Recent research published in International Journal of Sexual Health It suggests that the reasons people watch porn and how realistic they believe it to be may be related to their beliefs in extreme gender roles. This study provides evidence that viewing adult media containing themes of domination and violence tends to act as a bridge between the reasons for viewing and the acceptance of very traditional gender stereotypes.
Researchers Liviu-Yoan Hreniuk and Maria-Nicoleta Turyuk conducted the study to investigate the psychological mechanisms that link porn consumption to extreme gender views. Freniuc, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the University of Iași Cuza in Romania, noticed a pattern when working with patients. “What inspired me to explore this topic was the clinical observation that there may be a relationship between hypergender ideology (i.e., adhering to very traditional gender roles and expecting others to conform to them) and pornography consumption,” Freniuc said.
He noted that previous research supports the idea that adult media often exhibits distorted social dynamics. “Indeed, there is also well-established research that has found that pornographic materials tend to depict distorted representations of gender roles,” Freniuc explained. “Prior to this research project, I observed in clinical practice that people tend to learn from these depictions in order to apply them to real-life situations.”
The authors wanted to test a specific psychological framework involving the acquisition, activation, and application of sexual scripts. This psychological concept suggests that people learn behavioral routines from the media, activate those routines in their minds, and apply them to their own real-world interactions. Freniuc and Turliuk sought to understand whether the specific reasons people seek pornography change the way they absorb these gender scripts. They also wanted to see if the specific types of content viewed played a positive role in this psychological process.
Another main focus of the project was the concept of perceived realism. Perceived realism is the degree to which viewers believe that the events happening on screen accurately reflect the real world. The scientists wanted to know whether strong beliefs in the realism of adult videos amplified the adoption of extreme gender ideologies.
To investigate these questions, scientists collected a sample of 596 adults living in Romania. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 62 years old. Within this group, 405 individuals identified as female and 191 identified as male. Participants completed an anonymous online survey distributed through social media networks.
To ensure the answers were as honest as possible, the researchers used a psychological tool called the Social Desirability Scale. This tool identifies people who may be changing their answers to appear better citizens or to hide socially unacceptable habits. By identifying these individuals, the scientists were able to exclude certain potentially dishonest responses from the final data pool.
The survey measured several specific variables to understand participants’ viewing habits. To explore why participants consume adult content, the study assessed four main motivations: These include emotional avoidance, sexual curiosity, sensation seeking, and sexual pleasure. Emotional avoidance refers to the use of media as a coping mechanism to escape negative emotions and everyday stress. Sensory exploration involves the basic human drive to seek novel, thrilling, or intense experiences.
The researchers also measured participants’ support for hypergender ideology. Hypergender ideology refers to extreme and exaggerated beliefs about what it means to be male or female. For men, this often looks like hypermasculinity. Hypermasculinity includes a strong desire for control, a willingness to take physical risks, and a belief that aggression is a natural male trait.
For women, this concept manifests as excessive femininity. Hyperfemininity involves the belief that a woman’s overall success depends on her relationships with men. It also includes the idea that a woman’s appearance is her primary tool for influence and negotiation in life. Both of these belief systems rely on very traditional and inflexible ideas about human gender roles.
Finally, the study asked participants about the specific types of pornography they usually watch. Options were divided into love-themed content, domination-themed content, and violence-themed content. Love themed content depicts intimacy and mutual care, while domination and violence themes include unequal power relationships and physical attacks. The scientists also asked participants to rate how realistic they believed the scenarios depicted in these adult videos actually were.
Analyzing the data, Freniuc and Truliuk found that all four motivations for viewing pornography were positively associated with hypergender attitudes. This means that people who report higher motivation to view adult content tend to report stronger beliefs about extreme sexual roles. Scientists initially suspected that the strength of this relationship varied depending on the biological sex of the viewer.
The researchers found that in most cases, the gender of the viewer does not change how viewing motivations connect with gender ideology. The psychological mechanisms were almost the same for men and women. There was one notable exception regarding the motive of sexual curiosity. Viewing adult media out of sexual curiosity was more strongly associated with hypergender ideology for women than for men.
The authors suggest that when women use adult media to explore and learn about sexuality, they may be more likely to absorb the extreme sexual roles often portrayed in those media. Researchers also found that perceived reality plays an important role in shaping attitudes. When participants consumed adult media for sensation-seeking or sexual pleasure, the association with hypergender beliefs was stronger if they believed the videos accurately reflected real life.
If the viewer finds the scene very realistic, the underlying motivation for viewing is more strongly tied to strict beliefs about how men and women should behave. The specific type of content viewed also explains an important part of the behavioral puzzle. The authors investigated whether specific video themes served as a bridge between viewers’ motivations and gender beliefs.
They found that love-themed porn doesn’t work as a psychological bridge at all. Viewing content that focused on mutual intimacy was not significantly related to adopting extreme gender stereotypes. On the other hand, domination-themed content and violence-themed content consistently linked viewers’ initial motivations to hypergender attitudes.
People who sought out adult media to avoid negative emotions or seek physical pleasure tended to watch more controlling and violent material. This increased exposure to aggressive or unequal sexual scripts was associated with stronger beliefs in hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity. “People who read this article should get rid of the idea that pornography, even amateur videos, tends to be unrealistic,” Freniucs told Cypost.
“Also, not all consumption is equal,” Freniuc added. “There is important variation in terms of preferred content and consumption motivations. Some motivations, such as emotional avoidance, may be particularly associated with hypermasculine and hyperfeminine ideologies.”
These findings have practical applications for therapists and sexual health educators. Mental health professionals often work with clients who hold rigid beliefs about gender or report problematic media consumption habits. “I think these findings are particularly important for clinical psychologists and psychotherapists who work with rigid, traditional gender roles and pornography consumption,” Freniuc said. “In clinical practice, this study suggests that perceived realism, consumption motives, and preferred content should be taken into account when assessing pornography use.”
Although this study examines media consumption in detail, there are some limitations to keep in mind. Freniuc stressed that readers should not take these results as a blanket condemnation of adult media. “I hope people don’t interpret these findings as a general assertion that porn is bad,” Freniuc said.
Because this study used a cross-sectional design, a snapshot of the data was obtained at a single point in time, and causality cannot be proven. “First of all, this study is not experimental and does not suggest causation, only correlational results are reported, so we do not know for sure the direction of the association between pornography consumption motives and hypergender ideology,” Freniucz explained. “Under certain conditions, porn consumption can represent a healthy activity.”
This study also relied entirely on self-reported data. Even with psychological tools designed to spot dishonest answers, people may have trouble remembering or reporting their viewing habits accurately. Scientists also note that the sample came from Romania, a relatively conservative and highly religious society. Certain cultural backgrounds may influence the results, so these results may not be fully representative of populations in different parts of the world.
Based on this study, the authors suggest using a longitudinal design in future studies. Longitudinal designs follow the exact same group of people over time to determine whether viewing a particular type of adult content positively changes a person’s attitudes. “My long-term goal in this research space is to differentiate between potentially healthy and unhealthy patterns of pornography consumption, and to bring more nuanced results in this area,” Freniuc said.
The study, “Pornography Use Motivations and Hypergender Ideology: The Mediating Role of Content Themes and the Moderating Role of Perceived Realism and Gender,” was authored by Lviv-Ioan Hreniuk and Maria-Nicoleta Turyuk.
