Aggression in pornography has tripled over 25 years, study finds
Visible physical aggression in popular online pornography has tripled over 25 years, driven by spanking and other acts.
Why it matters
- Visible physical aggression in pornography has increased significantly over the past 25 years.
- Exposure to aggressive pornography is linked to sexually aggressive behaviors and attitudes.
- The normalization of acts like choking raises health and safety concerns.
By the numbers
- 43.9% of videos contained visible physical aggression.
- Spanking was present in 39.2% of videos.
- Choking increased to 15% in recent years.
The big picture
- The increase in aggression is primarily driven by spanking, but hitting and choking have also risen.
- Nonconsensual aggression remains low at 1.6%.
- Pornography may reflect and shape sexual interests, influencing viewers' behaviors and expectations.
What they're saying
- Personal experiences highlight the need for prior conversation about aggressive acts during sex.
- Concerns about the normalization of aggressive acts, particularly choking, which poses health risks.
Caveats
- The sample size is relatively modest (255 videos).
- The study only includes Pornhub's most viewed videos, which may not represent all pornographic content.
- Viewership data reliability is a potential issue.
What’s next
- Expand analyses to include larger samples and other websites.
- Explore different genres of pornography and subscription-based services.
- Use more context-sensitive coding methods.