Abstract

It has been more than 32 years since Communicatio published “The Functions of Pornography in Society: A Survey of Some Alternative Intellectual Views”, a 1989 article by Stefan Sonderling that explored various ideological viewpoints and social roles of pornography. Despite the article’s suggestive title, it presents no actual survey data of porn functions by consumers. South Africa has repeatedly appeared amongst the top 20 porn consumer countries in the world, yet no academic publication has explored the quantitative dimension of South African porn use. Statistical data provided by websites such as Pornhub remains site-specific, insular, and devoid of experiential accounts by users. This article presents mixed-methods research data collected in 2017 as part of my doctoral study at the University of the Witwatersrand. The national study utilised a large anonymous survey (Phase 1) and a smaller number of in-depth interviews (Phase 2). This led to the collection of 676 completed survey responses and the recruitment of 25 interview respondents. The data shows that porn consumption pleasure possesses spatio-temporal specificities and that location and time are integral to enjoying porn. Porn is able to be a masturbation aid, a stress remedy, a sleep sedative, and an energy stimulant, arguably because it emulates the corporeal effects of sex. Lastly, this study reveals that the majority of porn consumers, including those in relationships, prefer to watch porn alone, away from the purview of their romantic partners.

摘要

自Communicationio以来已经超过 32 年了Stefan Sonderling 于 1989 年发表了一篇文章“色情在社会中的作用：一些另类知识分子观点的调查”，探讨了色情的各种意识形态观点和社会角色。尽管这篇文章的标题具有暗示性，但它没有提供消费者对色情功能的实际调查数据。南非多次跻身世界前 20 大色情消费国家之列，但还没有学术出版物探讨过南非色情使用的数量维度。Pornhub 等网站提供的统计数据仍然是特定于站点的、孤立的，并且没有用户的经验账户。本文介绍了 2017 年收集的混合方法研究数据，这是我在金山大学攻读博士期间的一部分。这项全国性研究利用了一项大型匿名调查（第一阶段）和少量的深入访谈（第二阶段）。这导致收集了 676 份完整的调查答复，并招募了 25 名受访者。数据显示，色情消费乐趣具有时空特异性，地点和时间是享受色情不可或缺的一部分。色情能够成为自慰辅助工具、压力疗法、睡眠镇静剂和能量兴奋剂，可以说是因为它模仿了性的肉体效应。最后，这项研究表明，大多数色情消费者，包括恋爱中的消费者，更喜欢独自观看色情片，远离他们的浪漫伴侣。数据显示，色情消费乐趣具有时空特异性，地点和时间是享受色情不可或缺的一部分。色情能够成为自慰辅助工具、压力疗法、睡眠镇静剂和能量兴奋剂，可以说是因为它模仿了性的肉体效应。最后，这项研究表明，大多数色情消费者，包括恋爱中的消费者，更喜欢独自观看色情片，远离他们的浪漫伴侣。数据显示，色情消费乐趣具有时空特异性，地点和时间是享受色情不可或缺的一部分。色情能够成为自慰辅助工具、压力疗法、睡眠镇静剂和能量兴奋剂，可以说是因为它模仿了性的肉体效应。最后，这项研究表明，大多数色情消费者，包括恋爱中的消费者，更喜欢独自观看色情片，远离他们的浪漫伴侣。