Adult men who view pornography report decreased sexual function and lower overall satisfaction with their intimate lives compared to women who view similar content. These findings are a broad synthesis of existing research and were recently published in The Journal of Sex Medicine. The data perfectly highlights the contradiction, showing that higher levels of explicit media engagement among men correlates with worse sexual health outcomes.
Erotic depictions have existed in various civilizations since ancient times. The integration of technology into everyday life, especially smartphones and high-speed internet, has made explicit content more accessible than ever. This rapid increase in accessibility has led to ongoing public debate about the social impact and potential harms of adult content.
Much of the current narrative positions porn consumption as a public health issue. Critics often point out potential negative consequences, including objectification of partners, damage to romantic intimacy, and the creation of unrealistic physical expectations. At the same time, some public health advocates argue there are positive aspects for certain users, such as improved communication between partners and increased sexual experimentation.
Previous studies examining the health effects of explicit media have yielded highly inconsistent results. Some small studies suggest that women more often report a positive association between media habits and sexual function. Men, on the other hand, often show vastly different and often contradictory results in similar survey data.
To uncover these differences, Shahla Shafaati Laleh, a researcher at Urmia Islamic Azad University, and Ays Yildiz Karaahmet, a researcher at Bilni University, conducted an extensive survey of existing scientific literature. They wanted to assess the relationship between specific gender differences in media use and sexual functioning, overall satisfaction, and psychological well-being during sex with a partner.
The researchers used a statistical technique called meta-analysis, which combines data from many independent studies to identify broader underlying trends. They collected data from 21 separate observational studies published through January 2025. This combined effort resulted in a large sample of 138,192 adult participants from countries in North America, Europe, and Asia.
To ensure the reliability of the analysis, the team only included studies that utilized validated psychological questionnaires. These standardized surveys asked participants to rate their level of desire, physical arousal, ability to reach orgasm, and overall satisfaction. The team then calculated the average difference between male and female responses across the dataset.
The most striking pattern that emerged concerns varying levels of media consumption and resulting sexual health reporting. Researchers found strong gender differences in solitary sexual behavior. Men reported consuming explicit media and engaging in masturbation at much higher rates than women.
Despite higher consumption rates, men consistently reported lower sexual function scores than female users. Men also reported worse general sexual satisfaction in their intimate relationships. Aggregated scores showed a higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction in male users compared to female participants.
Conversely, female participants reported better sexual health outcomes related to their media habits. The women in the study generally consumed less pornography overall. However, those who actually viewed the content reported better sexual function and less sexual dysfunction in their personal lives than male users.
The researchers suggest that these results may be related to the concept of a “sexual script,” an internal cognitive framework that guides a person’s expectations for intimacy. Through their viewing habits, women may be expanding their sexual scripts and learning new behaviors to incorporate into their sex lives with their partners. In contrast, men who frequently watch explicit content may develop strict preferences for very specific on-screen scenarios.
This heavy reliance on explicit media can alter male users’ standards of sexual arousal. The researchers noted that some men begin to rely on sexually arousing materials and become dissatisfied when real-life encounters don’t match their digital expectations. This disconnect between expectations and reality often causes friction within intimate relationships.
The specific themes of the media consumed also seem to play a large role in these results. Data from one included study found that viewing passion and romance themed content was associated with increased overall satisfaction. On the other hand, media that focused on power, control, and promiscuity were associated with lower satisfaction and impaired sexual functioning, especially among male viewers.
The researchers also assessed psychological health indicators alongside physical function data. They found trends indicating that women experience slightly higher levels of psychological distress related to pornography consumption than men. These emotional vulnerabilities may stem from social stigma or personal shame.
Researchers often attribute this psychological tension to a concept known as moral disagreement. This term refers to the inner conflict experienced when a person’s actual actions do not match his or her deeply held personal or religious values. People who experience high moral conflict regarding their viewing habits often report increased levels of anxiety and distress, completely unrelated to their physical health.
Although the meta-analysis provides a broad look at these dynamics, the authors acknowledge some methodological limitations. The studies reviewed relied almost entirely on self-report questionnaires. Human participants are prone to memory errors and may be too embarrassed to answer sensitive questions honestly.
Another limitation includes the cross-sectional design of the included studies. Cross-sectional studies take a snapshot of a single point in time rather than following a specific group of people over decades. Therefore, researchers cannot say that pornography causes sexual dysfunction, and it is equally possible that people experiencing sexual problems simply seek out more explicit media as a coping mechanism.
In this analysis, we also faced the issue of study heterogeneity. This means that 21 independent studies used widely different criteria to define what constitutes active use. Some of the original authors measured daily viewing time, while others simply asked participants whether they had watched any explicit content in the past year. These different definitions make it difficult to establish a universal baseline of average consumption.
Future research will need to follow participants over longer periods of time to better map the timeline of changes in sexual habits. The authors recommended that health care professionals take a highly individualized approach when discussing media habits with patients. Standardized treatment plans can miss the nuanced reality that these habits affect men and women in vastly different ways.
The study, “Gender Differences in Pornography Use and Sexual Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” was authored by Shahla Shafaati Laleh and Aysu Yıldız Karaahmet.
