Watching pornography in which performers use condoms makes viewers more likely to use them as well, a study of men who have sex with men finds.
It is the behavior — whether condoms are used at all — and not the volume of pornography men watch that predicts if viewers use them too, according to a study published April 27 in Plos One.
The study surveyed over 260 men ages 18 and older who have sex with men and watched pornography with men having sex with men. Researchers asked how many times the content did or did not feature condom use and whether viewers fantasized about imitating the acts with their own partners.
Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said they have seen pornographic videos that featured condomless anal sex and 91 percent reported watching videos where condoms were used.
Researchers found that watching a greater proportion of pornography featuring condomless anal sex was linked to a greater number of men doing the same. But the study found that men who watched a greater proportion of pornography featuring condom use during anal sex was linked to viewers using condoms themselves.
Overall, nearly half of participants — 48 percent — said viewing pornography led them to have riskier sex and 23 percent had condomless anal sex within hours of watching videos.
The findings could potentially open up a line of research on safer sex interventions that could include sexually explicit videos that demonstrate condom use and engage viewers, said lead study author Eric Schrimshaw, PhD, of the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
“We’ve known for a number of years now, especially among gay and bisexual men, that they don’t like the kind of dry, sterile…kind of cognitive behavior change interventions,” Schrimshaw told The Nation’s Health. “They work but they’re not the most effective. They want something that’s entertaining, that keeps their attention and is engaging.”
Schrimshaw said public health policy around pornography, such as the Los Angeles City Council’s 2012 vote to require condom use in films, is generally centered on the occupational health of performers.
“Our data will open up that conversation a little bit that it has potential effects on the consumers viewing the product,” Schrimshaw said. “It’s not just about the safety of the performers but the health of the viewers.”
For more information, visit http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154439
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association