricks to explore the psychology of insight....
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: How many neurons do you REALLY have? Some dogmas of quantitative neuroscience. Smiley faces are perceived to be brighter, literally. Don't tell Sarkozy - people in power overestimate their own...
- People Sensitive To Disgust Are More Likely To Hold Right-wing Views
People who are sensitive to interpersonal disgust – for example, they dislike sitting on a bus seat left warm by a stranger – are more likely to hold right-wing attitudes and to be racist. That's according to Gordon Hodson and Kimberly Costello,...
- Is There Any Evidence For The "porn-addicted Brain"?
No definite peer reviewed work that I could find... However a recent blog post by Dr. Donald L. Hilton, Jr., a Mormon spine surgeon and Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Texas Health Sciences Center, claimed otherwise: Can...
- Attend A Free Human Trafficking Symposium!
Human Trafficking Symposium (free event)Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse at the University of MarylandArt/Sociology Room 2203 April 20th, 7-9pm Event Description:Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse at the University of Maryland has organized...
Neuroscience
Pornography use correlates with pro-feminist attitudes, according to US survey
These correlational effects run contrary to the claims about pornography’s power to condition attitudes against women. Taking the balance of findings, lead author Taylor Kohut concludes that they appear to indicate “that pornography use may not be associated with nonegalitarian attitudes toward women in the manner implied by radical feminist theory. In light of this evidence, continued anti-pornography rhetoric proclaiming that ‘pornography is what the end of the world looks like’ appears unjustified.”
--Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample
Post written by Alex Fradera (@alexfradera) for the BPS Research Digest.
Our free fortnightly email will keep you up-to-date with all the psychology research we digest: Sign up!
- Extras
10 eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: We perceive people we trust as more physically similar to ourselves "Cougars on the prowl? New perceptions of older women's sexuality" Using magic tricks to explore the psychology of insight....
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: How many neurons do you REALLY have? Some dogmas of quantitative neuroscience. Smiley faces are perceived to be brighter, literally. Don't tell Sarkozy - people in power overestimate their own...
- People Sensitive To Disgust Are More Likely To Hold Right-wing Views
People who are sensitive to interpersonal disgust – for example, they dislike sitting on a bus seat left warm by a stranger – are more likely to hold right-wing attitudes and to be racist. That's according to Gordon Hodson and Kimberly Costello,...
- Is There Any Evidence For The "porn-addicted Brain"?
No definite peer reviewed work that I could find... However a recent blog post by Dr. Donald L. Hilton, Jr., a Mormon spine surgeon and Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Texas Health Sciences Center, claimed otherwise: Can...
- Attend A Free Human Trafficking Symposium!
Human Trafficking Symposium (free event)Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse at the University of MarylandArt/Sociology Room 2203 April 20th, 7-9pm Event Description:Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse at the University of Maryland has organized...