Gay male pornography: a study of users’ perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACTGay male pornography (GMP) occupies contentious discursive ground and is subject to polarising moral, theoretical and political discourses. However, few empirical studies employ these discourses as a point of departure. Using social representations and attitudes as theoretical tools, our study documents GMP users’ positionalities towards GMP on both a personal and a more social level. Data were collected via an online survey of 974 GMP users in Québec, Canada. An iterative exploratory factor analysis yielded five social representation scales (perceived racial and gender stereotypes, negative perception of bareback pornography, validation and educational utility, negative perception of gay pornography and perceived role of gay pornography in norm formation) and five attitude scales (perceived pressure to conform, preference for bareback pornography, acquired sexual knowledge, racialised sexual desire and problematic use). A hierarchical cluster analysis of the scales identified four main respondent profiles: pro-bareback standpoint (28%), gay affirmative standpoint (40%), harms-based standpoint (21%) and detached harms-based standpoint (10%). Our findings demonstrate that GMP is a complex topic and that conceiving its use solely from a gay affirmative or harms-based dichotomy may not do justice to users’ experiences, since various levels of agreement are present in users’ perspectives when confronted with contrasting and often contradictory arguments.