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There is a widely held belief that the amount and intensity of transgressive content in pornography have been rising. Reliably assessing for such an increase, however, is complicated by methodological factors including hand-coding content using conflicting a priori definitions of what constitutes transgressive content. In response to those limitations, the present study used the results of a published empirical content analysis of ~250,000 erotic stories written over 16 years to determine if the amount or popularity of transgressive content (stories high in the themes of violence, family (incest), or BDSM) has changed in that timeframe. Results from the present study indicated no meaningful increase in either the amount of content with those themes or popularity (as measured by story views per day) of any of the three transgressive themes within the erotic narratives over the 16-year period of analysis. These results, in addition to recent research presenting similar findings within pornographic video, do not support popular perceptions that erotic material is becoming increasingly transgressive. Rather, such content within internet-based erotic material, and particularly erotic narratives, appears to be relatively consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the physical representation of men and women in online pornography through a content analysis. A total of 123 popular pornographic Internet videos featuring a male-female dyad were gathered from the most visited pornographic website in the United States. Coders analyzed the screen time, visual, and audible presence of each actor within a sexual scene. Female performers were substantially more physically represented on screen, based on an operational definition of representation that included screen time, on-screen placement, camera blocking techniques, intelligible and unintelligible audibility, and participation with the camera. Female performers were found to be physically represented on screen over four times as much as male performers. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding viewers' formation of sexual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs, to the extent that these formations are influenced, at least in part, by the physical representation of characters within a pornography scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In interdisciplinary investigations into the relationships between pornography and its audiences, the issue of how to define the object of study is more complex than in studies situated within a single discipline. A Delphi panel of 38 leading pornography researchers from a wide range of disciplines was asked about various topics, including the definition of pornography. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of two rounds of survey responses suggested two different and-at first sight-incompatible definitions operating. The first was "Sexually explicit materials intended to arouse." The second was a culturally relative definition suggesting pornography has no innate characteristics. This technical report suggests that we should encourage researchers to choose which definition they want to use in a self-reflective way depending on the needs of the project, so long as they make it explicit and justify their decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The generation or persistence of sexual arousal may be compromised when inhibitory processes such as negative emotions, outweigh sexual excitation. Disgust particularly, has been proposed as one of the emotions that may counteract sexual arousal. In support of this view, previous research has shown that disgust priming can reduce subsequent sexual arousal. As a crucial next step, this experimental study tested whether disgust (by means of odor) can also diminish sexual arousal in individuals who are already in a state of heightened sexual excitation. Methodology: In this study, participants were all men (N = 78). To elicit sexual arousal, participants watched a pornographic video. Following 4.30 minutes from the start of the video clip, they were exposed to either a highly aversive/disgusting odor (n = 42), or an odorless diluent/solvent (n = 36), that was delivered via an olfactometer, while the pornographic video continued. In both conditions the presentation of the odor lasted 1 second and was repeated 11 times with intervals of 26 seconds. Sexual arousal was indexed by both self-reports and penile circumference. Principal findings: The disgusting odor (released when the participants were already sexually aroused) resulted in a significant decrease of both subjective and genital sexual arousal compared to the control (odorless) condition. Significance: The finding that the inhibitory effect of disgust was not only expressed in self-report but also expressed on the penile response further strengthens the idea that disgust might hamper behavioral actions motivated by sexual arousal (e.g., poor judgment, coercive sexual behavior). Thus, the current findings indicate that exposure to an aversive odor is sufficiently potent to reduce already present (subjective and) genital sexual arousal. This finding may also have practical relevance for disgust to be used as a tool for self-defence (e.g., Invi Bracelet). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist theory and religious doctrines alike often suggest that pornography alters the attitudes of those who consume it, particularly with respect to how consumers view women. Many would assume that pornography would universally encourage sexism and female objectification, but recent evidence has linked pornography use with more gender egalitarian views. Using data from a large-scale, nationally representative survey, we argue that cognitive dissonance among pornography consumers could alter egalitarian attitudes. We found that those who reported consuming pornography had more egalitarian attitudes than those who did not, but this difference was stronger among those who attended religious services more regularly—those who would be likely to experience dissonance when consuming pornography. This pattern was consistent across the three egalitarian attitudes we examined: attitudes toward women in power, women in the workplace, and abortion. Our results suggest that pornography might foster progressive attitudes among those most likely to hold conservative beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies using different methods have found that pornography consumption is associated with lower sexual satisfaction. The language used by media-effects scholars in discussions of this association implies an expectation that lowered satisfaction is primarily due to frequent—but not infrequent—consumption. Actual analyses, however, have assumed linearity. Linear analyses presuppose that for each increase in the frequency of pornography consumption there is a correspondingly equivalent decrease in sexual satisfaction. The present brief report explored the possibility that the association is curvilinear. Survey data from two studies of heterosexual adults, one conducted in England and the other in Germany, were employed. Results were parallel in each country and were not moderated by gender. Quadratic analysis indicated a curvilinear relationship, in the form of a predominantly negative, concave downward curve. Simple slope analyses suggested that when the frequency of consumption reaches once a month, sexual satisfaction begins to decrease, and that the magnitude of the decrease becomes larger with each increase in the frequency of consumption. The observational nature of the data employed precludes any causal inferences. However, if an effects perspective was adopted, these results would suggest that low rates of pornography consumption have no impact on sexual satisfaction and that adverse effects initiate only after consumption reaches a certain frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women often expect to encounter negative, problematic content when they consume pornography, yet many women use and enjoy pornography anyway. Some research has centered content type (e.g., sexist/violent vs. nonsexist/women-focused) as a key determinant of women's pornography experiences, but this precludes the notion that women are active, engaged consumers of pornography and minimizes women's role in shaping their own experiences. In the present study, we explored how a sample of sexually diverse women in the U.S. (aged 18-64; N = 73) worked toward positive experiences with pornography via active negotiation with negative content, using a secondary analysis of focus group data on women's sexual pleasure. We found that, although women often experienced pornography as risky, many women used it anyway and actively employed strategies to increase the likelihood of having a positive experience. Women's strategies were similar across sexual identity and age groups, but the heteronormative, youth-oriented portrayals of sexuality in mainstream pornography presented unique concerns for heterosexual, queer, and older women. Results have implications for how women can be conceptualized as active, rather than passive, consumers of pornography as well as for how women's agency might influence women's arousal responses to sexually explicit stimuli in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates empirically the influences of physical appearances and risky sex in the production of adult video (AV) actresses. By analysing data concerning the Japanese AV actresses whose careers commenced between 2002 and 2013, we found that significant increases in the number of video shots of actresses are brought by cup sizes, working experiences, experiences as models or entertainers, and acting in videos of risky sex, but acting in risky sex videos has no significant influence on the production of those with greater cup sizes or serving as models or entertainers. We interpret that these actresses attract the market attention by their favoured appearances, and thus have no incentives to raise their production by acting in risky sex videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the study of sexual behavior has been affect­ed by diffuse concepts such as foreplay and coitus; the unreliability of self reports; and Eurocentrism. Here we deal with those problems and present data on frequency of sexual positions and stopwatch measure­ments of foreplay activities from direct observation of video recordings by 604 heterosexual Latin American couples.The most frequent posi­tions were “woman on her hands and knees”; “woman on bed with man standing”, and “woman sitting on man”. The most frequent activities were fellatio; manual stimulation of the penis; and manual stimulation of the vulva. The longest mean durations of particular activities were 67 seconds for coitus, 37 s for fellatio and 34 s for petting. These frequency results differ from reports from the USA, possibly because of cultural differences but more probably because our results are based on what the couples actually do (rather on what they report, as in the American studies). Previous studies have merged a complex variety of sexual activities into a single imprecise category called “foreplay” and ours seems to be the first study to “deconstruct” foreplay into its individual components, and to use objective measurements of their duration

A reflection of both the intensity of sharing practices and the appeal of shared content, the term 'viral' is often seen as coterminous with the digital media age. In particular, social media and mobile technologies afford users the ability to create and share content that spreads in 'infectious' ways. These technologies have caused moral panics in recent years, particularly within heavily regulated and censored media environments such as the People's Republic of China (PRC). This paper uses the spread of a 'viral' sex video among young Chinese-speaking people who live transnational lives between Japan, China, and Taiwan, to reflect upon the question of 'viral' media as it is conceptualised more broadly. Their position both inside and outside Sino-phone mediascapes affords a useful case study to think beyond purely institutional discussions of Chinese media, and focus on the ways media practices, affects, and affordances shape patterns of content distribution. It examines the language and practices of 'virality' among Chinese-speaking people in Tokyo and shows how the appeal of content like the sex video 'digital stuff' on WeChat are typically a digital amplification of pre-existing social practice. Described in terms of 'sociothermic affects' (Chau 2008) such as 'fever' and 'heat' (re/huo), the infectious nature of media is imagined in different but commensurate forms of virality that precedes the digital age. In the digital age however, virality is also made scalable (Miller et al. 2016) in new ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the sites for examining the politics of pleasure, the production of extreme commercial pornography may be among the most controversial. But precisely because it is so fraught and contested, it is also among the most productive for considering women's often contradictory roles, perspectives, and positioning in the industry. The received wisdom in the porn industry, and in American society more broadly, is that if women are interested in porn at all—as producers or viewers—then they must prefer the softer side of hardcore: narratives with high production values and the trappings of romance. The women who create extreme porn therefore raise some interesting questions about the gendered (and classed) assumptions surrounding conceptions of women's porn. Original research, including personal interviews with forty filmmakers, demonstrates how women directors can challenge conventional notions of femininity and broaden understandings of female desire in unexpected ways, by exploring edgy or dangerous pornographic fantasies. Using production studies methodologies, this article argues that they do so through their films' content and/or through their labor as female cultural producers. Their creative control is constrained by governmental regulation, economic and industrial imperatives, and genre conventions. Women filmmakers creating "extreme" content, which edges up against the legal category of obscenity, nonetheless present a meaningful challenge to the repressive structure of government regulation. They contribute, if not as dramatically as the more politically motivated filmmakers making overtly feminist porn, to increasing the diversity of the industry's output, to revising conventional images of femininity, and, collectively, to opening up avenues of access for future women filmmakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses an American jury's decision to award former professional wrestler Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) 140 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages after the Gawker Media LLC firm released a portion of a sex tape video recording featuring Hogan, and it mentions the author's views about how Gawker Media LLC could have avoided financial responsibility for the verdict by purchasing Commercial General Liability insurance. The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment is assessed.

Video ads promoting condom use are a key component of media campaigns to stem the HIV epidemic. Recent neuroimaging studies in the context of smoking cessation, point to personal relevance as one of the key variables that determine the effectiveness of public health messages. While minority men who have sex with men (MSM) are at the highest risk of HIV infection, most safe-sex ads feature predominantly Caucasian actors in heterosexual scenarios. We compared brain respons of 45 African American MSM to safe sex ads that were matched (i.e. 'Targeted') to participants' sexual orientation and race, and 'Untargeted' ads that were un matched for these characteristics. Ad recall, perceived 'convincingness' and attitudes towards condom use were also assessed. We found that Targeted ads were better remembered than the Untargeted ads but perceived as equally convincing. Targeted ads engaged brain regions involved in self-referential processing and memory, including the amygdala, hippocampus, temporal and medial prefrontal cortices (MPFC) and the precuneus. Connectivity between MPFC and precuneus and middle temporal gyrus was stronger when viewing Targeted ads. Our results suggest that targeting may increase cognitive processing of safe sex ads and justify further prospective studies linking brain response to media public health interventions and clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this review was to systematize empirical research that was published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 1995 and 2015 on the prevalence, predictors, and implications of adolescents’ use of pornography. This research showed that adolescents use pornography, but prevalence rates varied greatly. Adolescents who used pornography more frequently were male, at a more advanced pubertal stage, sensation seekers, and had weak or troubled family relations. Pornography use was associated with more permissive sexual attitudes and tended to be linked with stronger gender-stereotypical sexual beliefs. It also seemed to be related to the occurrence of sexual intercourse, greater experience with casual sex behavior, and more sexual aggression, both in terms of perpetration and victimization. The findings of this review need to be seen against the background of various methodological and theoretical shortcomings, as well as several biases in the literature, which currently precludes internally valid causal conclusions about effects of pornography on adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Information about the pornography-viewing habits of urban, low-income youth of color in the United States is lacking. This study was designed to answer the following using a sample of 16- to 18-year-old urban-residing, low-income Black or Hispanic youth: (1) What types of pornography do youth report watching; where and for what purpose? (2) Do youth feel that pornography exposure has an impact on their own sexual behaviors? and (3) How do parents react to their pornography use? The following themes emerged from interviews with 23 youth: (1) Youth primarily reported watching pornography that featured one-on-one sexual intercourse but also reported having seen extreme pornography (e.g., public humiliation, incest); (2) youth reported watching pornography on home computers or smartphones, and that pornography was frequently watched in school; (3) youth reported watching for entertainment, for sexual stimulation, instructional purposes, and to alleviate boredom; many copied what they saw in pornography during their own sexual encounters; (4) pressure to make or to imitate pornography was an element of some unhealthy dating relationships; and (5) parents were generally described as unsupportive of youth's use of pornography but underequipped to discuss it. Approximately one-fifth expressed a preference for pornography featuring actors of their same race/ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It's the tape that launched a thousand clips Paris Hilton's Celebrity Sex Video became a form of "Must See TV". Celebrities are used to performing for the camera. But when Hilton was caught on video, she reacted as many participants do when their celebrity sex tapes are revealed they file a lawsuit. This article explores the various legal tools that one can consider in response to their involvement in a dispute over a celebrity sex tape. Copyright law presents an important framework to consider. The torts of public disclosure of private facts, intrusion upon seclusion, and the right of publicity may also help protect one who wishes to nail his or her opponent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cadernos PAGU is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cadernos PAGU is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

umulating evidence points to the mediating effects of sexual self-schemas on the sexual difficulties of women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The following study adds to the extant literature by investigating (1) sexual function and (2) sexual satisfaction utilizing validated measures, and reporting on the relationship between sexual self-schemas and physiological (vaginal photoplethysmography), subjective, and affective responses during laboratory exposure to sexual stimuli. In a community sample of women with ( N = 48) and without ( N = 48) a history of CSA, we tested (1) the mediation of negative affect on the relation between sexual self-schemas and sexual function/satisfaction, (2) the mediation of negative affect in the relation between CSA and sexual function/satisfaction, and (3) the mediation of sexual self-schemas in the relation between a history of CSA and negative affect prior to sexual stimuli. We found that more Embarrassed/Conservative and less Romantic/Passionate sexual self-schemas predicted negative affect prior to exposure to sexual stimuli which, in turn, predicted levels of sexual satisfaction. The lower sexual satisfaction of CSA survivors was partially mediated by higher reports of negative affect prior to sexual stimuli. However, negative affect prior to sexual stimuli was not mediated by the sexual self-schemas of CSA survivors. Thus, although sexual self-schemas predicted sexual satisfaction, they did not predict variance in negative affect prior to sexual videos experienced by women with a history of CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of an alleged pornographic tape of the late Jimi Hendrix, a famous Afro-American pop singer. Vivid Entertainment insisted that the sex tape belongs to the pop singer as collaborated by sex experts but the brother, biographer and former girlfriend of Hendrix refutes the claim. Aside from the authenticity issue, black masculinity and celebrity aspect of the video became an added attraction to millions generating sales revenue from the adult film.

An essay is presented on the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe against Jason Smith for allegedly disseminating a video of her sexual encounter in the U.S. It states that Frank H. Easterbrook, the presiding judge of the court case, dismissed the claims of Doe because her party was not able to prove the right for pseudonymous litigation. It notes that the court favored Smith since Doe did not preserve her identity upon filing the case.

There is a large individual deviation for men, which may be caused by a difference in personality characteristics, in sexual interest in response to sexual stimuli. In this study, we investigate whether attention to the sexual region in a video depends on the personality characteristics of men, assessing this with an eye-tracking system. The study included 30 healthy males with a normal psychological state, who viewed a sexual video in which the sexual region had been designated. Visual attention was measured across the designated region according to gaze duration. Ten types of personality characteristics were evaluated as a T-score by a questionnaire. By Pearson’s correlation coefficient, the relations between gaze duration at the sexual region and T-scores of paranoia, psychasthenia and social introversion were found to be statistically significant. By multivariate stepwise regression analysis, only social introversion was negatively associated with the sexual region. Even normal variation of personality characteristics can affect the viewing period of the sexual region. This is the first report showing that subjects with a high degree of paranoia, psychasthenia and particularly social introversion have a tendency to view the sexual region for a shorter duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologie & Sociétés is the property of Presses de l'Universite de Montreal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article focuses on lesbian pornographic videos of Sex, Indulgence and Rock N' Roll (SIR) Video Production. It states that the videos of SIR concentrates on sex education, sexual health and erotic empowerment. It mentions that the company advocates the incorporation of sex toys and pornography into sexual activity as a way of achieving feminist empowerment.

The author offers his views on film pornography and its social aspects. He examines and comments on the pornographic films "Open Water" and "Deep Throat." According to him, the engagement in acts of sex should be a private affair, inside the private space. The author also criticizes the release of the home video "Pam and Tommy Lee: Hardcore and Uncensored."

We described the use of pornography in Norway, including how many people have used pornographic magazines, films, and internet sites and to what extent those who watch pornography on the internet also use it as an arena for erotic chatting. The data stem from a survey on sexual behavior among a random sample of 10,000 Norwegians between 18 and 49 years. The response rate was 34%. A total of 82% reported having read pornographic magazines, 84% had seen pornographic films, and 34% had examined pornography on the internet. Statistically significantly more men than women reported use of pornography. There was a 20% difference between men and women in use of magazines and films. Among those exposed to pornography on the internet during the past year, 14% had participated in erotic chatting. Gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women reported higher use of pornography than straight men and women. Gender was the most significant variable for the prediction of use of pornography. Level of education predicted exposure to pornography on the internet, in magazines, and in films. Younger individuals were more likely to utilize the internet both for viewing pornographic material and for chatting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the antipornography arguments of Catharine MacKinnon. She emphasizes that seeing and responding to a pornographic film enacts sexualized violence, specifically against women. For MacKinnon, pornography is an imaginative system that comprises the production of pornographic texts. She further calls for legal protection on the actors in these films because of the use of their body in the production of the pornographic image. The author, commenting on the arguments of MacKinnon, tries to analyze the logic of the antipornography arguments.

The article asserts that available cinematic strategies for constructing a female and a male sexual narrative make heterosexuality unstable, if not impossible in pornographic videos. Since film theory is heavily reliant on psychoanalysis, it has been generally been argued that the subject of the gaze is male, the object female. It has been suggested that women cinema-goers are not totally elided in film watching, but must perform an act of transvestism in order to find their position as spectator. In many respects, women are presented as having more social power and sexual agency in the new pornographic videos. Even though the nature of female orgasm has come under debate in the past, female pleasure is still depicted through facial expressions.