On this episode I speak with porn researcher Dr. Taylor Kohut about some of his studies concerning porn use and well-being, relationships, religious affiliation, and misogyny.

Have you ever asked yourself: What actually constitutes porn? What does it mean to use porn? What impact might porn have on your well-being, your relationship, and how might it affect your views on women in particular? Dr. Taylor Kohut has asked himself these questions and an array of participants from North America to Croatia. We discuss Dr. Kohut’s (et al.) studies on pornography and help rethink some of the myths about porn use and its negative effects. His studies form part of a sex-positive move in porn research to indicate that we may be exaggerating or worse, poorly measuring pornography use and its effects on people.

Articles cited in this episode:

Campbell, L., & Kohut, T. (2017). The use and effects of pornography in romantic relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 6-10.

Kohut, T., Baer, J. L., & Watts, B. (2016). Is pornography really about “making hate to women”? Pornography users hold more gender egalitarian attitudes than nonusers in a representative American sample. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(1), 1-11.

Kohut, T., Fisher, W. A., & Campbell, L. (2017). Perceived effects of pornography on the couple relationship: Initial findings of open-ended, participant-informed, “bottom-up” research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(2), 585-602.

Kohut, T., Balzarini, R. N., Fisher, W. A., & Campbell, L. (2018). Pornography’s associations with open sexual communication and relationship closeness vary as a function of dyadic patterns of pornography use within heterosexual relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35(4), 655-676.

Kohut, T., & Štulhofer, A. (2018). Is pornography use a risk for adolescent well-being? An examination of temporal relationships in two independent panel samples. PloS one, 13(8), 1-20.

Kohut, T. (2019). Surveying pornography use: A shaky science resting on poor measurement foundations. The Journal of Sex Research, 1-73. (Submitted, Not yet published).

Shout outs in this episode:
@alisha.jj.fisher