Concerns have been raised about how viewing Sexually Explicit Internet Material (SEIM) shapes adolescents' understanding of sexual relationships and has potentially negative impacts. However, research frequently takes a narrow view of adolescent SEIM use and excludes their understandings. The present study explored how 13 participants, aged 14 to…

Much research has been conducted "on" young people as a population rather than "with" them. Traditionally, porn research has focused on effects--on the assumption that people, especially young people, are impacted by the sexual media they consume, which leads to negative outcomes such as violence and addiction. In this sense,…

Increasing depictions of kink in mainstream society are leading to a rise in people seeking to learn about and participate in bondage/discipline, domination/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM). For many, this initial education process is likely to focus on the Internet and pornography specifically. Existing research into the impact of…

Viewing sexually explicit media (SEM) can influence young people's sexual attitudes and behaviours. Media literacy education can help young people navigate this, yet parental opposition is sometimes cited as a barrier to the implementation of comprehensive school programmes. A scoping review explored parent perspectives towards and comfort with…

This study was conducted among a group of Swedish teachers and a class of 14-15-year-old students and explored pornography education as part of secondary school sexuality education. Data were generated using mixed methods including teacher-researcher meetings, participant observation in class, student interviews, and teacher evaluation meetings,…

Little is known about how emerging adults respond emotionally to pornography use. Using a two-study approach, we first examined emerging adults' (N = 269) positive and negative emotional reactions to their own pornography use. Study 2 (N = 517) extended these findings by (a) examining how these emotional reactions are related to well-being and (b)…

Pornography consumption at a young age may pose a threat for sexual health, due to the presence of aggression and the degradation of women. Sexuality education is viewed as a way to mitigate the effects of inadequate information and counteract certain tendencies that may be learned from pornography. This study involved a systematic review of…

As internet use continues to rise, school counselors encounter challenges related to problematic internet behaviors among secondary students. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Georgia school counselors when working to prevent, manage, and support these behaviors. I used a semi-structured format to interview 15 school counselors in…

This paper provides a narrative review of recent studies (2005-2020) into the content of contemporary, mainstream pornography. Sex acts, such as vaginal sex, fellatio, and external ejaculation are ubiquitous within mainstream pornography. Cunnilingus, solo masturbation, or masturbation of a partner are all also relatively common. Condom use is…

Generative AI is expansively used to create pornographic material. These images and practices are becoming a part of the sexual culture and have an influential impact on gender inequality. Many of the images are generated without the knowledge of the women in the material, and a considerable amount of them are child sexual abuse materials. GenAI…

Using as a case study the experience of teaching Jane DeLynn's "Leash" (2002), a "pornosophical" novel about a sadomasochistic lesbian relationship, I argue in this essay for the pedagogical value of shock. I argue that shocking works of pornography can unsettle not only students' comfortable understandings of sexuality, but…

The aim of this research is to examine associations of adolescent sexting with gender, being in a romantic relationship, and other online or offline sexual behaviors, using the adolescent sexting scale A-SextS as a standardized measure. Data were collected from a sample of 579 Spanish secondary school pupils (47.3% girls), between the ages of 11…

Background: Preadolescents, who are in a transitional phase of development, may experience higher exposure to heterosexual interactions while facing higher risks regarding misinformation in sexual knowledge and unsafe engagement in sexual activities. There is a deficiency in the availability of qualified educators and age-appropriate teaching…

This qualitative interview study investigated the opinions of 28 high school-attending youth in Massachusetts related to the content of their sexuality education, what they wished they could learn from a sex education class, and whether and how pornography was addressed. Participants felt that the sex education they received was not in-depth and…

Men's negative attitudes toward women represent a known risk factor for sexual aggression perpetration. Sexual aggression is a widespread public health concern, especially among emerging adults, and is associated with a multitude of negative consequences. The current study evaluated whether pornography-related perceived peer norms, own approval,…