Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Sociology Dissertations Department of Sociology Spring 5-10-2014 Porn Sex vs. Real Sex: Exploring Pornography's Impact on Sexual Behaviors, Attitudes, and Relationships Stacy Gorman Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss Recommended Citation Gorman, Stacy, "Porn Sex vs. Real Sex: Exploring Pornography's Impact on Sexual Behaviors, Attitudes, and Relationships." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2014. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss/76 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Sociology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PORN SEX VS. REAL SEX: EXPLORING PORNOGRAPHY’S IMPACT ON SEXUAL BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES, AND RELATIONSHIPS by STACY GORMAN Under the Direction of Wendy Simonds ABSTRACT For over forty years, researchers, activists, and policymakers have questioned how, if at all, pornography affects its viewers. Previous research has focused on how pornography relates to many factors including sexual risks, sexual permissiveness, violence, rape myth acceptance, and sexual behaviors. Much of this research, though, has been unable to identify the direction of the relationship between viewing sexually explicit material and various sexual attitudes and behaviors, and rarely studies a sample that is representative of the U.S. adult population. Instead, much of the research on pornography has relied on college student samples or other convenience samples. My study addresses these gaps by exploring a wide range of sexual behaviors and attitudes through surveying a sample of respondents who participate in online survey research panels. By accessing online survey panels, researchers are able to specify the demographics they would like their particular sample to reflect. For this study, a sample has been selected to reflect the U.S. population on age, race, and gender. To better assess the directionality of the relationship between exposure to sexually explicit material and respondents’ sexual behaviors and attitudes, I have included several closed-ended items that may help to better identify the temporal order of these variables. Additionally, I have used open-ended questions to provide a more in-depth account of respondents’ perceptions of pornography and how it relates to their sexual behaviors and relationships. Findings suggest that not only are there correlations between viewing pornography and the sexual acts participants engage in and find arousing, but that the material individuals are exposed to may be shaping their behaviors and attitudes. I discuss the quantitative findings in relation to respondents’ qualitative remarks within the context of sexual scripts theory. INDEX WORDS: Pornography, Sex, Internet, Sexually explicit material PORN SEX VS. REAL SEX: EXPLORING PORNOGRAPHY’S IMPACT ON SEXUAL BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES, AND RELATIONSHIPS by STACY GORMAN A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2014 Copyright by Stacy Gorman 2014 PORN SEX VS. REAL SEX: EXPLORING PORNOGRAPHY’S IMPACT ON SEXUAL BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES, AND RELATIONSHIPS by STACY GORMAN Committee Chair: Wendy Simonds Committee: Dawn Baunach Mindy Stombler Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members for all of their support and guidance, not only while carrying out this study, but throughout my entire time in the doctoral program. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from such knowledgeable and accomplished scholars. I am very grateful for all of the time, encouragement, and feedback that Wendy, Dawn, and Mindy have given to me over the last five years. I have also had so much support throughout the dissertation process from my friends and family. I would like to thank my parents, Dave Harmon, and Amanda Jungels for everything they have done to help me get to this point. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD ............................................................................... 5 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 8 INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY AND PORNOGRAPHY USE ..................................... 8 PORNOGRAPHY AND VIOLENCE .......................................................................... 11 PORNOGRAPHY AND BEHAVIOR ......................................................................... 16 PORNOGRAPHY, BEHAVIOR AND SEXUAL SCRIPTS ....................................... 29 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ................................................................................. 34 SAMPLE ....................................................................................................................... 34 INTERNET RESEARCH ............................................................................................. 37 SURVEY INSTRUMENT ............................................................................................ 38 ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER FOUR: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS .................................................... 46 VIEWING PORNOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 46 SEXUAL BEHAVIORS ............................................................................................... 48 RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORS .................................................................................. 51 SEXUAL EXPERIENCES SURVEY .......................................................................... 53 ATTITUDES TOWARD PORNOGRAPHY ............................................................... 55 SEXUAL ATTITUDES ................................................................................................ 57 v PORNOGRAPHY & ORGASMS ................................................................................ 58 CHAPTER FIVE: HYPOTHESIS TESTING ............................................................. 70 PORNOGRAPHY & SEXUAL BEHAVIORS ............................................................ 70 PORNOGRAPHY & RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORS ............................................... 80 PORNOGRAPHY & AROUSAL................................................................................. 82 PORNOGRAPHY & SEXUAL ATTITUDES ............................................................. 85 PORNOGRAPHY & THE SEXUAL EXPERIENCES SURVEY .............................. 87 CHAPTER SIX: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ......................................................... 108 PORNOGRAPHY’S POSITIVE IMPACTS ON RELATIONSHIPS ....................... 108 PORNOGRAPHY’S NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON RELATIONSHIPS ..................... 118 THE TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS OF PORN ..................................................... 125 PORN SEX, REAL SEX, AND “GOOD” SEX ......................................................... 129 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 136 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................................................. 138 EXPLORING RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................. 138 “THIS IS THE BEST SURVEY I HAVE EVER DONE. GOT AROUSED JUST BY DOING IT”: THINGS I LEARNED BUT DIDN’T NEED TO KNOW FROM MY PARTICIPANTS ........................................................................................................ 148 LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................... 152 FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................................................................... 154 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 157 APPENDIX: SURVEY INSTRUMENT ..................................................................... 167 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Frequency of Viewing Porn .............................................................................. 62 Table 4.2 Frequency of Viewing Pornography (without non-viewers) ............................ 62 Table 4.3 Frequency of Porn Viewing by Type ................................................................ 63 Table 4.4 Frequency of Viewing by Gender & Age ......................................................... 64 Table 4.5 Frequency of Sexual Behaviors ........................................................................ 65 Table 4.6 Condom Use by Race ....................................................................................... 66 Table