Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

2001

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Sociology

Advisor

Judith Lorber

Committee Members

Barbara Katz Rothman

Patricia Clough

Michael Kimmel

Subject Categories

Sociology

Abstract

This presentation of original research on men's experiences with pornography draws on various theoretical approaches, including the social construction of gender and sexualities, pro-feminist men's studies, queer theory, and cultural studies. The research consists of lengthy, qualitative interviews with 64 pornography fans in the New York metropolitan area. The purpose of the study was to describe men's experiences with pornography and to test the hypothesis that the current literature on pornography does not represent their experience. The impetus for this argument is that there is a vast literature on pornography, but no data on the experiences of bisexual, gay, and straight pornography fans. This study enters their world in an attempt to understand, in the classic Weberian sense, why pornography is meaningful to them. It emphasizes pornography as a form of popular culture and these men as its audience, and it addresses these men as "fans" of pornography rather than "users," reflecting the language of the men themselves.

Four central questions are at the heart of this work: (1) Is masturbation with pornography a normative sexual practice in some men's lives? (2) What is the relationship, if any, of pornography to men's sexual fantasies? (3) To what extent is pornography involved with men's experience of power? (4) How, if at all, have men negotiated their interest in pornography while involved in long-term intimate relationships?;In addressing these questions, the research documents a wide diversity of practices with pornography. The findings do support the connection between pornography and sexism by showing that for some men pornography can tie into and solidify pre-existing sexist scripts. In addition, it introduces new issues and new data about men's experiences with porn: the variety of pleasures, the extent and effects of shame, and the proliferation of multi-sexed, multi-gendered fantasies.

This research concludes that sexist men may learn to solidify their misogyny with porn, but other men, bisexual, gay, and straight, get a lot from pornography that is positive for them and for their partners. The answer is not in the porn itself; it is in the men's biographies, what they bring to their pornographic practice.

Comments

Digital reproduction from the UMI microform.

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