Heterosexual-Identified Men’s Endorsement of Masculinity Ideologies Moderates Associations between Pornography Consumption, Body Satisfaction and Sexual Functioning

Abstract

Social comparison processes during pornography consumption and the pressure to adhere to traditional masculinity ideologies about how a male body should look may influence men’s body satisfaction and in turn explain potential associations between pornography consumption and men’s sexual functioning. The current study analyzed whether pornography consumption was associated with men’s experience of distressing sexual problems through men’s body satisfaction, and whether men’s endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies moderated those associations. At an Austrian medical university, 261 self-identified heterosexual men (M age = 24.4, SD = 3.5) participated in an online questionnaire study. Results revealed that high frequency of pornography consumption was associated with poor body satisfaction only in men who strongly endorsed the masculinity ideology of men needing to be the dominant. Poor body satisfaction in turn was associated with frequent and/or distressing experiences of erectile difficulty, ejaculating sooner than desired, or diminished intensity of orgasmic sensations. The study’s results suggest that traditional masculinity ideologies and Western ideals about an ideal body should be addressed in clinical practice when treating men with sexual problems. Empowering patients with sexual problems to challenge those norms may be important, especially for men who endorse traditional masculinity ideologies. Keywords: Body satisfaction, Pornography consumption, Sexual problems, Heterosexual men, Masculinity, Austria