Attitudes Toward Pornography and the Characteristics Attributed to Pornography Actors.
by Jennee A. Evans-DeCicco , Gloria Cowan Gloria Cowan [1] Proponents and opponents of pornography often use the assumed characteristics and motivations of female pornography actors to justify their position. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among attitudes toward pornography, gender, and beliefs about both female and male pornography actors. University students (N = 165) completed measures assessing their attitudes toward pornography and their beliefs about male and female pornography actors. Attitudes toward pornography were significantly related to beliefs about both male and female pornography actors, as was gender. A larger discrepancy between beliefs about female pornography actors and women in general than between male pornography actors and men in general was found. Male participants rated female pornography actors similar to male pornography actors, whereas female participants rated female pornography actors more negatively than male pornography actors. Across participant gender, female pornography actors were believed to come from more dysfunctional families than male pornography actors. In general, male pornography actors were attributed more positive motivations for their work than female pornography actors. Stereotypes of actors in pornography are often used to justify pornography or to condemn it. In using the assumed motivations and characteristics of pornography actors as a foundation for judging the medium itself and its benefits and harms, people justify political positions on pornography through the use of stereotypes. Antipornography voices argue that pornographic images do not celebrate female sexuality, but rather exploit it. Dworkin (1989) believes that many female performers are coerced into participation. MacKinnon (1993, p. 20) asserted that "all pornography is made under conditions of inequality based on sex, overwhelmingly by poor, desperate, homeless, pimped women who were sexually abused as children." In contrast, proponents of pornography support their position by arguing that pornography liberates women by allowing them to explore less traditional aspects of their sexuality and reject the view that women are coerced into the pornography industry (Strossen, 1995). Pornography advocates argue th at the antipornography position reduces women to a child-like state by denying both women's sexuality and their ability to make decisions (Strossen, 1995). It is important to note that the actual attributes and motivations of pornography actors remain largely unknown. Case studies, personal claims, and anecdotal evidence exist that support both positions (Campbell, 1990; Gittler, 1999; Lovelace, 1980; Strossen, 1995; Wilkenson, 1994). A large-scale study investigating the characteristics and motivations of pornography actors would be useful in determining the distribution of characteristics among them. Such a study might prove interesting in disconfirming or supporting some of the stereotypes of female pornography actors that are used to justify or condemn pornography. Despite the common use of female pornography actors' characteristics in justifying or condemning pornography, little research has been done on the public's stereotypes of pornography actors. In their study of college students' beliefs about female pornography actors, Polk and Cowan (1996) found that female pornography actors were viewed midway between movie stars and prostitutes--more positively than prostitutes but more negatively than movie stars and the average woman. We suggest that people's attitudes toward pornography influence the beliefs that people hold about pornography actors. Those who believe that pornography has positive or at least neutral effects may project these positive attitudes onto pornography actors, perceiving them as healthy persons. Those who are anti-pornography may also project their negative attitudes onto pornography actors, seeing them as having been coerced into pornography or motivated by negative factors such as family abuse and drug addiction. Negative attitudes toward pornography have been shown to be positively related to the attribution of negative characteristics to female pornography actors (Polk & Cowan, 1996). Those who viewed pornography as harmful were also more likely to believe that the female actors were coerced into performing and did not like their work than those who did not believe pornography is harmful (Polk & Cowan, 1996). However, the earlier study did not examine whether this association between attitudes toward pornogr aphy and attributed characteristics of female pornography actors would extend to beliefs about male pornography actors. Much of the attention to pornography that has focused on the harm to actors has been on female actors, and little has been written about the male pornography actor. As part of her book-Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man--Faludi (1999) wrote about the lives of male pornography actors, in particular, one male actor who committed suicide. Stoller's ethnographic examination of the pornography industry included male producers but Stoller was not able to find male actors willing to talk to him (Stoller, 1991). Research has not examined differences in the stereotypes and beliefs about female and male pornography actors. In this study, attitudes toward pornography and gender of participant were examined as predictors of attributed characteristics and motivations of female and male pornography actors. A negative attitude toward pornography should be related to the attribution of negative characteristics and motivations to female pornography actors. The lack of information surrounding the male pornography actor leads to the question of whether male pornography actors are subject to the same stereotypes as their female counterparts. Also, women and men may stereotype male and female pornography actors differently, as well as have different attitudes toward pornography (Cowan & Stahly, 1992, Lottes, Weinberg, & Weller, 1993). To examine these hypotheses two mixed analyses of variance (ANOVAs) was performed with the following factors: 2 (attitudes toward pornography) by 2 (gender of participant) by 2 (gender of pornography actor and gender of pornography actor relative to their respective gender group). Gender of participants and attitudes were between-group factors, whereas gender of pornography actor was a within-group factor. METHOD Participants A total of 165 (62.8% women, 37.2% men) college students were recruited from an undergraduate, introduction to psychology class at an urban Southern California university. Age ranged from 18 to 48 (M = 21.24, SD = 5.81). Ethnicity breakdown was 70 (42.9%) Caucasian, 20 (12.3%) African American, 16 (9.8%) Asian American, 44 (27.0%) Chicano/Latino/Hispanic American, 5 (3.1%) Native American, and 8 (4.9%) others. Extra credit was available to participants upon completion. Measures Attitudes Toward Pornography The Attitudes Toward Pornography Scale is a 13-item scale designed by the authors to measure general attitudes about pornography (see Appendix A). Participants were asked to respond to both positive and negative statements about pornography (e.g., "It is a harmless activity" and "It increases violence towards women") on a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Higher scores indicate a more positive attitude toward pornography. The Attitudes Toward Pornography Scale had adequate reliability, with an alpha coefficient of .85. Beliefs About Pornography Actors The Beliefs About Pornography Actors Scale was designed by the authors to measure characteristics attributed to male and female pornography actors in comparison to males and females in general. This questionnaire was divided into two parts, one addressing male pornography actors and males in general, the other addressing female pornography actors and females in general. Both sections consist of the same 25 items, which were then rated on the likelihood that each group would possess those attributions. Reliability, analysis, item-total correlations, and Principal Components Analysis showed optimal reliability, item-total correlations, and unidimensionality with 15 of the items across the four stimulus groups. The alpha for these 15 items in relation to male and female pornography actors together was .84, and in relation to males and females in general the alpha was .90. Examples of positive questions are "high self esteem," "psychologically healthy," and "intelligent." Negative questions include "use drugs," "sexually abused as a child or teen," and "reckless" (see Appendix B for items). Responses were reported on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from not likely at all to very likely. Higher scores indicated more positive beliefs about pornography actors. Difference scores between the ratings of females in general and female pornography actors and between the ratings of males in general and male pornography actors were computed by subtracting the pornography actor scores from those of their relevant gender group. Traits attributed to female and male pornography actors were also examined without comparison to men and women in general. Work Motivations of Pornography Actors The motivations of pornography actors items were designed by the authors to assess the perceived work motivations of pornography actors. Male and female pornography actors were assessed separately by identical items. Items included "coerced into work," "like the work," "lack of alternative employment opportunities," "for the money," "fulfilling fantasy," and "sexual liberation." Participants rated six possible motivations on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from not at all to very. Procedure Questionnaires were administered to undergraduate students, who received extra credit for their participation. All participants provided informed consent, and no names were recorded. Questionnaires were administered during class. RESULTS Participant scores on the various scales are presented in Table I. Two repeated measures ANOVAs were performed--one to evaluate the perceptions of female and male pornography actors and the other to evaluate the perceptions of female and male pornography actors relative to ratings of females and males in general. Attitudes toward pornography scores were split at the median score. For the analysis of attributes of pornography actors, attitudes toward pornography had a main effect on the beliefs about female and male pornography actors combined, F(1, 156) = 6.02, p [less than] .02 (M propornography = 42.94, SD = 8.34; M antipornography = 39.12, SD = 7.58), with antipornography attitudes associated with more negative views of pornography actors. With the nondichotomized attitudes toward pornography scale scores, attitude toward pornography was significantly associated with characteristics attributed to both female pornography actors, r(161) = .35, p [less than] .01, and male pornography actors, r(161) = .28, p [less than] .01. Female pornography actors were not viewed significantly more negatively than their male counterparts, F(1, 156) = 2.91, p [less than] .10 (M females = 40.64, SD = 9.25; M males = 41.67, SD = 8.55); however, a significant interaction was found for gender of pornography actor and participant gender, F(1, 156) = 4.72, p [less than] .02. Female participants rated male pornography actors more positively than the female pornography actors, t(101) = 4.92, p [less than] .001, whereas male participants rated female pornography actors and male pornography actors equally, t = .63 (see Table I for Ms and SDs). On three items that reflect the claim that female pornography actors come from more dysfunctional backgrounds (sexually or physically abused as children or teenage runaways), across gender of participants, female pornography actors were attributed these background characteristics more than were male pornography actors, t sexual abuse (163) = 3.72, p [less than] .001 (M female pornography actor = 2.54, M male porno graphy actor = 2.19); t physical abuse (163) = 3.88, p [less than] .001 (M female pornography actor = 2.45, M male pornography actor 2.10); t teenage runaway (163) = 2.13, p [less than] .05 (M female pornography actor = 2.55, M male pornography actor = 2.26).[2] A separate analysis was performed on the judgments of pornography actors relative to judgments of their gender group as a whole. In this analysis, a significant difference was found for ratings of female and male pornography actors relative to their gender group, F(1, 152) = 13.66, p [less than] .001. The difference between female pornography actors and women in general (M = 15.01, SD = 12.13) was larger than the difference between male pornography actors and men in general (M = 12.38, SD = 12.51). The larger difference score for female pornography actors than for male pornography actors is due to the more positive ratings of women in general (M = 55.66, SD = 7.93) than of men in general (M = 53.86, SD = 7.67), F(1, 159) = 15.21, p [less than] .001. Several effects from the analysis of difference scores were not significant, ps [less than] .10, but were similar to the analyses of female and male pornography actors without comparison to women and men in general. In the interaction of gender of pornography actor and gender of participant, F(1, 152) = 3.00, p [less than] .09, women rated the difference between female pornography actors and women in general larger than that between male pornography actors and males in general t(99) = 6.59, p [less than] .001; men did not differentiate, t(57) = .53 (see Table I for Ms and SDs). In general, those who were more negative toward pornography tended to rate the difference larger than those who were propornography, F(1, 152) = 3.45, p [less than] .07 (M propornography = 12.03, SD = 11.38; M antipornography = 15.56, SD = 11.12). The nondichotomized attitudes toward pornography scale was associated with both female pornography actors relative to women in general, r(157) = -.27, p [less than] .01, and male pornography actors relative to men in general, r(160)= -.21, p [less than] .01. Differences between the perceived attributes of female and male pornography actors relative to their gender group were associated with more negative attitudes toward pornography. In general, women had a more negative attitude toward pornography than men, F(1, 160) = 5.69, p [less than] .05 (see Table I for Ms and SDs). Attitude toward pornography was unrelated to perceived work motivations of female and male pornography actors, with one exception. Attitude toward pornography was negatively related to the belief that female pornography actors are coerced into pornography, r(160) = .26, p [less than] .01. Significant differences were found between the perceived work motivation of female and male pornography actors on five of the six work motivations (see Table II for Ms and SDs). Compared to male pornography actors, female pornography actors were more often viewed as being in it because they were coerced, t(160) = 5.77, p [less than] .001, and for the money, t(162) = 2.67, p [less than] .01. Conversely, compared to female pornography actors, male pornography actors were perceived as being motivated because they like the work, t(162) = 9.89, p [less than] .001, are fulfilling a fantasy, t(162) = 8.11, p [less than] .001, and for sexual liberation, t(162) = 3.14, p [less than] .01. Principal Component analysis with varimax rot ation indicated that the positive or intrinsic motivations (fulfilling fantasy, like the work, and sexual liberation) formed one factor, eigenvalue 3.27, and the negative or extrinsic motivations (coerced, for the money, and lack of alternative employment opportunity) formed a second factor, eigenvalue = 2.00. The positive work motivations were combined and the negative ones as well. Participants rated male pornography actors as more motivated by positive factors than were female pornography actors, t(162) = 9.43, p [less than] .001 (M male actors = 4.06, SD = .84; M female actors = 3.45, SD = .94) and female actors more motivated by negative factors than were male actors, t(160) = 4.83, p [less than] .001 (M male actors = 3.13, SD = 78; M female actors = 3.40, SD = .72). DISCUSSION Results support the view that attitudes toward pornography are related to the characteristics attributed to both male and female pornography actors. The more negative participants were toward pornography, the more negatively they rated both female and male pornography actors and the larger a difference they perceived between pornography actors relative to their gender group. These findings provide evidence that one's attitude toward pornography influences perception and attributions about pornography actors. However, the correlation does not prove that attitudes cause perceptions of pornography actors; other factors may influence both attitudes toward pornography and beliefs about pornography actors. However, the data are consistent with the theory that those who are pro- or antipornography use negative or positive or judgments and stereotypes about the actors to buttress their position. Theoretically, one might speculate about the reasons why perceptions of pornography actors are associated with views on pornography whereas in other areas of entertainment, the type of portrayals of actors is unlikely to be associated with attributions about the actors themselves (e.g., actors who portray violence). Two possibilities can be offered: First, sexuality is seen as more attributed to internal or intrinsic causes whereas violence, for example, is more likely seen as externally caused. Second, American culture may view explicit sexual expression as more nonnormative than other behaviors, such as aggression. Both suggestions are consistent with attribution theory (e.g., Jones & Davis, 1965). Regarding the issue of the perception of female versus male pornography actors, men rated female and male pornography actors similarly, whereas women rated male pornography actors more positively than female pornography actors. Both women and men rated the difference between female pornography actors and women in general greater than the difference between male pornography actors relative to men in general. In general, and consistent with other research (Cowan & Stahly, 1992; Lottes et al., 1993), men's attitudes toward pornography were more positive than women's. The gender of participant differences in rating female versus male pornography actors may be due to female participants identifying with female pornography actors on the grounds of being women, and therefore, holding female pornography actors to more rigid standards. One reason for this may be that women fear that the socially deviant actions of female pornography actors will be reflected upon women as a whole. Conversely, male participants do not fear this negative in-group association or comparisons because male pornography actors do not greatly deviate socially from stereotypes or group expectations of males in general. As a result, men are able to view both male and female pornography actors relatively equally without reflecting on themselves. Another aspect to be considered is that women in general are viewed more positively than men in general (this study, Eagly & Mladinic, 1994); therefore, the female sex actor falls from a higher pedestal of gender expectations than do men. Gender stereotypes about m en, but not women, include the perception of an uncontrollable libido and indiscriminate sexuality (Zilbergeld, 1992). Under such a framework, it is not unexpected that female pornography actors are judged by harsher standards than male pornography actors relative to general stereotypes of women and men. Although women, but not men, stereotyped female pornography actors more negatively than men, both women and men agree that female pornography actors, relative to male pornography actors, are likely to be coerced into pornography, come from homes in which they have been physically and sexually abused, and are teenage runaways. Participants did support the idea that these dysfunctional backgrounds are more characteristic of female than male pornography actors thus echoing MacKinnon's perception of female pornography actors (MacKinnon, 1993). Comparisons of the perceived work motivations of female versus male pornography actors revaled significant differences on five of the six motivators. Female pornography actors were viewed as more likely than male pornography actors to be coerced into work and doing it for the money, whereas male pornography actors were seen as participating because they like the work, are fulfilling a fantasy, and for sexual liberation. That is, despite the overall lack of differentiation between female and male pornography actors' characteristics (by men), female pornography actors were seen as motivated by more negative and less positive factors than were male pornography actors. This supports the idea that gender stereotypes exist with regard to the perceived work motivations attributed to female and male actors in the pornography industry. With the higher level of sexuality attributed to men than to women, it comes as no surprise that men in pornography are viewed more than women as eager participants who work in the field for enjoyment whereas women are more likely to be seen as in it for the money or other extrinsic reasons. It should be noted, however, that the positive motivators are attributed to both male and female pornography actors more than the negative motivators. It is important to remember that this study only deals with the perceptions and stereotypes of pornography actors. This study, however, does not address the true attributes and motivations of pornography actors. A large-scale study examining these issues would provide valuable data. The question of why women and men choose to be paid to perform sexually is an interesting one-why they do it and whether they enjoy the work is worth investigating, similar to that asked about prostitutes.[3] However, the characteristics and motivations of pornography actors are unrelated to the effects of pornography on its viewers and society. Only in the sex industry do the presumed characteristics and motivations of the performers factor into the judgment of the medium. People do not condemn or justify violence on television or movies on the basis of the actors who perform in it. People do condone or condemn pornography based on attributed characteristics and motivations of pornography actors.[4] Actual coercion of pornograph y actors aside, a more effective way of evaluating the pornography industry would be to focus on the effects that it has on the larger society, rather than the personality and motivational variables of the individuals who are paid to act in it. (1.) To whom correspondence should be addressed at Psychology Department, California State University, San Bernardino, California 92407; e-mail: gcowan@csusb.edu. (2.) For these three items, higher scores indicate more negative or higher family dysfunction ratings. (3.) The distinction between prostitution and acting in pornography films is questionable. Both pornography actors and prostitutes perform sex for pay. (4.) The motivation for this study is the common experience of lecturing on pornography and having someone in the audience or class invariably pose the issue of the actor's choice as justification for pornography. REFERENCES Campbell, B.M. (1990, November). A portrait of Angel. Essence, 21, 63-64. Cowan, G., & Stahly, G. (1992). Attitudes toward pornography control. In J. Christler & D. Howard (Eds.), New directions in feminist psychology: Practice, theory and research (pp. 200-214). New York: Springer. Dworkin, A. (1989). Pornography: Men possessing women. New York: NAL-Dutton. Eagly, A.H., & Mladinic, A. (1994). Are people prejudiced against women? Some answers from research on attitudes, gender stereotypes, and judgments of competence. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (Vol.5, pp. 1-35). Chichester, England: Wiley. Faludi, 5. (1999). Stiffed: The betrayal of the American man. NY: William Morrow. Gittler, I. (1999, October 14). Porn star: A diary of six years in the life. Rolling Stone, pp.65-73. Jones, E.E., & Davis, K.E. (1965). From acts to dispositions: The attribution process in person perception. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 220-266). New York: Academic Press. Lottes, I., Weinberg, M., & Weller, I. (1993). Reactions to pornography on a college campus: For or against. Sex Roles, 29, 69-89. Lovelace, L. (with MeGrady, M.). (1980). Ordeal. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press. MacKinnon, C. A. (1993). Only words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Polk, R. K., & Cowan, G. (1996). Perceptions of female pornography stars. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 5, 221-229. Stoller, R. J. (1991). Porn: Myths of the twentieth century. New York: Vail-Ballou Press. Strossen, N. (1995). Defending pornography. New York: Doubleday. Wilkenson, P. (1994, October 20). Dream girls. Rolling Stone, pp. 73-80. Zilbergeld, B. (1992). The new male sexuality. New York: Bantam. | |
Table I. Means Scores and SDs by Gender of Participant for
Attitudes Toward Pornography, and Beliefs About Female and
Male Pornography Actors
Female participants
Scales a,b M SD
Attitudes toward pornography 46.45 14.22
Beliefs about female pornography actors 39.12 9.04
Beliefs about male pornography actors 41.59 8.04
Difference between female pornography 15.36 12.23
actors and women in general
Difference between male pornography 11.03 11.43
actors and men in general
Male participants
Scales a,b M SD
Attitudes toward pornography 51.70 12.49
Beliefs about female pornography actors 42.30 9.28
Beliefs about male pornography actors 41.50 9.23
Difference between female pornography 15.00 11.86
actors and women in general
Difference between male pornography 14.11 13.77
actors and men in general
(a)Higher scores indicate more positive beliefs and attitudes.
(b)Possible ranges are 13-91 for attitudes toward pornography,
15-75 for beliefs about pornography actors, and 0-60 for
difference scores.
Table II. Means and SDs for FemaleMale Pornography Actors
Work Motivations
Female pornography actors
Motivations a M SD
For the money 4.60 .67
Fulfilling fantasy 3.50 1.15
Like the work 3.47 1.06
Sexual liberation 2.85 1.08
Coerced 2.85 1.08
Lack of alternative 2.74 1.31
employment opportunities
Male pornography actors
Motivations a M SD
For the money 4.43 .85
Fulfilling fantasy 4.20 .98
Like the work 4.32 .87
Sexual liberation 3.65 1.33
Coerced 2.36 1.21
Lack of alternative 2.59 1.35
employment opportunities
(a)Possible scores range from 1 to 5, and items are scored in
the direction of higher scores indicating stronger motivations.
| | APPENDIX A: ATTITUDES TOWARD PORNOGRAPHY 1. Teaches new sexual techniques 2. Degrades women 3. Gives men false expectations about the opposite sex 4. Leads to sexual addiction 5. Is educational 6. Increases violence towards women 7. Releases sexual tension 8. Places a wedge between couples 9. Is a harmless activity 10. Degrades men 11. Is stimulating and exciting 12. Breaks down family structure 13. Gives women false expectations about the opposite sex APPENDIX B: BELIEFS ABOUT PORNOGRAPHY ACTORS SCALE 1. Psychologically healthy 2. Uses drugs 3. Intelligent 4. Productive member of society 5. Ambitious 6. Sexually abused as a child or teen 7. Physically abused as a child or teen 8. Good parent 9. High self-esteem 10. Teenage runaway 11. Successful in relationships 12. Reckless 13. Have sexually transmitted diseases 14. Close relationship with parents 15. Feel ashamed of what they do |
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