A recent study published in the International Journal of Sexual Health suggests that why people watch pornography and how realistic they believe it is might be connected to their belief in extreme gender roles. The research provides evidence that watching adult media containing themes of dominance and violence tends to act as a bridge between a person’s reasons for viewing and their acceptance of highly traditional gender stereotypes.
Researchers Liviu-Ioan Hreniuc and Maria-Nicoleta Turliuc conducted this study to explore the psychological mechanisms linking pornography consumption with extreme gender attitudes. Hreniuc, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Cuza University of IaÈ™i in Romania, noticed a pattern while working with patients. “What led me to explore this topic is the clinical observation that there could be a relationship between hypergender ideologies (i.e. adherence to very traditional gender roles and expectations of others to adhere to them) and pornography consumption,” Hreniuc said.
He noted that previous studies support the idea that adult media often presents skewed social dynamics. “There is also well-established research that found that indeed, pornographic materials tend to depict distorted representations of gender roles,” Hreniuc explained. “Prior to this research project, I have observed in my clinical practice that individuals tend to learn from these depictions in order to apply them in 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 these routines in their minds, and apply them to their own real-world interactions. Hreniuc and Turliuc sought to understand if the specific reasons people seek out pornography change how they absorb these gender scripts. They also wanted to see if the specific type of content viewed played an active role in this psychological process.
Another major focus of the project was the concept of perceived realism. Perceived realism is the degree to which a viewer believes that the events happening on a screen accurately reflect the real world. The scientists wanted to know if a strong belief in the realism of adult videos amplifies the adoption of extreme gender ideologies.
To investigate these questions, the scientists recruited a sample of 596 adults living in Romania. The 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 questionnaire distributed through social media networks.
To ensure the responses were as honest as possible, the researchers used a psychological tool called a social desirability scale. This tool identifies people who might be altering their answers to look like better citizens or to hide socially unacceptable habits. By identifying these individuals, the scientists were able to exclude those specific, potentially dishonest responses from the final data pool.
The questionnaire measured several specific variables to capture the viewing habits of the participants. To find out why participants consumed adult content, the survey assessed four primary motivations. These included emotional avoidance, sexual curiosity, sensation seeking, and sexual pleasure. Emotional avoidance refers to using media as a coping mechanism to escape negative feelings or everyday stress. Sensation seeking involves a basic human drive to look for novel, thrilling, or intense experiences.
The researchers also measured the participants’ adherence to hypergender ideologies. Hypergender ideologies refer to extreme, exaggerated beliefs about what it means to be a man or a woman. For men, this often looks like hypermasculinity. Hypermasculinity includes a strong desire for dominance, a willingness to take physical risks, and a belief that aggression is a natural masculine trait.
For women, this concept presents as hyperfemininity. Hyperfemininity involves the belief that a woman’s overall success depends on her relationship with a man. It also includes the idea that a woman’s physical appearance is her primary tool for influence and negotiation in life. Both of these belief systems rely on highly traditional, inflexible ideas about human gender roles.
Finally, the survey asked participants about the specific types of pornography they usually watched. The options were divided into affection-themed, dominance-themed, and violence-themed content. Affection-themed content depicts intimacy and mutual care, while dominance and violence themes involve unequal power dynamics and physical aggression. The scientists also asked participants to rate how realistic they believed the scenarios depicted in these adult videos actually were.
After analyzing the data, Hreniuc and Turliuc found that all four motivations for watching pornography were positively associated with hypergender attitudes. This means that people who reported higher motivations to watch adult content also tended to report stronger beliefs in extreme gender roles. The scientists initially suspected that the viewer’s biological sex might change the strength of this relationship.
They found that, for the most part, the gender of the viewer did not change how their viewing motivations linked to their gender ideologies. The psychological mechanisms were largely the same for both men and women. There was one notable exception regarding the motivation of sexual curiosity. Watching adult media out of sexual curiosity was more strongly associated with hypergender ideologies in women than in men.
The authors suggest that when women use adult media to explore or learn about sex, they might be more vulnerable to absorbing the extreme gender roles frequently depicted in those materials. The researchers also discovered that perceived realism played a significant role in shaping attitudes. When participants consumed adult media for sensation-seeking or sexual pleasure, the link to hypergender beliefs grew much stronger if they believed the videos accurately reflected real life.
If a viewer thought the scenes were highly realistic, their basic motivations for watching were more heavily tied to rigid beliefs about how men and women should act. The specific type of content watched also explained a significant part of the behavioral puzzle. The authors looked at whether specific video themes acted as a bridge between the viewer’s motivation and their gender beliefs.
They found that affection-themed pornography did not serve as a psychological bridge at all. Watching content focused on mutual intimacy had no significant connection to adopting extreme gender stereotypes. On the other hand, dominance-themed and violence-themed content consistently connected the viewers’ initial motivations to their hypergender attitudes.
People who sought out adult media to avoid negative emotions or to seek physical pleasure tended to watch more dominance and violence. This increased exposure to aggressive or unequal sexual scripts was then associated with a stronger belief in hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity. “Someone who reads this article should take away the idea that pornography tends to be unrealistic, even amateur videos,” Hreniuc told PsyPost.
“Also, not all consumption is equal,” Hreniuc added. “There is important variability regarding preferred content and also motivation to consume. Some motivations, such as emotional avoidance, may be particularly related to 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 gender beliefs or report problematic media consumption habits. “I believe these findings are especially important for clinical psychologists and psychotherapists working with rigid and traditional gender roles or pornography consumption,” Hreniuc said. “In the clinical practice, this research suggests that one should take into account perceived realism, motivation for consumption, and preferred content when assessing pornography use.”
While this research provides a detailed look at media consumption, there are a few limitations to keep in mind. Hreniuc emphasized that readers should not take these results as a blanket condemnation of adult media. “I would like for people to avoid interpreting these findings as a general statement that pornography is bad,” Hreniuc said.
Because the study used a cross-sectional design, it takes a snapshot of data at a single point in time and cannot prove cause and effect. “First of all, this study is not experimental and does not imply causation, only correlational findings are reported, so we do not know for certain the direction of the link between pornography consumption motivations and hypergender ideologies,” Hreniuc explained. “Pornography consumption could represent a healthy activity under certain conditions.”
The study also relied entirely on self-reported data. Even with psychological tools designed to catch dishonest answers, people may struggle to accurately remember or report their own viewing habits. The scientists also note that the sample comes from Romania, a relatively conservative and highly religious society. The specific cultural context might influence the results, meaning these findings might not perfectly translate to populations in different parts of the world.
To build on this work, the authors suggest that future studies use longitudinal designs. A longitudinal design tracks the exact same group of people over a long period of time to determine whether watching specific types of adult content actively changes a person’s attitudes. “My long-term goal for this research venue is distinguishing between potentially healthy and unhealthy patterns of pornography consumption, leading to more nuanced results in the field,” Hreniuc said.
The study, “Motivations for Pornography Use and Hypergender Ideologies: The Mediating Role of Content Theme and the Moderating Role of Perceived Realism and Gender,” was authored by Liviu-Ioan Hreniuc and Maria-Nicoleta Turliuc.
