Racism and Sexism in Interracial Pornography: A Content Analysis

Racism and sexism were examined in interracial (Black/White) X-rated pornography videocassettes. Five female coders coded 476 characters in the sexually explicit scenes in 54 videos. Characters were coded on aggregate measures of physical and verbal aggression, inequality cues, racial cues, and inti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of women quarterly 1994-09, Vol.18 (3), p.323-338
Main Authors: Cowan, Gloria, Campbell, Robin R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Comparison
Content analysis
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Interracial pornography
Mass media
Pornography
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Racism
San Francisco, California
Sexism
Videotapes
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Summary:Racism and sexism were examined in interracial (Black/White) X-rated pornography videocassettes. Five female coders coded 476 characters in the sexually explicit scenes in 54 videos. Characters were coded on aggregate measures of physical and verbal aggression, inequality cues, racial cues, and intimacy cues, as well as other specific indices. Sexism was demonstrated in the unidirectional aggression by men toward women. Racism was demonstrated in the lower status of Black actors and the presence of racial stereotypes. Racism appeared to be expressed somewhat differently by sex, and sexism somewhat differently by race. For example, Black women were the targets of more acts of aggression than were White women, and Black men showed fewer intimate behaviors than did White men. More aggression was found in cross-race sexual interactions than in same-race sexual interactions. These findings suggest that pornography is racist as well as sexist.
ISSN:0361-6843
1471-6402
DOI:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00459.x