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Pornography Consumers of Color and Problematic Pornography Use: Clinical Implications

  • Sex Addiction (G Blycker and G Mestre-Bach, Section Editors)
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Abstract

Purpose of review

The purpose of this article is to utilize a problematic pornography use (PPU) framework to review the nascent research on Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) consumers of pornography.

Recent findings

Adolescent and adult BIPOC research participants, and Black Americans in particular, viewed pornography more or in greater frequency when compared to their White counterparts. BIPOC adolescent consumers often preferred pornography that featured performers of colors, which frequently contains problematic racial stereotypes and aggression. Findings suggest that pornography can influence sexual scripts of BIPOC consumers and increase the probability that they will develop PPU, which can take the form of relationship aggression, sexual risk behaviors, and permissive attitudes toward sex.

Summary

Pornography may shape the sexual scripts and sexual interactions of BIPOC pornography viewers and set the stage for PPU. Service providers should consider providing pornography literacy programs for adolescents and assess PPU in the context of relationship distress and intimate partner violence.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Carolyn M. West would like to thank the University of Washington Tacoma’s Office of Community Partnerships for supporting her scholarship as a Resident Fellow.

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  1. School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington, Box 358436, 1900 Commerce Street, Tacoma, WA, 98402, USA

    Carolyn M. West

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  1. Carolyn M. West
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West, C.M. Pornography Consumers of Color and Problematic Pornography Use: Clinical Implications. Curr Addict Rep 9, 126–132 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-022-00410-1

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