I (Dis)Like it Like That: Gender, Pornography, and Liking Sex

Abstract

Rates of pornography consumption in the U.S. are high and increasing. With exploratory aims, this study addresses the questions: What is the association between pornography consumption and liking of sexual behaviors commonly depicted in pornography, and is enjoyment moderated by gender? Sexual scripts theory suggests that increased pornography consumption is associated with increased engagement in pornographic sex acts, but it does not speak to enjoyment of the acts when engaged. The current study seeks to fill that gap. Based on data collected from a larger sample of 1,883 heterosexual men and women (predominantly, 86.6%, college or university students) in the U.S., and comparing correlations between pornography consumption (frequency of use) and reported enjoyment of a range of sexual behaviors by gender using Fisher’s z transformations (α value set at <.0025), analysis revealed that pornography consumption, overall, was not significantly correlated with increased enjoyment of the sexual acts that comprise the pornographic sexual script. However, gender was a significant moderating factor in the enjoyment, specifically, of degrading and/or uncommon acts. Male respondents were significantly more likely to report enjoying these acts than their female counterparts. These findings have possible implications for consumers, educators, and mental health professionals.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 General population surveys in the United States suggest that the prevalence of anal sex, for example, has increased over time, yet it is uncertain if this reflects an actual increase in the prevalence of the act or an expansion of the sexual repertoire of Americans (Leichliter, 2008; McBride & Fortenberry, 2010). Reports of lifetime prevalence of heterosexual anal sex range from 6% to 40%, yet only 10-11.8% of heterosexual women report engaging in anal sex in the previous year, and the frequency of heterosexual anal sex is poorly documented (see Herbenick et al., 2017; McBride & Fortenberry, 2010). Finally, although one scholar describes “ass to mouth” as “more common than you think” (Moser, 2006, p. 88), we know of no survey research outside of our own (Sun et al., 2016), in which 7.2% of male respondents and 1.9% of female respondents reported having ever engaged in the practice, that include this act as a measured sexual behavior.

2 Results are available in a supplemental file online.