The disturbing thing that pornography predicts about men

Research has discovered that the younger a man is exposed to pornography the more likely he is to have sexist attitudes later in life.

A study at the University of Nebraska found that men who saw porn at an early age were more inclined to desire power over women.

For men that saw porn for the first time when they were older however, their sexual promiscuity was discovered to be higher.

Of the 330 undergraduate men consulted by the University, the average age at which they first saw porn was just 13.

A member of the group admitted to not seeing porn until he was 26, while another member confessed that he was just five when he first saw material of that nature.

The men, who were mostly white and heterosexual, were asked 46 questions which analysed their sexual behaviour and attitudes towards women.

They were also asked if their first viewing of porn was intentional, accidental or forced.

The results are yet to be published but were presented at the American Psychological Association convention in Washington.

Alyssa Bischmann, who worked as a researcher on the project, is quoted by The Daily Mail as saying.

 The goal of our study was to examine how age of first exposure to pornography, and the nature of said first exposure, predicts conformity to two masculine norms.

We found that the younger a man was when he first viewed pornography, the more likely he was to want power over women.

The older a man was when he first viewed pornography, the more likely he would want to engage in playboy behaviour.

The research also showed that those who viewed porn early did not enjoy sex as much in reality.

The BBC quote researcher Christina Richardson as saying.

These men often have a lot of performance anxiety with women in real life. Sexual experiences don't go as planned or the way they do in pornography.

Those who see porn later, enjoy sex in real life more and therefore might be more likely to live a playboy lifestyle.

Although the study did not take into account how much porn the men consumed, what genre of porn it was or their own personal background, it is still believed that porn can have a widespread impact on men's sexual relationships with women.

It could also help in treating emotional and sociological issues for men who have viewed porn earlier than others.

The researchers already have plans for another study based upon certain conclusions.

Richardson said:

The most interesting finding from this study was that older age at first exposure predicted greater adherence to the playboy masculine norms.

That finding has sparked many more questions and potential research ideas because it was so unexpected based on what we know about gender role socialization and media exposure.

HT The Daily Mail BBC

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