doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01486.x

Paper Title

Sexually Explicit Media, Gender Differences, and Evolutionary Theory

Keywords

Sexually Explicit Media
Gender Differences
Evolutionary Theory
Evolutionary Framework
Mental Mechanisms
Ancestral Environments
Male Sexuality
Female Sexuality
Reproductive Consequences
Natural Selection
Sexual Strategies
Gender Responses
Media Consumption
Evolved Sexuality Mechanisms
Environmental Influences
Psychological Mechanisms

Article Type

Research Article

Journal

Journal of Communication

Research Impact Tools

DOI

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01486.x

Issue

Volume : 46 | Issue : 3 | Page No : 8–31

Published On

September, 1996

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Abstract

Discusses gender differences in response to sexually explicit mass media using an evolutionary framework. This theoretical approach contends that how people respond to current environments is shaped by mental mechanisms that evolved in response to problems faced by their ancestors. The psychological mechanisms governing male sexuality are not the same as those guiding female sexuality because of the different reproductive consequences of sexual behavior for the 2 genders in ancestral environments. Differing natural selection processes for males and females has resulted in different sexual strategies. These differing strategies can be used to account for gender differences in responses to sexual media. In addition, it is argued that consumption of sexually explicit media is in part the result of inherited differences in evolved sexuality mechanisms interacting with environmental forces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)