Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:27:08.601Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

45 - The Internet Is for Porn

Evolutionary Perspectives on Online Pornography

from Part X - Evolution and the Media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Catherine Salmon ,
Maryanne L. Fisher  and
Rebecca L. Burch
Edited by
Lance Workman ,
Will Reader  and
Jerome H. Barkow
Lance Workman
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Will Reader
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University
Jerome H. Barkow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Get access

Summary

When people talk about sex in today’s digital environment, some of the most prominent topics are the prevalence, ease of accessibility, and variety of online pornography. Our focus in the current chapter is on the identity of online pornography consumers and the actual content that is being consumed. We specifically explore sex differences in online pornography consumption using the lens of evolutionary psychology. This perspective allows us to examine how sex-specific challenges over human evolutionary history have shaped general tendencies in mate preferences. Here, we discuss pornography consumption not only with regards to common sexual interests within and across men and women, but also with regards to individual differences in terms of the diversity of explicit images, video, and literature that is available online.

Keywords

evolutionary psychologyInternetpornographysex differences
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 548 - 557
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Apostolou, M., & Christoforou, C. (2018). Same-sex attraction and contact in an opposite-sex partner: Exploring sex, religiosity, porn consumption and participation effects. Personality and Individual Differences, 131(1), 26–30.Google Scholar
Attwood, F. (2005). What do people do with porn? Qualitative research into the consumption, use, and experience of pornography and other sexually explicit media. Sexuality and Culture, 9(2), 65–86.Google Scholar
Barkow, J. H. (1989). Darwin, Sex, and Status: Biological Approaches to Mind and Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Berkowitz, D. (2006). Consuming eroticism: Gender performances and presentations in pornographic establishments. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(5), 583–606.Google Scholar
Bimber, B. (2000). Measuring the gender gap on the Internet. Social Science Quarterly, 81, 868–876.Google Scholar
Boies, S. C. (2002). University students’ uses of and reactions to online sexual information and entertainment: Links to online and offline sexual behavior. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 11, 77–89.Google Scholar
Brennan, J. (2018). Size matters: Penis size and sexual position in gay porn profiles. Journal of Homosexuality, 65, 912–933.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., Abbott, M., Angleitner, A., et al. (1990). International preferences in selecting mates: A study of 37 cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21, 5–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Larsen, R. J. (2001). A half century of American mate preferences. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 491–503.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. (1995). Evolution and Literary Theory. St Louis, MO: University of Missouri Press.Google Scholar
Confer, J. C., Perilloux, C., & Buss, D. M. (2010). More than just a pretty face: Men’s priority shifts toward bodily attractiveness in short-term mating contexts. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 349–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. (2000). Cybersex: The Dark Side of the Force: A Special Issue of the Journal of Sexual Addiction and Compulsion. New York: Brunner-Routledge.Google Scholar
Courtiol, A., Ramond, M., Godelle, B., & Ferdy, J. (2010). Mate choice and human stature: Homogamy as a unified framework for understanding mate preferences. Evolution, 64, 2189–2203.Google Scholar
Cox, A., & Fisher, M. (2009). The Texas billionaire’s pregnant bride: An evolutionary interpretation of romance fiction titles. Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 3, 386–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daintith, J., & Martin, E. A., eds. (2010). A Dictionary of Science. Oxford Paperback Reference, 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Diamond, L. M. (2008). Sexual Fluidity. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Easton, J. A., Confer, J. C., Goetz, C. D., & Buss, D. M. (2010). Reproduction expediting: Sexual motivations, fantasies, and the ticking biological clock. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 516–520.Google Scholar
Ferree, M. C. (2003). Women and the web: Cybersex activity and implications. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 18, 385–393.Google Scholar
Fisher, M., & Cox, A. (2010). Man change thyself: Hero versus heroine development in Harlequin romance novels. Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 4, 305–316.Google Scholar
Fisher, M., & Salmon, C. (2012). Introduction: Human nature and pop culture. Review of General Psychology, 16(2), 104–108.Google Scholar
Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 265, 727–733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (2008). Human oestrus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 275, 991–1000.Google Scholar
Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Adaptations to ovulation implications for sexual and social behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 312–316.Google Scholar
Gaspar, M. J., & Carvalheira, A. (2012). The consumption of pornography on the Internet in a sample of Portuguese women. Psychology, Community and Health, 1(2), 163–171.Google Scholar
Giannotta, M. (2013). PornHub 2012 adult entertainment statistics. http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2013/01/pornhubcom-s-2012-adult-entertainment-statistics (accessed August 29, 2013).Google Scholar
Goodson, P., McCormick, D., & Evans, A. (2001). Searching for sexually explicit materials on the Internet: An exploratory study of college students’ behavior and attitudes. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 30(2), 101–118.Google Scholar
Hamann, S., Herman, R. A., Nolan, C. L., & Wallen, K. (2004). Men and women differ in amygdala response to visual sexual stimuli. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 411–416.Google Scholar
Hefley, K. (2007). Stigma management of male and female customers to a non-urban adult novelty store. Deviant Behavior, 28(1), 79–109.Google Scholar
Heiman, J. R. (1977). A psychophysiological exploration of sexual arousal patterns in females and males. Psychophysiology, 14(3), 266–274.Google Scholar
Hinsz, V. B., Matz, D. C., & Patience, R. A. (2001). Does women’s hair signal reproductive potential? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 166–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hite, S. (1981). The Hite Report on Male Sexuality. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Hughes, S. M., & Gallup, G. G. (2003). Sex differences in morphological predictors of sexual behavior: Shoulder to hip and waist to hip ratios. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 173–178.Google Scholar
Janssen, E., Carpenter, D., & Graham, C. A. (2003). Selecting films for sex research: Gender differences in erotic film preference. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32(3), 243–251.Google Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Sadalla, E. K., Groth, G., & Trost, M. R. (1990). Evolution, traits, and the stages of human courtship: Qualifying the parental investment model. Journal of Personality, 58, 97–116.Google Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Keefe, R. C., Gabrielidis, C., & Cornelius, J. S. (1996). Adolescents’ age preferences for dating partners: Support for an evolutionary model of life-history strategies. Child Development, 67, 1499–1511.Google Scholar
Klein, M. (2006). Pornography: What men see when they watch. In Lehman, P., ed., Pornography: Film and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp. 244–257.Google Scholar
Laan, E., Everaerd, W., van Bellen, G., & Hanewald, G. (1994). Women’s sexual and emotional responses to male-and female-produced erotica. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23(2), 153–169.Google Scholar
Lassek, W. D., & Gaulin, S. J. C. (2008) Waist–hip ratio and cognitive ability: Is gluteofemoral fat a privileged store of neurodevelopmental resources? Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 26–34.Google Scholar
Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Li, N. P. (2007). Mate preference necessities in long- and short-term mating: People prioritize in themselves what their mates prioritize in them. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39, 528–535.Google Scholar
Lykins, A. D., Meana, M., & Strauss, G. P. (2008). Sex differences in visual attention to erotic and non-erotic stimuli. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(2), 219–228.Google Scholar
Millford, J. (2013). Deep inside: A study of 10,000 porn stars and their careers. http://jonmillward.com/blog/studies/deep-inside-a-study-of-10000-porn-stars.Google Scholar
Mosher, D. I., & MacIan, P. (1994). College men and women respond to X-rated videos intended or male or female audiences: Gender and sexual scripts. Journal of Sex Research, 31, 99–113.Google Scholar
Ogas, O., & Gaddam, S. (2011). A Billion Wicked Thoughts. New York: Dutton.Google Scholar
Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: Toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning. Psychological Review, 108(3), 483–522.Google Scholar
Piazza, J., & Bering, J. M. (2009). Evolutionary cyber-psychology: Applying an evolutionary framework to Internet behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 1258–1269.Google Scholar
Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Women’s sexual strategies: The evolution of long-term bonds and extrapair sex. Annual Review of Sex Research, 17, 59–100.Google Scholar
Platek, S. M., & Singh, D. (2010). Optimal waist-to-hip ratios in women active neural reward centers in men. PLoS ONE, 5, e9042.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pound, N. (2002). Male interest in visual cues of sperm competition risk. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 443–466.Google Scholar
Regnerus, M., Gordon, D., & Price, J. (2015). Documenting pornography use in America: A comparative analysis of methodological approaches. Journal of Sex Research, 53(7), 873–881.Google Scholar
Rhodes, G. (2006). The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 199–226.Google Scholar
Rhyne, R. (2007). Hard-core shopping: Educating consumption in SIR video production’s lesbian porn. Velvet Light Trap, 59(1), 42–50.Google Scholar
Roney, J. R., Hanson, K. N., Durante, K. M., & Maestripieri, D. (2006). Reading men’s faces: Women’s mate attractiveness judgments track men’s testosterone and interest in infants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 273, 2169–2175.Google Scholar
Salmon, C. (2012). The pop culture of sex: An evolutionary window on the worlds of pornography and romance. Review of General Psychology, 16, 152–160.Google Scholar
Salmon, C., & Fisher, M. L. (2018). Putting the “sex” into “sexuality”: Understanding online pornography using an evolutionary framework. EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 9(2), 1–15.Google Scholar
Salmon, C., & Symons, D. (2003). Warrior Lovers: Erotic Fiction, Evolution, and Female Sexuality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Schauer, T. (2005). Women’s porno: The heterosexual female gaze in porn sites “for women.” Sexuality and Culture, 9(2), 42–64.Google Scholar
Schouten, B., Bosch, J., Bernsen, R., et al. (2005). Incidence rates of erectile dysfunction in the Dutch general population: Effects of definition, clinical relevance and duration of follow-up in the Krimpen Study. International Journal of Impotence Research, 17, 58–62.Google Scholar
Short, M. B., Black, L., Smith, A. H., Wetterneck, C. T., & Wells, D. E. (2012). A review of Internet pornography use research: Methodology and content from the past 10 years. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(1), 13–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of waist-to-hip ratio and female physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293–307.Google Scholar
Singh, D. (2002). Female mate value at a glance: Relationship of waist-to-hip ratio to health, fecundity and attractiveness. Neuroendocrinology Letters, 23(Suppl. 4), 81–91.Google Scholar
Singh, D., & Luis, S. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the effect of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women’s attractiveness. Human Nature, 6(1), 51–65.Google Scholar
Singh, D., & Young, R. K. (1995). Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, breasts, and hips: Role in judgments of female attractiveness and desirability for relationships. Evolution and Human Behavior, 16(6), 483–507.Google Scholar
Smuts, B. B. (1985). Sex and Friendship in Baboons. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Sorokowski, P., Kościński, K., Sorokowska, A., & Huanca, T. (2014). Preference for women’s body mass and waist-to-hip ratio in Tsimane’men of the Bolivian Amazon: Biological and cultural determinants. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e105468.Google Scholar
Sugiyama, L. (2005). Physical attractiveness in adaptationist perspective. In Buss, D.M., ed., The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. New York: Wiley, pp. 292–342.Google Scholar
Symons, D. (1979). The Evolution of Human Sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Symons, D. (1995). Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder: The evolutionary psychology of human female sexual attractiveness. In Abramson, P. R. & Pinkerton, S. D., eds., Sexual Nature: Sexual Culture. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 80–118.Google Scholar
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Facial sexual dimorphism, developmental stability, and susceptibility to disease in men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 131–144.Google Scholar
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2008). The Evolutionary Biology of Human Female Sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
TopTenReviews.com (2016). Top Ten Statistics. Internet pornography statistics. http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html (accessed April 11, 2016).Google Scholar
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In Campbell, B., ed., Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man: 1871–1971. Chicago, IL: Aldine, pp. 136–179.Google Scholar
US Census Bureau (2014). Computer and Internet Access in the United States: 2012. www.census.gov/hhes/computer (accessed May 20, 2014).Google Scholar
Velezmoro, R., Negy, C., & Livia, J. (2012). Online sexual activity: Cross-national comparison between United States and Peruvian college students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 1015–1025.Google Scholar
Vörös, F. (2014). Raw fantasies. An interpretative sociology of what bareback porn does and means to French gay male audiences. Queering Paradigms, IV, 321–344.Google Scholar
Williams, L. (1999). Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible.” Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Woodard, T. L., Collins, K., Perez, M., et al. (2008). What kind of erotic film clips should we use in female sex research? An exploratory study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 5(1), 146–154.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×