Are Sex and Pornography Addiction Valid Disorders? Adding a Leisure Science Perspective to the Sexological Critique

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, there has been a growing trend among both professionals and nonprofessionals in applying an addiction framework to understand frequent sexual behavior and pornography viewing. However, sexual scientists have identified serious methodological problems in applying an addiction model to such behavior and have noted that this movement appears to be largely morally, ideologically, and politically motivated. The scientific establishment of a valid mental health condition requires a thorough process of attempting (and subsequently failing) to disprove a condition, rather than primarily focusing on generating support for it. While there remains fierce professional contention surrounding how to interpret frequent sexual behavior and pornography viewing, perhaps surprisingly, the possibility that sexual behavior and pornography viewing may function as leisure has received little scholarly consideration to date. This article summarizes the current scientific critique of sex and pornography addiction before critically applying a leisure perspective to the issue.