The who and why of pornography use
Research from Canadian universities has found that in the previous month 83 per cent of males and 31 per cent of females had seen sexually explicit videos or photos online. Jason Carroll and colleagues found similar rates in the United States. They looked further and found that 48 per cent of young adult males and 3 per cent of young adult females watched sexually explicit material once a week or more.
Seeing sexually explicit material does not mean that you feel it is acceptable. Carroll and colleagues found that 67 per cent of males and 49 per cent of females find viewing porn as acceptable. This means that 1 in 5 males use porn, but do not find it acceptable.Interestingly, the pattern is opposite for females, in which 1 in 5 females find porn acceptable, but do not use it.
A study out of Syracuse University discovered that when seeing sexually explicit material that is acceptable to the viewer, the material is arousing, but when seeing sexually explicit material that is not acceptable to the view, the material produces a negative reaction.
There are many reasons people choose to watch sexually explicit material. Researchers at Indiana University grouped some of the reasons into four main categories:
- In relationships: some find social value in watching sexually explicit material through maintaining friendships or partnerships. For example, a couple may want to learn new sexual positions to experiment with their partner, or a group of friends may watch it as an activity at a bachelor party.
- For mood management: some use sexually explicit material when masturbating to simply pass the time, or to relieve stress or sexual frustration.
- Habitually: some use sexually explicit material as a routine activity.
- Fantasy: some use sexually explicit material to fantasize about having sex with those who they are watching.
Regardless of the reason for watching sexually explicit material, it is a normal healthy behaviour.
Check out next week’s column for to discover how realistic sexually explicit material is.
If you’d like a certain sex ed topic discussed, send your requests to tashafalconer@trentu.ca
Photo by Tasha Falconer