Sexual violence in pornography: How prevalent is it?

Abstract

We examine the treatment of female characters in videocassette pornography. Using a systematic sample, we analyze 209 vignettes in 40 x-to xxx-rated videos commercially available from a national chain in the local market. We found that most videos had sexually violent or dehumanizing/degrading themes; however, a significant number also had a theme of intimacy. As expected, we found little evidence (one case) of extreme sexual deviance. Extreme sexual deviance was the kind of sexual violence the 1986 Commission on Pornography assumed was commonly available in pornography today. We also examined how the race of the actor shapes pornographic violence. As hypothesized, we found that black women experienced more violence from both white and black men than was the case for white women. White women, in fact, experienced least violence when paired with a black man. Our work replicates that of others in that we found few intimacy themes in material where black actors were present.

Pornography, Alcohol, and Male Sexual Dominance

“…A study of pornographic movies by Cowan, Lee, Levy, and Snyder (1988) found that themes of sexual dominance and exploitation were common (54% of scenes) and that men were more likely to dominate and exploit women than vice versa. Monk-Turner and Purcell's (1999) analysis of pornographic movies found that women were sexually subordinated to men in approximately 40% of scenes. A study of pornographic magazines, movies, and websites by Barron and Kimmel (2000) found that women were the targets of dominant acts more than men across all three platforms.…”

A Comparison of Male and Female Directors in Popular Pornography: What Happens when Women are at the Helm?

“…Even though most studies attempted to capture samples that are popular and widespread, almost all studies used sample methods of convenience, such as asking the store clerks to recommend titles (Yang & Linz, 1990), selecting lists from adult sections of a local video store (Monk‐Turner & Purcell, 1999), or sampling from local stores (Barron & Kimmel, 2000). The selection process generally appears to be either subjective and unsystematic or lacking national representation, thus limiting the studies' generalizability.…”

Pornography Consumption and US Adults' Attitudes toward Gay Individuals' Civil Liberties, Moral Judgments of Homosexuality, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage: Mediating and Moderating Factors

“…The Sexual depictions and themes in popular pornography diverge from each component of the traditional sexual script. Casual, nonmarital sex is customary (Monk-Turner & Purcell, 1999). Extramarital sex and sex with multiple partners is common (Wright, 2013a;Wright & Arroyo, 2013).…”