No Plaything: Ethical Issues Concerning Child-pornography

Academic discussion of pornography is generally restricted to issues arising from the depiction of adults. I argue that child-pornography is a more complex matter, and that generally accepted moral judgements concerning pornography in general have to be revised when children are involved. I look at the question of harm to the children involved, the consumers, and society in general, at the question of blame, and at the possibility of a morally acceptable form of child-pornography. My approach involves an objectivist meta-ethics and a utilitarian view of practical ethics, and I bring out the advantages of these theories to the consideration of moral issues such as this one.

Adolescents’ Exposure to a Sexualized Media Environment and Their Notions of Women as Sex Objects

This study was designed to investigate whether adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment is associated with stronger beliefs that women are sex objects. More specifically, we studied whether the association between notions of women as sex objects and exposure to sexual content of varied explicitness (i.e., sexually non-explicit, semi-explicit, or explicit) and in different formats (i.e., visual and audio-visual) can be better described as cumulative or as hierarchical. Further, we investigated whether this association was contingent on gender. Based on data from an on-line survey of 745 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 18, we found that the relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects followed a hierarchical pattern: Starting with adolescents’ exposure to sexually semi-explicit content, the statistical significance of the relationship with notions of women as sex objects moved from semi-explicit to explicit sexual content and from visual to audio-visual formats. Exposure to sexually explicit material in on-line movies was the only exposure measure significantly related to beliefs that women are sex objects in the final regression model, in which exposure to other forms of sexual content was controlled. The relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects did not differ for girls and boys.     

Sexual behaviours among dyadic vehicle occupants

Sexual activity while driving is a risky behaviour frequently found across media. However, much is unknown about the practices and roles that dyadic occupants of vehicles (i.e. a driver and passenger) perform when engaging in sexual activity while driving. To cover this gap, a content analysis of sexually explicit media (SEM) was conducted on a sample of 208 videos taken from Pornhub.com. The videos portrayed a naturalistic driving situation of a driver of a moving vehicle engaging in sexual activity with a passenger. Videos were coded for sexual behaviours and characteristics of the vehicle occupants (gender and role). Drivers were generally male, while passengers were female. A range of sexual activities while driving were coded, including oral sex, unclothed and clothed masturbation, varying levels of nudity, and ejaculation. Drivers appear to be the focus of sexual attention, as they are generally the ones receiving sexual acts from the passenger, and predominantly ejaculating. Additionally, female passengers perform oral sex on drivers more often than male passengers, and female vehicle occupants tend to have greater levels of nudist exposure than males. This study highlights the complexities of sexual activity while driving and patterns for consideration when developing interventions.     

The feminist case against pornography: a review and re-evaluation

Despite sustained feminist criticism, the production and consumption of pornography does not show signs of waning. Here, I offer a critical review of the existing feminist anti-pornography debate, arguing that it has largely failed to provide suitable grounds for a stable and comprehensive critique, instead often indirectly providing theoretical resources for pornography to reinvent itself. This is a product, in my view, of a misguided focus on the pornographic object. Feminist critics are better served, I argue, by redirecting their critical gaze towards the consumers of pornography, and, in particular, to the attitudes such consumption reflects. To that end, I introduce an alternative, attitudinal approach that enables criticism of pornography as a reflection of sexist attitudes, as well as for its role in concealing these attitudes.     

Adolescent religiousness as a protective factor against pornography use

This study examined mediators of relations between adolescent religiousness and pornography use. The sample consisted of 419 adolescents (ages 15–18 years; M age = 15.68, SD = 0.98; 56% male). It was hypothesized that religiousness (religious internalization and involvement) would protect adolescents from pornography use (accidental and intentional viewing) by increasing self-regulation, conservative attitudes towards pornography, and social control against pornography. Path analyses revealed religious internalization and involvement were indirectly linked to intentional viewing through all three mediators. For accidental viewing, the only indirect effects were from religious internalization through self-regulation and social control, and from religious involvement through social control. Thus, religiousness may protect adolescents from intentional and accidental exposure to pornography.     

Peek-a-boo, I See You: Watching Japanese Hard-core Animation

This essay proposes a phenomenological approach to the viewing of Japanese hard-core animation (widely known in the West as “hentai”), a type of erotica frequently characterized by detailed, unusual and fantastic depictions of sexual activity habitually intended for sexual arousal. Pertinent instances of Japanese traditions of erotica and visual representation, as well as Japanese animation and its industry are briefly reviewed. The main theoretical focus is on the experience of viewing such animated material and is mostly informed by Western notions of pornography and film viewing, particularly Vivian Sobchack’s work on the phenomenology of film.

The pleasure is momentary…the expense damnable?: The influence of pornography on rape and sexual assault

The effects of pornography, whether violent or non-violent, on sexual aggression have been debated for decades. The current review examines evidence about the influence of pornography on sexual aggression in correlational and experimental studies and in real world violent crime data. Evidence for a causal relationship between exposure to pornography and sexual aggression is slim and may, at certain times, have been exaggerated by politicians, pressure groups and some social scientists. Some of the debate has focused on violent pornography, but evidence of any negative effects is inconsistent, and violent pornography is comparatively rare in the real world. Victimization rates for rape in the United States demonstrate an inverse relationship between pornography consumption and rape rates. Data from other nations have suggested similar relationships. Although these data cannot be used to determine that pornography has a cathartic effect on rape behavior, combined with the weak evidence in support of negative causal hypotheses from the scientific literature, it is concluded that it is time to discard the hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior.     

Perception of intensity of sperm competition on the part of males

Preferences for certain pornographic themes are hypothesized to have been influenced by our evolutionary history, where sperm competition could play a significant role. The mating system in our australopithecine ancestors, as well as in modern human societies, however, suggests that polygyny (characterized by low risk of sperm competition) has predominated over multi-male multi-female mating systems where high sperm competition is expected. In this study, a sample of men (N = 96) was investigated for their preferences for sexually explicit material showing low (sexual interaction with three women), moderate (one man and one woman) and high intensity of sperm competition (one woman and two men). The participants showed a strong and highly consistent preference for pictures showing moderate and low intensity of sperm competition. These preferences were not influenced by sociosexuality, pornography consumption or attitudes toward pornography. It is suggested that these preferences may mirror psychological adaptations for sperm competition which are activated when the risk of cuckoldry is high. Certain circumstances, where preferences for cues associated with high intensity of sperm competition would be adaptive, are discussed.