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. 2024 Jun 14;10(13):e32981.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32981. eCollection 2024 Jul 15.

Exploring the Interplay of problematic pornography use, sexism, and rape myth acceptance: An Italian cross-sectional study

Benedetta Barchielli  1 , Clarissa Cricenti  2 , Giulia Lausi  2 , Alessandro Quaglieri  2 , Emanuela Mari  2 , Gabriele Rocca  3 , Arije Antinori  1 , Anna Maria Giannini  2 , Stefano Ferracuti  1
Affiliations

Exploring the Interplay of problematic pornography use, sexism, and rape myth acceptance: An Italian cross-sectional study

Benedetta Barchielli et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

The relationships among pornography use, sexist ideology and false or stereotypical ideas about rape are controversial. This study specifically examines the associations of problematic pornography use (PPU) with sexism and rape myth acceptance among both male and female participants within the Italian context utilizing a cross-sectional methodology. Based on data from 815 participants collected through an online questionnaire, the study identifies significant gender-based differences, with men typically exhibiting higher scores on sexism, rape myth acceptance, and token resistance beliefs. Correlation analysis revealed that in men, there was a positive relationship between pornography cravings and sexist beliefs but not between pornography cravings and minimizing rape or accusations of lying (rape myth). Women showed significant positive correlations across all problematic pornography use dimensions with sexist ideology, although the relationship with rape myth acceptance varied. These findings underscore the critical need for acknowledging these relationships to enhance strategies for preventing gender-based violence.

Keywords: Pornography; Rape myth acceptance; Sexism; Sexuality issues.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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