The use of sexually explicit material in clinical, educational and research settings in the United Kingdom and its relation to the development of psychosexual therapy and sex education

Brewster, Marnie; Wylie, Kevan

doi:10.1080/14681810802433903

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The current study’s findings, as well as the findings of past studies, may encourage some clinical practitioners to use pornography in psychosexual therapy to instruct or show clients new or alternative sexual behaviors (Brewster & Wylie, 2008 ). Such material may, for example, include portrayals of adult solo and mutual masturbation and oral, vaginal, and anal sexual activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Associations Between Pornography Consumption, Sexual Flexibility, and Sexual Functioning Among Austrian Adults

Komlenac

Hochleitner

2022

Arch Sex Behav

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To date, only a few studies have examined the associations between pornography consumption and sexual functioning. The Acquisition, Activation, Application Model (3AM) indicates that the frequency of pornography consumption and the perceived realism of pornography may influence whether sexual scripts are acquired from viewed pornography. Having sexual scripts that are alternative to their preferred sexual behaviors may help people switch to alternative sexual behavior when sexual problems arise. The current study analyzed whether frequent pornography consumption was associated with greater sexual flexibility and greater sexual functioning. Additionally, the perceived realism of pornography consumption was tested as a moderator of those associations. At an Austrian medical university, an online cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 644 medical students (54% women and 46% men; Mage = 24.1 years, SD = 3.8). The participants were asked about their pornography consumption, partnered sexual activity, sexual flexibility, perceived realism of pornography, and sexual functioning. Manifest path analyses revealed direct and indirect associations between frequent pornography consumption and greater sexual functioning through greater sexual flexibility in women but not in men. Perceived realism did not moderate those associations. In conclusion, our study was in line with previous studies that found no significant associations between men’s pornography consumption and sexual functioning in men. However, some women may expand their sexual scripts and learn new sexual behaviors from pornography consumption, which may help with their sexual functioning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Associations Between Pornography Consumption, Sexual Flexibility, and Sexual Functioning Among Austrian Adults

Komlenac

Hochleitner

2022

Arch Sex Behav

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“…In clinical and therapeutic settings addressing concerns with sexual difficulties, such as low arousal or lack of orgasm, sexual stimuli can be used as part of treatment to provide psychoeducation, or to augment sexual response during homework exercises. 1 , 20–23 Practitioners typically use their judgment to determine whether to use sexual stimuli in treatment 24 or how much choice clients should have over these stimuli. 21 , 25 While most practitioners believe that using sexual stimuli in therapy can be helpful, 25 rationales for the clinical utility of such stimuli are often not data-driven but instead based either on theory or practitioners’ clinical observations.…”

Section: Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of sexual stimuli in research and clinical settings: expert opinion and recommendations

et al. 2023

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Background Sexual stimuli, such as sexual videos, images, and narratives describing sexual interactions, are one of many tools used by clinicians and researchers to elicit or augment sexual response. Given the wide variability within sexual stimuli and their effects on sexual response, we provide guidance on when and how to use sexual stimuli, selecting sexual stimuli, and standardizing the use and reporting of sexual stimuli in research and clinical practice. Aim This expert opinion review article discusses standard operating procedures when using sexual stimuli in clinical and research applications, addressing 3 broad areas: settings in which sexual stimuli are used, characteristics and contexts of the stimuli, and practical and ethical considerations when using the stimuli. Methods This article is based on an expert opinion review of the sexual psychophysiology literature. Results First, we discuss the settings in which sexual stimuli are typically used and evaluate the ecological validity of each setting. Second, we review the types of sexual stimuli used in sexual response research, including physical characteristics, depicted sexual activity, and context, and the impacts of these characteristics on sexual response. Last, we discuss the practical and ethical considerations that come with the choice and use of sexual stimuli in clinical and research settings. We address potential limitations of certain sexual stimuli, including practical and ethical considerations such as participant vs experimenter choice, diversity and representation, and proper sourcing of sexual stimuli for use in clinical and research applications. Discussions on the future applications of sexual stimuli, such as the use of virtual reality, and ethical considerations in terms of user-generated Internet sexual stimuli are also explored. Conclusion We provide an expert opinion review of the literature regarding use of sexual stimuli for clinical and research applications and offer best use practices and recommendations.

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“…While never widely used in medical education in Britain, the introduction of SAR seminars into some medical schools during the 1970s can, however, still be considered a radical and significant development in undergraduate medical education. The use of sexually explicit materials in educational contexts tends to generate controversy (Brewster and Wylie 2008), and among the medical voices publicly expressing disquiet at the use of the SAR seminar in medical education, was Dr Prudence Tunnadine, one of the cofounders of IPM. In a letter detailing her responses to the article by Stanley (1977), Dr Tunnadine expressed concern about the potentially damaging unconscious group dynamics that might arise from ‘exposing captive audiences of less mature people to saturation by film and the necessity to express their attitudes among their peers’ (Tunnadine 1977, 23 ).…”

Section: The Sar Seminar As a Vehicle For Promoting A More Inclusive ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sparing the doctor’s blushes: the use of sexually explicit films for the purpose of Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) in the training of medical practitioners in Britain during the 1970s

Irwin

2022

Med Humanities

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The general reluctance of medical practitioners in postwar Britain to ‘speak of sex’ during healthcare consultations increasingly became a matter of professional concern in the wake of legal reforms and social changes during the 1960s affecting sexual expression and reproductive health, and a growing optimism in the early 1970s concerning the treatment of sexual difficulties. In the mid-1970s, largely as a result of the work of Dr Elizabeth Stanley, Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) seminars were introduced from the USA into some medical schools in Britain, usually as a part of courses that were intended to help students develop the attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to facilitate the discussion of patients’ sexual concerns and to treat ‘simple’ sexual problems. SAR seminars entailed the showing of sexually explicit films as a stimulus for exploring, in small discussion groups, the sexual attitudes and beliefs of students, and the potential impact of these on future professional practice. Drawing on publications by Dr Elizabeth Stanley as well as archival materials, this article examines the aims of SAR seminars, the rationale provided for their inclusion in the undergraduate medical curriculum, and the ‘permission-giving’, educative approach to sexual counselling that SAR seminars supported. It also explores some of the barriers to the more widespread use of such seminars in medical education in Britain at this time. The behaviourally informed ‘permission-giving’ approach to sexual counselling promoted by Stanley and others is also considered alongside the more psychoanalytically informed ‘interpretative’ form of sexual counselling provided by some Family Planning Association doctors from the late 1950s onwards. This comparative analysis reveals contrasting perceptions concerning the role of medical practitioners’ emotions in sexual counselling and elucidates some of the reasons for the fragmented and limited development of this aspect of medical practice in Britain.

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The use of sexually explicit material in clinical, educational and research settings in the United Kingdom and its relation to the development of psychosexual therapy and sex education

Cited by 15 publications

References 48 publications

Associations Between Pornography Consumption, Sexual Flexibility, and Sexual Functioning Among Austrian Adults

Associations Between Pornography Consumption, Sexual Flexibility, and Sexual Functioning Among Austrian Adults

Use of sexual stimuli in research and clinical settings: expert opinion and recommendations

Sparing the doctor’s blushes: the use of sexually explicit films for the purpose of Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) in the training of medical practitioners in Britain during the 1970s

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