There have been some links made between viewing pornography and having more stereotypical views on gender roles, or viewing women as sex objects and behaving more aggressively towards them (Brown & L’Engle, 2009; Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). But as we’ve discussed in the section on porn and misogyny, these ideas circulate throughout the media and our culture in general. And indeed, the link seems to be between increased viewership of any form of media — whether sitcoms, films or advertisements — and more stereotypical views on the roles of men and women (Smith & Granados, 2009; Ward & Friedman, 2006). Our media won’t become less sexist and misogynistic until our culture does. In the meantime, ignoring porn is not the solution — talking about it is.
Go to the next page: Porn and Social Behaviour
Works Cited
Jane D. Brown and Kelly L. L’Engle. “X-Rated: Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors Associated With U.S. Early Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Media” Communication Research 2009; 36; 129
Smith, S. L., & Granados, A. D. Content patterns and effects surrounding sex-role stereotyping on television and film. In J. Bryant & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects (pp. 342-361). New York: Routledge, 2009.
Valkenburg, P.M. & Peter, J. “Social consequences of the Internet for adolescents: A decade of research.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(1) (2009): 1-5.
Ward, L. M., & Friedman, K. Using TVas a guide: Associations
between television viewing and adolescents’ sexual attitudes and
behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16 ((2006): 133–156.
