Consider it a valid concern: can viewing porn affect our attitudes towards women? The bad news is: yes, viewing porn can make you more sexist. The good news? Only amongst men who are already sexist.
A new study published in the Journal of Communications found that consumption of pornography increased sexist opinions, but only amongst young men who were already a bit misanthropic. Researchers gathered 200 Danish adults, ages 18-30, asked them about their past pornography habits and evaluated the “agreeableness” traits in their personality. Men who scored low on this evaluation were antagonistic, cold, hostile, suspicious, and had high levels of self-interest. They then exposed them to hardcore pornography, because sometimes, science is wild.
After the exposure, and presumably after everyone involved composed themselves, the researchers re-evaluated their subjects. Amongst women, there was no change in sexist attitudes. Most men remained unaffected too—except for men who had previously scored low on the aforementioned “agreeableness” evaluation, who, in addition to already being cold, hostile jerks, grew more sexist.
