Does Porn Really Encourage Violence Against Women?
It'd be easy to assume pornography usage leads to sexually violent behavior toward women. After all, a 2010 study published by SAGE Journals analyzed 304 scenes from top-selling pornography videos and found 88 percent of them contained physical aggression. (Which the researchers considered to be spanking, gagging and slapping.) Of those scenes, 49 percent contained verbal aggression, primarily name-calling. The perpetrators were usually male and their targets were overwhelmingly female.
With free porn available to anyone with internet access and a pulse, does the ease of access make for an unfortunate, violent version of monkey see, monkey do? Well, no—or at least, probably not. Dozens of studies have been conducted over several decades, going back to the 1970s, trying to get to the bottom of this question. Consistently, the results are more of a shrug than a conclusive answer.
"The evidence tends to be mixed," said Jagdish Khubchandani, professor of public health at New Mexico State University, who's well versed on this topic: He wrote his Ph.D. thesis on teen dating violence. While some studies indicate that pornography increases violence toward women, others found no effect, and others even show a protective effect. "This is in part because we cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship—we mostly have studies showing correlation or association," Khubchandani said.
While some studies indicate that pornography increases violence toward women, others found no effect, and others even show a protective effect.
A 2020 meta-analysis (a large study combining results from previous smaller studies) found virtually no effect from watching nonviolent pornography and violence toward women, and only a small effect of watching violent pornography and sexual aggression against women. But—and this is a big but—the minor tie was only found in experimental and correlational studies.
"Overall, the study authors concluded that pornography consumption is not a strong or consistent predictor of real-world violence against women," said Elizabeth L. Jeglic, Ph.D., professor of psychology at John Jay College in New York, who studies sexual violence prevention.
However, several studies have found that teens who view online pornography were more susceptible to thought patterns that could ultimately lead to aggression or violence. They were found to be more likely to sexually objectify women, had more stereotyped gender attitudes, displayed more sexually permissive behaviors and were more likely to engage in sexual harassment.
"While not directly related to sexual violence, these attitudes and behaviors maintain a culture supportive of sexual violence toward women," said Jeglic. "Taken together, these findings suggest that we have to monitor what teens are watching as they form their attitudes toward women and sexual behavior. But in adulthood, watching nonviolent pornography will not likely increase the risk of violence toward women."
The adult studies ultimately include too many variables to get a straight, unbiased answer, from who is conducting the study to the various definitions of pornography and violence. Alison Boden, CEO of Kink.com, has given this topic a lot of thought, researching intensely. "In the 20 years I've followed the research, I've never seen a methodologically sound study that showed a causal link between porn and violence," Boden said.
Why not? "Sexuality is a very stigmatized subject in the U.S.—even in academia—so I think researchers worry that it will negatively impact their reputation or esteem in their fields if they engage with it," Boden said. She added the stigma means few reputable institutions are willing to provide funds to study it.
Another challenge: the presence of multiple risk behaviors in the individuals who are studied, such as links to alcohol use, multiple sexual partners, unsafe sex and drug use.
"This makes establishing a direct link between pornography and violence against women a difficult task," Khubchandani said.
Another variable is where the studies are conducted, as various cultures render different results. One 2021 study published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health pointed to a strong association between pornography use and violence toward women in India, where rape cases have surged in recent years, while others in America (like the meta-analysis) have failed to find a strong connection, if a correlation at all.
So, decades and dozens of studies later, scholars have yet to come to a consensus as to whether porn encourages violence against women. Boden is encouraged by the increasingly diverse, female-friendly nature of porn, though.
"I think the explosion of performers creating their own content on fan sites has moved porn toward a greater level of inclusion," she said. Think gender and sexual expression, racial diversity, body types and sizes—you name it.
Whatever floats your pornography boat, go for it—as long as it doesn't encourage violence against another person.
