Nonconsensual pornography among U.S. adults: A sexual scripts framework on victimization, perpetration, and health correlates for women and men.

Abstract

This study examines rates of nonconsensual pornography victimization and perpetration in the United States, as well as health correlates of victimization. Nonconsensual pornography (aka "revenge porn") is defined as the distribution of sexually explicit images without consent, and is a growing form of image-based sexual abuse. In this study, we assessed rates of nonconsensual pornography victimization and perpetration among online U.S. adults using an inclusive definition of nonconsensual pornography (i.e., distributed through any method for any reason). Method: Online surveys were made available to adult U.S. residents via Facebook. Facebook Ads Manager was used to apply a proportional quota sampling technique to target and collect data from men and women in each of the 50 U.S. states proportionate to their representation in the nation's populace. Results: Of the 3,044 adult participants (54% women), 1 in 12 reported at least one instance of nonconsensual pornography victimization in their lifetime, and 1 in 20 reported perpetration of nonconsensual pornography. As predicted from a sexual scripts framework, which describes norms for men and women's sexual interactions, women reported higher rates of victimization and lower rates of perpetration than men. Women victims had lower psychological well-being and higher somatic symptoms than women nonvictims, and also higher somatic symptoms than men victims. Conclusions: Results support nonconsensual pornography as a gendered form of sexual abuse that emerging adults are especially susceptible to. In addition, nonconsensual pornography victimization has a negative relationship with well-being for women, consistent with narrative accounts and qualitative research.

Homosocial positionings and ambivalent participation

“…Furthermore, Henry, Flynn, and Powell (2019) found that men are signifi cantly more likely to have perpetrated any form of image-based sexual abuse compared to women, while Clancy, Klettke, and Hallford (2019) Article: Homosocial positionings and ambivalent participation Morten Birk Hansen Mandau found that males are more likely to endorse improved social status as a reason for nonconsensually sharing sexual images (40.7 percent) than are females (5 percent). Ruvalcaba and Eaton (2019) found that women are signifi cantly more likely to be victims of the non-consensual sharing of private sexual images than men, who in turn are signifi cantly more likely to be perpetrators of this behaviour. Female victims also reported signifi cantly lower mental well-being and higher levels of somatic symptoms compared to non-victims, while no signifi cant diff erences were found between male victims and non-victims.…”

“…Female victims also reported signifi cantly lower mental well-being and higher levels of somatic symptoms compared to non-victims, while no signifi cant diff erences were found between male victims and non-victims. Ruvalcaba and Eaton (2019) interpret this diff erence as being related to the sexual double standard (Bordini & Sperb, 2013), according to which females are punished and stigmatized for expressing their sexuality, while males are not punished, but instead rewarded for actively displaying their sexuality. Sexual double standards have been described in several studies on youth sexting (Lippman & Campbell, 2014;Ricciardelli & Adorjan, 2019;Ringrose, Harvey, Gill, & Livingstone, 2013) and have been linked to the phenomenon of "slut-shaming", commonly defi ned as "the act of attacking a female for perceived or real sexual activity by calling her a slut or similar names" (Van Royen, Poels, Vandebosch, & Walrave, 2018, p. 82).…”

“…Moreover, Henry et al (2019, p. 15) propose that future qualitative research focus on the role of peer support and bystanders in relation to the non-consensual sharing of sexual images. Given that studies have found that this Morten Birk Hansen Mandau Article: Homosocial positionings and ambivalent participation practice is more common among young adults than in other age groups (Morelli et al, 2016;Ruvalcaba & Eaton, 2019), it is particularly relevant to investigate these practices among young adults.…”

“…A meta-analysis of 39 studies on youth sexting showed that 12 percent (age range 11.9-17.0 years) have forwarded a sext without consent (Madigan et al, 2018), thus indicating that a considerable minority of youth have engaged in this practice. In popular media and in academic research, the non-consensual sharing of sexual images has been described as non-consensual pornography (Ruvalcaba & Eaton, 2019) and revenge pornography (Hall & Hearn, 2019). Th e former refers to the non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images, irrespective of what motivates this dissemination, while the latter refers to instances where the dissemination is conducted with the intention of getting revenge on a person.…”

“…Moreover, these authors have shown how the concepts "revenge pornography" and "non-consensual pornography" fail to focus on the harm caused by these practices and instead introduce the more appropriate term "image-based sexual abuse", which they defi ne as the "nonconsensual creation and/or distribution of private sexual images" (McGlynn & Rackley, 2017, p. 536). Although the non-consensual creation and sharing of private sexual images has consequently been investigated under varying conceptualisations, several studies have demonstrated that these actions can have devastating consequences for the persons who are victimized (Bates, 2017;Ruvalcaba & Eaton, 2019;Short, Brown, Pitchford, & Barnes, 2017). Investigating these problematic sharing practices is therefore an important research endeavour if one is to understand and prevent digitally mediated forms of sexual victimisation.…”