The objectification of women in mainstream porn videos in Australia

Abstract

This paper measures the degree to which women are objectified in mainstream pornographic videos in Australia, using twelve measures of objectification. Seven of the measures allow for direct comparison of female and male objectification. Of these, one shows women being more objectified than men (presence of orgasms, where women have fewer orgasms). Three show men being more objectified than women (in time spent looking at camera, where men return the gaze significantly less; in time spent talking to the camera, where they are also less engaged; and in initiating sex, where men are more sexual objects than active sexual subjects in seeking their sexual pleasure in the sample). Three measures showed no difference in objectification between men and women (naming, central characters and time spent talking to other characters).