What Do We Know About the Effects of Pornography After Fifty Years of Academic Research?

by Alan McKee, Katerina Litsou, Paul Byron

This book presents an innovative cross-disciplinary report on research across the humanities and social sciences about the relationship between pornography and its consumers.

For policy makers and the wider public it can be difficult to obtain a clear understanding of the current state of knowledge on pornography and its relationships with audiences, due to the often-contradictory nature of research spanning the various and politically diverse academic disciplines. The cross-disciplinary expertise of the author team has engaged in an extensive examination of the findings of academic research in the area in order to explain, in a clear and accessible style, the most important conclusions about the relationship of pornography to Healthy Sexual Development.

This short and accessible overview is suitable for students and scholars in Psychology, Sexual Health, Film Studies, Sex Education, Queer Theory, Gender Studies, Sexuality Studies, Sociology, Media Studies and Cultural Studies.

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2022

Reviews

[Andrew Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book that gets to the point and covers a lot of research in a very readable way, though it functions more as a critique of the literature rather than a summary of its findings. Frequently I was left with more questions than answers: Does pornography make modern relationships better or worse? Does it change the way people have sex? Does it work towards or against our comfort with sex as a part of life? And so on. Most of the time the answer is 'Nobody knows', and perhaps that's just because the right research hasn't been done yet. Still, I get the sense that this book could have included a lot more of what we do know, rather than just focusing on what we don't.

[Star Goth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing perspective and analysis of porn research with the importance of healthy sexual development and the consent at the forefront of their conversations and analysis

I suggest this to those who are looking for an accessible format to learn about the conclusions of 50yrs of academic research on the effects of pornography.

This was easy to understand and a quick way to learn about a collection of studies across academic disciplines

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely accessible multidisciplinary critique of porn research in the social sciences and humanities. These authors specifically focus on whether and in what ways porn use relates to four different areas of healthy sexual development. There are few definitive answers but many fascinating perspectives and questions to consider.