What is presented on pornographic material? Quantitative analysis of pornographic images

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the variables presented in given categories of pornographic material, which may contribute to determining key objects for given types of pornographic materials that can cause sexual arousal. Pornographic mate­ rials are defined as pictures or videos produced to elicit sexual arousal in recipients, however, pornographic materials are not homo­ genous. However, currently it is assumed that viewing pornographic material by adults does not always have to lead to negative consequences, but there are areas of use of pornographic material that can be considered from a mental health perspective. It is accessing specific pornographic materials related to sexual fantasies, the implementation of which would be difficult or impossible in everyday life. Methods: 4,500 images belonging to one of the nine categories of pornographic material were analyzed. Basic descriptive statistics were calculated and the relationship between variables was examined. Results: Sexual activity and nudity were rare in fetish­type materials, except for materials classified as BDSM. The materials were mostly dominated by one type of object (fetish), but there were other objects as well. Conclusions: The presented results allow to conclude that it is easy to get access to materials that can be a source of sexual arousal for people with less prevalent sexual preferences. In addition, for fetish pornographic material, depiction of genitals or sexual activity was rare, suggesting that fetish preferences are a sufficient condition for recognizing this type of material as sexually stimulating for people with certain paraphilias.