Lesbophobia Through Pornography and the Patriarchy
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
John Wilson
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 12:15 PM
Description
The CDC estimates that 46% of Lesbian women and 75% of bisexual women will experience at least one case of sexual assault in their lifetimes. In many cases, these assaults may be rooted in anti-woman and anti-Queer attitudes. The present study builds on existing literature to examine the potential relationship between people's consumption of pornography, specifically Lesbian (women loving women/two non-male people) pornography, and their perception and beliefs about violence against Queer (those in the LGBTQ+ community) women. Participants completed measures of hostile and benevolent sexism, anti-Lesbian attitudes, and pornography consumption. This study may provide initial evidence linking pornography consumption and in particular the consumption of Lesbian pornography, to the development of anti-Lesbian attitudes. The primary hypothesis was that there would be a positive between the consumption of Lesbian pornography and hostility and objectification of Queer female relationships among heterosexual men. I also analyzed for mean differences in pornography consumption between CisHet Men and the rest of the sample. Data was collected via SONA, Canvas, and GroupMe. The present study found that cisgender heterosexual men report consuming more pornography overall than women, non-Cis men, and non-hetero men. Although positive correlations were observed between pornography consumption and sexist attitudes, and between sexist and Lesbophobic attitudes, the hypothesized correlation between consumption of lesbian pornography and sexist and Lesbophobic attitudes was not observed. Due to the correlational nature of this study, it is impossible to know the direction of the relationship between the consumption of pornography and comfort around Lesbians.
Lesbophobia Through Pornography and the Patriarchy
The CDC estimates that 46% of Lesbian women and 75% of bisexual women will experience at least one case of sexual assault in their lifetimes. In many cases, these assaults may be rooted in anti-woman and anti-Queer attitudes. The present study builds on existing literature to examine the potential relationship between people's consumption of pornography, specifically Lesbian (women loving women/two non-male people) pornography, and their perception and beliefs about violence against Queer (those in the LGBTQ+ community) women. Participants completed measures of hostile and benevolent sexism, anti-Lesbian attitudes, and pornography consumption. This study may provide initial evidence linking pornography consumption and in particular the consumption of Lesbian pornography, to the development of anti-Lesbian attitudes. The primary hypothesis was that there would be a positive between the consumption of Lesbian pornography and hostility and objectification of Queer female relationships among heterosexual men. I also analyzed for mean differences in pornography consumption between CisHet Men and the rest of the sample. Data was collected via SONA, Canvas, and GroupMe. The present study found that cisgender heterosexual men report consuming more pornography overall than women, non-Cis men, and non-hetero men. Although positive correlations were observed between pornography consumption and sexist attitudes, and between sexist and Lesbophobic attitudes, the hypothesized correlation between consumption of lesbian pornography and sexist and Lesbophobic attitudes was not observed. Due to the correlational nature of this study, it is impossible to know the direction of the relationship between the consumption of pornography and comfort around Lesbians.