Pornography, sexual orientation and ambivalent sexism in young adults in Spain

Abstract

Background On line platforms offer access to an almost unlimited variety of pornographic material that shows high levels of sexism. Despite this fact, there are still few studies that assess the effect of pornography on sexism in young adults The aim of this study is to analyze the association of pornography consumption and sexual orientation with benevolent sexism (BS) and hostile sexism (HS) in young men and women. Methods We surveyed 2,346 people aged 18–35 years old. Multiple regression models were carried out for BS and HS. The independent variables: current pornography consumption and sexual orientation. Covariates: socio-demographic variables -age, sex, level of education and place of birth-. Results A) HS: Men who consumed pornography had higher median values of HS than those who did not [β(95%CI):2.39(0.67;4.10)]. Homosexual/ bisexual men displayed lower values of HS than heterosexual men [β(95%CI):-2.98(-4.52;-1.45)]. The increase in HS levels associated with pornography consumption was notably greater in homosexual and bisexual women relative to heterosexual women, where that pattern was not observed [β(95%CI for interaction): 2.27(0.11; 4.43)]. B) BS: Mean values of BS were observed to be lower for both women [β(95%CI):-2.16(-2.99;-1.32)] and men [β(95%CI):-4.30(-5.75;-2.86)] who consumed pornography compared to those who did not. Homosexual/bisexual men recorded mean values of BS lower than heterosexual men [β(95%CI):-3.10(-4.21;-1.99)]. Conclusions Pornography consumption is related to sexism and differs according to sex and sexual orientation. As sexism is the substratum of inequality between men and women, it is urgent to launch affective-sexual education programs for young people that take into account the determinants of sexism.

Exploring the Interplay of problematic pornography use, sexism, and rape myth acceptance: An Italian cross-sectional study

“…It perceives women as delicate entities needing male protection and endorses stereotypes that align with traditional views of femininity and gender roles. Some studies have found an association between the construct of sexism, especially hostile sexism, and the frequent use of pornographic material [ 15 , 16 ], while others have not established a consistent association between experimental exposure to pornography and sexism, and cross-sectional studies have found that pornography use is either unrelated to sexism or associated with more egalitarian beliefs regarding certain gender issues [ 2 , 17 ]. Another controversial issue is the role of pornography in the construction of masculinity.…”