Violence
Pornography and sexual aggression: Association of violent and nonviolent depictions with rape and rape proclivity.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
The current research on the relationship between pornography and sexual violence has produced mixed findings. Some studies show a connection between violent depictions and rape, while others examining nonviolent sexual material report inconsistent findings or no effects. This paper examines the potential connection between rape and rape proclivity and use of soft‐core pornography and three types of hard‐core pornography: nonviolent pornography, violent pornography, and rape pornography. Data collected from a sample of 515 college men indicated strong bivariate associations of rape and rape proclivity with use of almost all forms of pornography. Multivariate analysis indicated that the strongest correlates of sexual coercion and aggression, as well as rape proclivity, were exposure to hard‐core violent and rape pornography. Exposure to nonviolent hard‐core pornography displayed no association net of the other variables. Exposure to soft‐core pornography was positively associated with likelihood of sexual force and nonviolent coercive behavior, but negatively associated with likelihood of rape and actual rape behavior.
Relevance
“Overall, exposure to sexually explicit materials appears to be a significant correlate with sexual aggression and rape proclivity…Higher exposure to pornography depicting violent and rape behavior appeared to be significantly related to both engaging in sexual aggression and believing oneself capable or likely of engaging in sexual aggression. Use of violent porn was also correlated with coercive sexuality, and use of rape pornography was correlated with use of drugs or alcohol to obtain sex.”
“Exposure to the milder materials found in soft-core pornography is positively related to engaging in coercive verbal behavior…Men who heavily consume soft-core pornography may subscribe to rape myths to a higher degree than those who do not.”
Citation
Boeringer, S. B. (1994). Pornography and sexual aggression: Associations of violent and nonviolent depictions with rape and rape proclivity. Deviant Behavior, 15(3), 289–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.1994.9967974
