Porn is often the one place where sexual fantasies are lived out and fetishes become reality. And, because that’s the case, many people might (unfortunately and wrongly) believe that porn can lead to some violent characteristics, with many in society thinking that things can get a little too intense.
But, thanks to a new study published in The Journal of Sex Research by an associate professor in sociology at McGill University, Eran Shor, entitled, “Harder and Harder”? Is Mainstream Pornography Becoming Increasingly Violent and Do Viewers Prefer Violent Content?, some of the violent perceptions society has about porn are actually proven to be wrong.
According to the article, via AskMen, Shor focused on the belief that porn was an outlet for people to “up the stakes” when it came to sexual fantasies. From being dominated to slapping and pain, there are some fetishes that are believed to be a little more intense (and violent). Sure, that may be true on occasion, but Shor says that it just wasn’t the specific case.
“Part of this argument was a result of the scientifically dubious claims about pornography being addictive and users needing to constantly ‘up the stakes,’” he told PsyPost.
“The main takeaway is that, contrary to popular belief, we see no evidence that the most popular online pornographic videos are becoming more and more violent,” Shor told Psypost.
“There’s also no support for the idea of pornography as an addiction, where the average viewer constantly seeks more provocative/aggressive materials.”
Joining up with co-researcher Kimberly Seida, Shor and his research partner watches 269 popular porn videos that were uploaded to the popular porn site PornHub between 2008 and 2016. While some of the videos showed various forms of violent actions that fluctuated through the years, the majority of the content was actually affection between two sexual partners, with videos of girls pleasuring themselves — or getting off from a partner — proven to be most popular.
While the videos that Seida and Shor watched for the study were free rather than those required to have a subscription or form of payment — which could, potentially, impact the overall results, according to the researchers — the videos did still have some aggressive nature, but nothing that didn’t appear to be consensual between both parties. That’s important to note, because, yes, there, unfortunately, is still some violence in porn, just not as much as you might be told from society.
The study is an important one in distinguishing the difference between aggression and consensual satisfaction, showing the varying fetishes of people. That said, for those who find themselves watching porn that’s overly abusive or violent in nature, it’s something that may need to be addressed with a psychologist — because it may be an internal thought or expectation in your own sex life.