Sex on the Screen: A Content Analysis of Free Internet Pornography Depicting Mixed-Sex Threesomes from 2012–2020

Viewing online pornography is common among US adults, with mixed-sex threesome (MST) videos being one of the top 10 most popular categories of pornography for both men and women. The current content analysis applied sexual script theory to understand the themes present in these mixed-sex threesome videos. Independent coders viewed a total of 50 videos (25 MMF and 25 FFM) at each timepoint (2012, 2015, 2020) and coded for different sexual behaviors and themes in each video. By examining both same-sex (female–female, male–male) and other-sex (female–male) behaviors, as well as themes of aggression and sexual initiation in different videos and across three timepoints, it was determined that other-sex behaviors are more common in MST videos than same-sex behaviors. Same-sex behaviors between two female actors were more common than same-sex behaviors between two male actors. Aggression was a common theme in videos, with male actors being more aggressive on average than female actors. Most of these trends did not change across 8 years, suggesting that the impacts of traditional sexual scripts are pervasive in pornography, even in current online content. Important implications for both researchers and clinical professionals are discussed.

Does the Stigma of Hooking Up Predict Sexual Assault at College?

This study examines the relationship between the stigma of hooking up and reported sexual assault. Guided by Goffman’s (1963) social stigma theory and Gagnon and Simon’s (1973) sexual script theory, I propose that 1) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would disrespect women who hook up frequently, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex; 2) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would disrespect for men who hook up frequently, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex; and 3) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would be less interested in someone who hooks up frequently as a boyfriend/girlfriend, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex. Using the Online College Social Life Survey data collected between 2005 and 2011, I analyze the attitudes about and reports of sexual behaviors in a non-probability sample of 16,914 students at 21 U.S. colleges and universities. Controlling for sex, age, current religion preference, and Greek affiliation, disrespect towards women who hook up frequently is positively and significantly related to fewer reports of nonconsensual sex. However, the results do not support the second and third hypotheses as there is no statistically significant relationship between disrespect towards men who hook up frequently as well as the lack of interest in people who hook up frequently and the incidents of reported nonconsensual sex. The findings suggest that the efforts to reduce the stigma of hooking up should be taken into consideration in rape prevention programming.

German Heterosexual Women’s Pornography Consumption and Sexual Behavior

This study found that German heterosexual women’s personal and partnered consumption of pornography were positively correlated with their desire to engage in or having previously engaged in submissive (but not dominant) sexual behaviors such as having their hair pulled, having their face ejaculated on, being spanked, choked, called names, slapped, and gagged. The association between women’s partnered pornography consumption and submissive sexual behavior was strongest for women whose first exposure to pornography was at a young age. The findings also indicated that women’s personal and partnered pornography consumption were uniquely related to their engagement in submissive sexual behavior. Public Health Significance Statement: This study suggests that greater exposure to pornography among heterosexual German women is associated with their desire to engage in or having previously engaged in submissive sexual behaviors but not dominant behaviors. This pattern of correlations aligns with sexual script theory and content analyses of dominance and submission and gender in pornography. It does not align with the perspective that measures of pornography consumption are simply proxies for factors such as a high sex drive or an adventurous approach to sex.

‘I like the way you move’: Theorizing fat, black and sexy

Moving past conceptualizations of ‘mammy,’ this article discusses fat black female sexuality through experiences of black women in the plus size fashion world. I posit that these women, their clothing, and their bodies’ movement underneath their clothing, subvert previous notions of fatness, blackness and sexuality. By mapping a black feminist lens onto sexual script theory, I analyze in-depth interviews with plus size models, bloggers and designers to show that fat black women and their utilization of clothing both embody and reject mammy, regard sexuality as public and private enterprises of self-reclamation, and subscribe to and complicate cultural norms of fat black (a)sexuality.