Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse, a professor and postdoctoral student at the University of Montreal, set out to conduct a study comparing the views of men in their twenties who regularly used pornography, to those who had never been exposed to pornographic material. The research project fell at the first hurdle. Why? They couldn’t find a single man who hadn’t seen porn.

Professor Lajeunesse states that:

‘We [the research team] started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography. We couldn’t find any.’

Although hampered in its original aim, the research project has been altered to examine the habits of young men who regularly use pornography – which would apparently be all of the participants. The research team have thus far interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who observe pornography and have found that, on average, the participants first watched porn when they were around ten years old.

Around 90% of consumption was online, with the additional 10% coming from adult movies on DVD or video. Single men watched pornography for an average of 40 minutes, three times a week, whilst those in relationships watched for an average of 20 minutes, 1.7 times a week. As well as drawing these (somewhat obvious, I think) conclusions, the study also found that men watch pornography that matches their own image of sexuality, and are quick to discard material that they find offensive or distasteful.

All participants in the research project said that they supported gender equality …

… and that they felt victimized by rhetoric demonizing pornography. Professor Lajeunesse has stated that:

‘Pornography hasn’t changed their [the participants’] perception of women or their relationship, which they all want as harmonious and fulfilling as possible. Those who could not live out their fantasy in real life with their partner simply set aside the fantasy. The fantasy is broken in the real world and men do not want their partner to look like a porn star.’

Interesting stuff, but (I think) nothing groundbreaking. So men tend to come into contact with porn for the first time at around 10 years old. Though this is very young, I don’t think this is a particularly shocking finding – around this age boys start to become curious sexually and will be influenced by others or go online to find porn. Men generally watch porn on the internet. Well, yes. Don’t we all? Men who are in a relationship watch less porn than those who are single. Again, not exactly an Earth-shattering conclusion.

What is hilarious about this study though, is the fact that they couldn’t recruit one solitary, single man that had not viewed pornography in some way. Though I don’t really think this is all that surprising either – we all know that a very basic Google search can expose us to some choice images – and indeed anyone, regardless of their age of inclination, should they know how to work a search engine, can do so too. But despite this, this report still makes me laugh a little.

What do you guys think? Have you met (or indeed are you) a man who has never watched porn? I’m not sure I have. Do you think it would be easier to fnid a woman who hasn’t watched porn, or just the same?

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6 Responses to “Shocker of the Week: Research Finds That All Men Watch Porn”

1. Joey says:

   July 23, 2010 at 4:07 pm

   I have never viewed porn,don’t cheat on my taxes,would never tear one of those labels off a mattress,and never EVER masturbated!!

   Reply
   • Alzaetia says:

     July 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm

     Not even on your deck while a neighbor records it? In the name of art, of course.

     Reply
     • Joey says:

       July 23, 2010 at 5:31 pm

       You know your getting old when you can’t remember your post from a week ago,busted!

       Reply
2. Erin says:

   July 23, 2010 at 4:39 pm

   It doesn’t surprise me that there are very, very few men who have never viewed porn. I think most guys watch it at least once simply because they’re curious. I don’t think it would be too difficult to find a guy who hadn’t watched it in, say, 2 years, or one who didn’t watch it regularly.

   Reply
3. Shannon says:

   July 25, 2010 at 11:41 am

   I don’t even know a woman who’s never seen porn. And it’s not just because we check it out for curiosity, a lot of us watch it intentionally for pleasure. This isn’t shocking for most people in their 20’s or 30’s. The internet means you can watch porn for free in the privacy of your own room, and there’s even porn made by women for women to enjoy.

   Reply
4. Ted Bundy Blamed Pornography For the Murders He Committed … Was He Right? – Zelda Lily, Feminism in a Bra says:

   July 25, 2010 at 12:47 pm

   [...] rather than a correlation between mainstream porn (which we’ve recently established that pretty much all men have explored) and the horrific murder of Eddie Werner. Also significant is the fact that Manzie was in a [...]

   Reply

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