PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL AGGRESSION

This paper reviews work on the relation between pornography and sexual aggression, covering experimental research on arousal, attitudes, and laboratory aggression, and some correlational studies. The term porno graphy is intended to cover the materials used in the relevant researc h, although not all of these would necessarily be seen as ''pornograph ic.'' The main body of the review is divided between ''aggressive'' an d ''not specifically aggressive'' pornography, with some consideration in the discussion of the nature of supposedly ''nonaggressive'' porno graphy. In the case of sexually aggressive pornography, a variety of u ndesirable effects have been observed. Males show equal sexual arousal to pornographic rape depictions and consenting intercourse depictions under certain ''disinhibiting'' circumstances, such as anger or depic ted victim pleasure, and these disinhibitors can also produce increase d laboratory aggression against female targets by males exposed to agg ressive pornography. Aggressive and, to some extent, not specifically aggressive pornography have also been found to increase the endorsemen t of attitude statements that are supportive of sexual aggression. The paper concludes with a discussion of ethical considerations, possible psychological bases of the effects, and the question of censorship. I t is concluded that although several types of materials may produce be havioral orientation toward, and/or attitudinal support for, sexual ag gression, this is a function of aggression and dominance themes rather than the explicitness of the sexual cues. These themes extend beyond explicit pornography, through extremely violent stimuli that lack expl icit sexual elements, to widely consumed ''normal'' films and reading matter.