Abstract
Although media effect studies have quite extensively investigated the association between pornography use and gendered attitudes, some questions remain. The present study aimed to address two of these questions by exploring how gendered attitudes and gender beliefs may be influenced by gender typicality and pornography use. First, the literature has not yet accounted for individual differences based on gender typicality. Second, the influence of pornography use on gender beliefs going beyond pornography’s script application is understudied. This online cross-sectional study (N = 1,440, Mage = 23.86, SD = 4.79) contributes to the field by investigating the indirect association between pornography use and acceptance of gender norm violation through gendered attitudes and the moderating role of gender typicality. Acceptance of gender norm violation was measured via vignettes describing a school context in which a teacher and a student violated gender norms. Findings indicated that gendered attitudes negatively relate to the acceptance of gender norm violation. Moreover, compared to women, men’s pornography use indirectly relates to lower acceptance rates through gendered attitudes. Additionally, for men, specific levels of gender typicality and atypicality form a strengthening and buffering role, respectively. This applies to the association between pornography use and gendered attitudes as well as to the indirect relationship of pornography use with acceptance of gender norm violation. These findings suggest that pornography use may also affect gender beliefs that are unrelated to the scripts present in pornography. Future studies should take into account the type of preferred pornography and unravel the specific impact of women’s pornography use.
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Data Availability
The dataset analyzed during the current study is available on OSF, https://osf.io/fnvtr/?view_only=5feee436a4674636ad8849a66c21e317
Code Availability
Not applicable.
Notes
Gender norm violation includes appearances and behaviors that are in non-compliance with the prevailing gender norms. The term covers a continuum of meanings, depending on the specific norm. In this study, we focus on the violation of gender norms related to appearance and the gender binary.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Miss Stien Schoofs, Miss Sam Vandenbosch, and bachelor thesis students for their assistance in collecting the data used in this study.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Vignette on Gender Norm Violation Regarding Appearance
This is Thomas. [picture of a man violating appearance-based gender norms was shown.] Thomas teaches Geography at high school. He likes reading and discovering new music. His friends describe him as cheerful, trustworthy, and easy going Thomas dresses different than most other men. He dresses very feminine, both at work and during his spare time |
This is Marie. [picture of a woman violating appearance-based gender norms was shown.] Marie teaches Geography at high school. She likes reading and discovering new music. Her friends describe her as cheerful, trustworthy, and easy going Marie dresses different than most other women. She dresses very masculine, both at work and during her spare time |
Vignette on Gender Norm Violation Regarding the Gender Binary
Emiel is 16 years old and studies Office work/Sales at high school. He plays saxophone in the local brass band Emiel dresses and acts differently than most of the other boys at school. Emiel has long hair, wears make-up, and dresses in a feminine way Emiel wishes to be addressed as “Emma” at school. Emiel’s parents, however, request the principal and teachers to address Emiel with his official name |
Emma is 16 years old and studies Office work/Sales at high school. She plays saxophone in the local brass band Emma dresses and acts differently than most of the other girls at school. Emma has short hair, wears no make-up, and dresses in a masculine way Emma wishes to be addressed as “Emiel” at school. Emma’s parents, however, request the principal and teachers to address Emma with her official name |
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Laporte, H., Eggermont, S. Pornography Use and the Acceptance of Gender Norm Violation in a School Context. Arch Sex Behav 53, 1827–1842 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02848-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02848-y