The Relationship Between Attitudes Towards Women, Consumption of Pornography, and Other Demographic Variables in a Survey of 1,023 Consumers of Pornography

Abstract

Objective: This survey provides data about the attitudes towards women of 1,023 pornography consumers in Australia, and the relationships between these attitudes, their level of pornography consumption, and several other demographic variables.

Method: A survey of 1,023 consumers of pornography in Australia recruited through mailing lists of pornography consumers, and via the Internet.

Results: There was no relationship demonstrated between consumers' attitudes towards women and the amount of pornography consumed; but there was a relationship between greater negative attitudes towards women and being older; voting for a right-wing political party; living in a rural area; having a lower level of formal education; and being a man.

Conclusions: The paper suggests that consuming pornography is not a significant factor in the generation of negative attitudes towards women.

Implications: The survey suggests that in seeking to understand how negative attitudes towards women are generated in society we should start by asking what issues might be most important, rather than beginning with the assumption that pornography is the major cause of such attitudes.

Key Words:

• Pornography
• consumption
• survey
• attitudes towards women