The idea for this research project was originally conceptualised out of a desire to
understand how the male consumption of pornography affects women; an area
that has previously merited attention (Shaw 1999). Whilst much research has been
conducted on the links between pornography and violence, fewer studies
investigate other ways in which it may affect the lives of women. This study was
neither pro- pornography, nor anti- pornography; rather it was concerned with the
current content that is being circulated and accessed. To gain insight into women’s
perception of the male consumption of pornography this study explored: what
pornography is, how women feel about its use, how it affects female identity and
how easy this is to discuss within society.
Female volunteers aged 18-30 were recruited by email via the university
volunteers list. All participants were asked to attend an interview and a focus
group. However, one only focus group was held due to difficulties in finding
participants who could attend both. The interviews were semi- structured; each
interviewee was asked a set of 13 questions with additional questions asked
dependant on their answers.
A considerable amount of research has been conducted on pornography globally,
yet the focus has tended to be limited. Very little is known about the consumers
of pornography, and it has been suggested that the analysis of the users of
pornography needs to be re-examined (Attwood 2007).
Literature Review
Methodology
Introduction
How Do Women Perceive the Male Consumption of
Pornography?
The research required ethical approval due to both the sensitive nature of the
topic, and due to it being audio-recorded. The study was granted ethical approval
by the department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. Thematic
analysis was used to analyse the data collected as it offers a flexible approach
(Braun et al 2006) to organising data and identifying themes (Ryan et al 2003).
The decision to investigate female perceptions of male consumption was born
out of previous studies reporting higher levels of male consumption. A study of
pornographic use among 18- 26 year old, American university students revealed
that more men than women both use, and accept the use of pornography
(Carroll et al 2008). Whilst initially this study was going to look at women of all
ages, it was apparent that there would be generational differences in responses.
A review of the literature found that pornography has been of greater
accessibility and availability for younger generations (Benjamin et al 2008). In
light of this it was decided that this study would focus on the perceptions and
experiences of young women aged 18- 30.
The literature reviewed often reported that pornography contained content that
was degrading to women. In the most circulated pornographic videos in America
male dominance was extremely prominent, as were scenes considered
aggressive and degrading towards women (Bridges et al 2010). This study wanted
to investigate what implications this had on women’s perceptions of pornography
itself, and the consumption of it.
“I wish porn
wasn’t as
derogatory to
women as it is”
“I think all porn
has an aspect of
violence to it”
“Because [porn]
already exists I think
that it would be
impossible to say yeah
I don’t agree with it”
“I don’t think it’s
degrading or
anything … just
something [men]
do really”
“How could you
not see women as
objects … if that’s
how you spend
your spare time?”
“I approve of the
concept of porn …
I just wish it was
different”
The content of pornography was of alarm for the majority of participants. There
were concerns that it homogenised female appearance, normalised aggression or
violence towards women and portrayed male pleasure as more important. When
asked how the situation could be improved responses ranged from no change is
needed, to increasing discussion about the topic, to drastic change within society.
The most commonly suggested answer was increasing discussion around
pornography.
Conclusions
When explicitly asked how they felt about men using pornography, or if they had
any objections to men using it, the majority of participants were very accepting.
The main source of discomfort was largely the content of pornography, and how
it affects perceptions of women (by both men and by women). The content of
pornography, rather than the concept was what concerned most of the women. A
definite tension was evident between accepting male use and what content it is
that is accessed. This issue was addressed by questioning the women on whether
they felt concerned that men may be negatively influenced by the content. Many
of the respondents responded that not everyone is susceptible to influence, or
that pornography is not the only factor that reinforces negative attitudes towards
women. The participants who articulated that it was difficult not to be influenced
by pornography were the three who objected most to the male use of it.
This study indicates that the concept of pornography has become so normalised
and mainstreamed (Attwood 2006) that despite the content rousing discomfort
many have simply accepted its use. It was widely acknowledged that men
consume pornography more than women, and was perceived as being socially
acceptable. Although it was not always explicitly stated concerns were raised that
the male use of pornography was harmful to themselves, to women and to
relations between men and women.
References
Findings
All of the participants questioned were both aware that men consume
pornography, and felt that men were more likely to access it. Most of the women
articulated varying degrees of acceptance of the male use of pornography,
however, three participants particularly objected to its use. The least amount of
concern was articulated by the participant who stated that she was participating
primarily for research sake rather than out of a particular interest in the subject.
This would suggest that in order to gain a more representative view expanding
the research to include more women would be worthwhile.
Though considerable insight into female perceptions of the male use of
pornography was revealed during the research, the complexity of the topic meant
that many questions were left unanswered. An area that needs to be developed
further was the unanticipated thoughts regarding female sexuality. Many of the
participants articulated the difficulties in expressing female sexuality. The female
consumption of pornography and female masturbation are generally not openly
discussed within society, nor always felt as socially acceptable.
The findings of this study suggest that opening the discussion on pornography
would be worthwhile for both men and women alike. Some of the tensions that
were identified may be relieved if women are given a space to voice their
concerns. If the problems surrounding the content of pornography are
acknowledged there is potential for people to make more informed choices about
accessing and consuming it.
Attwood, F. (2006) ‘Sexed Up: Theorizing the Sexualisation of Culture’, Sexualities, 9 (1), pp. 77- 94.
Attwood, F. (2007) ‘‘Other’ or ‘One of Us’?: The Porn Use in Public and Academic Discourse’, Particip@tions, 4 (1).
Benjamin, O. and Tlusten, D. (2010) ‘Intimacy and/or Degradation: Heterosexual Images of Togetherness and Women’s Embracement of Pornography’, Sexualities, 113
(5), pp. 599- 623.
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) ‘Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, pp. 77- 101.
Bridges, A., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C. and Liberman, R. (2010) ‘Aggression and Sexual Behaviour in Best-selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis
Update’, Violence Against Women, 16 (10), pp. 1065- 1085.
Carroll, J., Padilla- Walker, L., Nelson, L., Olson, C., McNamara Barry, C. and Madsen, S. (2008) ‘Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among Emerging
Adults’, Journal of Adolescent Research, 23 (1), pp. 6- 30.
Ryan, G. W. and Bernard, H. R. (2003) ‘Techniques to Identify Themes’, Field Methods, 15, pp. 85- 109.
Shaw, S. (1999) ‘Men’s Leisure and Women’s Lives: The Impact of Pornography on Women’, Leisure Studies, 18 (3), pp. 197- 212.
Researched by Ruth Beresford
Supervised by Lorna Warren