A few decades ago it would have made their mothers or
grandmothers blush but pornography is now more acceptable for
tertiary aged women, researchers said.
They found that nearly half of female students in six colleges
across the United States who took part in their study said viewing
pornography was an acceptable way to express their sexuality.
The researchers from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah
suggest that the easy availability of pornography on the Internet
and changing social attitudes have led to a generational shift in
which pornography seems to be less taboo.
"Even in the absence of personal use, it seems young women's
attitudes are being influenced by the proliferation of
pornography," said Jason Carroll, an associate professor at the
university who headed the research team.
"These women are part of a rising generation that is deeming
pornography as more acceptable and more mainstream," he added in a
statement.
Carroll and his team studied the attitudes of 813 college
students who ranged in age from 18 to 26 and their parents in the
study that will be published in the Journal of Adolescent
Research.
Unlike their daughters and two-thirds of male students, only 37
per cent of fathers thought pornography was acceptable. Nearly 90
per cent of male students also reported viewing pornography in the
past year, according to the findings.
Jeffrey Arnett, the editor of the journal, described the study
as groundbreaking research.
"It is widely known that pornography is the most popular content
on the Internet, but few studies have looked at the behavior and
attitudes underlying Internet pornography use," he said.
The study also showed that unlike risky sexual behavior, binge
drinking and using marijuana - behaviors that usually peak at the
age of 22 - viewing pornography remained consistent from 18 to 26
years old.
Acceptance of pornography was also associated with higher levels
of risky behavior and binge drinking, the researchers said.
(Agencies via China Daily December 19, 2007)