Go Back Research Article February, 2002

Reading Porn: The Paradigm Shift in Pornography Research

Author Feona Attwood

Abstract

This article examines the paradigm shift in pornography theory and research from a focus on `texts and effects' through to work emerging from the late 1980s onwards. The article considers the reconceptualization of pornography as a category, the location of pornography in relation to cultural hierarchy and form, the changing status of pornography in relation to mainstream representations, the significance of developing technologies and the movement towards more situated accounts of pornographic texts and their audiences as a series of attempts to contextualize the question `what is pornography?'

Keywords

pornography paradigm theory research context porn studies cultural hierarchy media representation sexual media digital pornography audience reception sexual content media consumption pornographic texts sexual representation technological impact erotic media visual culture gender identity sexual agency online porn feminist pornography media effects sexual norms porn industry viewer interpretation cultural shifts mainstream porn identity construction sexual expression
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Details
Volume 5
Issue 1
Pages 91–105
DOI 10.1177/1363460702005001005
ISSN 1461-7382
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