Internet Pornography Use Among Collegiate Women: Gender Attitudes, Body Monitoring, and Sexual Behavior

Abstract

Pornography use has become more commonplace since the advent of high-speed Internet, yet there is little investigation that is exclusively targeted to women’s use of pornography. Given the paradox of viewing mainstream Internet pornography, which often portrays the objectification of and violence toward women, we compared heterosexual collegiate women (n = 168) who use Internet pornography with women who do not on several different attitudes and behaviors that are central to women’s sexual development and wellbeing. Women who use Internet pornography had a higher endorsement of rape myths, a higher number of sexual partners, and engaged in more body monitoring. However, there were no differences in attitudes toward women between pornography users and nonusers. Results are interpreted through sexual scripting and objectification theories.