SIFO/SAFO skriftserie Nr 3 1971
Svenska Institutet för Opinionsundersökningar, SIFO

Reprinted by Permission

 

 

THE CONSUMERS OF PORNOGRAPHY WHERE IT IS EASILY AVAILABLE:
THE SWEDISH EXPERIENCE 1)

By Hans L. Zetterberg

 

 Table of contents:

è General Trends in Freedom of Expression
è The Shift in Social Control of Sex
è The Data Collection
è A Typology
è Some Common Misunderstandings
è Some Demographic Characteristics
è Some Attitudinal Characteristics
è Some Behavioral Characteristics
è Concluding Remarks

 

 

General Trends in Freedom of Expression

In all countries where freedom of expression is legally guaranteed some limits are nevertheless set on what can appear in public speech and print, or on the air, the screen or the stage. To abuse the Presidency, or a foreign head of state, to deface the flag, to deal irreverently or profanely with God or things sacred, to present sexual matters in a lewd or lascivious way thus have been subject to special legislation found under headings such as lese majeste, blasphemy, and pornography.

In the 1960's there occurred in Sweden a marked relaxation in the society's reaction toward those who trespass the traditional outer limits of expression. A codification of this relaxation is found in a government-sponsored bill before the 1970 Riksdag which moves transgressions out of the realm of law-enforcement altogether, or classifies them as misdemeanors rather than criminal offences. Similar tendencies are found in most European societies, most notably in the treatment of pornography. In Denmark pornography is free from all legal restraints and can be traded or exhibited like any other commodity. The Swedish bill merely puts a restriction on mailing unsolicited pornography and on offensive advertising of it in places where those who may want to avoid it are unable to do so. Other European countries retain stricter legislation but enforcement is not always as strict as the letter of the law. Only in Greece, since the present military government took power, can a reversal of this general trend toward liberal standards be noticed.

There is no common cause of the current relaxation on traditional limits of the freedom of expression. The decline of concern with blasphemy must be seen in the context of the spreading secularization. The decline in concern with abusive language toward heads of state or the diminishing concern with abuse of national symbols such as flags must be seen against the emergence of the new extra-parliamentary politics of demonstration and confrontation. The increasing tolerance of pornography, likewise, has a specific context. It is a by-product of a profound evolution in society's way of controlling the sexual sphere, the emergence of the contraceptive society. Without understanding of this evolution, the present wave of nudity in fashion, in print, on stage, and on screen will be rather incomprehensible.

1) This paper was scheduled for publication in Technical Reports of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, vol. 9. Washington DC. U.S. Government Printing Office 1970.

The Shift in Social Control of Sex

All societies maintain some kind of social control over sexuality in order to avoid chaotic conditions for children born and to prevent erotic degradation of adults. Since a sex act resulting in pregnancy and childbirth in our society creates lasting obligations of the father to the mother, and of the parents to the child, and also establishes mandatory ways of inheritance of property between generations, the social controls associated with sex can be very strict.

A major social trend of our times is a change in society's method of its control of the consequences of sex. Roughly speaking, the old means of control consisted of restrictive social norms and a programmatic restriction of sexual knowledge. Explicit norms prohibited premarital and extramarital sex relations. A conspiracy of silence about sex was in effect and had lasting consequences: children, adolescents and adults alike, having repeatedly encountered the attitude this is not talked about", learned to watch their words continually when approaching the topic of sex. Awareness of sexuality became experienced as a burden; sexual thoughts were repressed from consciousness and inhibitions resulted. Needless to say, much of the pattern is still in existence.

Currently another pattern of social control of the consequences of sexuality is emerging: the mass practice of technical or medical contraception. In modern societies the new contraceptive methods are in varying degrees instrumental in controlling potentially harmful consequences of sexual life. In important respects the motivations for the new pattern are the same as the motivations for the old one, i.e. the desire to avoid personal tragedies and the desire to avoid chaotic and unstable conditions for the children who are born.

Extrapolating from interview data, it was calculated that approximately 9.7 million acts of sexual intercourse took place in Sweden during one month in the winter of 1967. Nine months later 8800 babies were born. In a contraceptive society like Sweden, there is thus a ratio of about 1100 acts of sexual intercourse per child born. It is evident that the direct and natural relationship assumed by legal statutes and traditional morality between sexual intercourse and children no longer holds in the age of contraception.

The shift toward a contraceptive society can be recorded also in the legislation. Although on balance, the authorities have followed rather than lead the development. For centuries, the government in Sweden, as in other countries, has concerned itself with the sexual life of its subjects though legislation that forbade certain sexual relations and acts. In Sweden, the concern has also been effected by the state church — a Lutheran "High" Church — which more or less energetically has imposed its norms of propriety and chastity. The interest of the present day authorities in the sexual life of the nation, however, represents something new and different. The emphasis is no longer on legislation and sexual discipline but on information and service. The most important instruments of the government are no longer the state church and the courthouse but the school and the national health service.

The shift in attitude of the authorities has happened so rapidly that one could call it an about face. The old pattern of social control has given way to the new one. Until 1938, public information about and the sale of contraceptives were prohibited by law. What was then a highly "private enterprise " (even an illegal activity) has since been expanded and developed. The government has not only condoned this development to some degree, but it has contributed to it. In 1964, a law was passed to the effect that pharmacies were obliged to sell contraceptives to anyone who asked for them; even teenagers. In 1956, all schools were required to provide sex education, and the previous right of local school authorities to decide whether sex education should be offered was voided. Even prior to these dates, the government had been in a position to support family education within the framework of state-supported adult education programs. Medical treatment of sexual ailments could be paid for by the compulsory health insurance. Since the 1940's, public maternity centers have fitted diaphragms. Another example of the recent interest on the part of the government is that during the last part of the 1960's approximately 5 per cent of the Swedish foreign aid went to family planning programs. The new pattern makes it much less necessary for a society to conceal sexual stimuli. It is becoming increasingly easier for sex to be discussed like any other topic, both privately and publicly. There are several noticeable consequences:

  1. Concrete and straight-forward sex education in schools and in media becomes possible, even demanded.
    In Sweden, an overwhelming majority has come to accept that all young persons should find out how to use contraceptives. In 1967 this opinion was held by 95% of all men in the younger generation (18-29 years old), 95% of all women in the younger generation, 89% of all men in the older generation (30-60 years old), and 84% of all women in the older generation.

    Half of the population usually has contraceptives at home including the higher occupational classes (50%), the working class (48%), those with low levels of education (46%), and those with high levels of education (56%). One fourth of the unmarried population (25%) is in the habit of taking contraceptives with them when they go out. Contraceptives are advertised in the newspapers, magazines, in the subway, and on billboards. Sex education in public schools is favored by 86 per cent. As mentioned, such education has been mandatory nationwide since 1956 and a survey in 1968 showed that 98 per cent of persons 16 years old (the last age group for whom school is compulsory) had received such education. Sex education represents in many ways the most clear-cut indicator of the shifting patterns of social control, the old pattern demanded a programmatic restriction of knowledge about sex; the new one demands sex instruction. Only in societies or communities in which the old pattern has lost some if its grip does realistic sex education become possible.

  2. Nudity becomes more accepted.
    Of Swedes aged 30-60 it was found that 63 per cent report that their father was careful not to show himself naked in front of his children and 66 per cent report that their mothers did the same. Younger persons (18-29 years of age.) report a different situation in their training: 44 per cent said their father avoided exposing himself naked at home and 43 per cent said the same of their mother. Public advertisement for home sauna baths show whole families, husband, wife, teenage sons and daughters, as well as small children, enjoying their basement sauna in traditional nakedness. Since the early 1950's many Swedish films have included scenes with nudes, often outdoors.

  3. Pornography becomes more accepted.
    Pornography as a concept has a clear link to the old pattern of social control of sex through taboo and silence. Knowledge and arousal are defined as pornographic in any presentation of sexual matters or events that goes beyond the bounds within which one wishes to confine sexual awareness. Antipornographic legislation is thus an instrument of the old type of social control over sexual matters. The more restrictive the morality of a community, the more it will include in the pornographic category, a circumstance that has made difficult many attempts to obtain nationwide legislation about pornography and to make it function uniformly. Where the social control of sex is becoming contraceptive the concern over pornography diminishes. The question "Do you think pornography should be accepted — or opposed?" has no self-evident negative answer in Sweden: 36 per cent of a national sample in 1967 say it should be accepted, 46 per cent that it should be opposed and 18 per cent are uncertain about the matter.

    4. In the contraceptive society publishers of pornographic material no longer need to operate underground but sell their wares openly. Susan Sontag, novelist, movie-maker, and critic, who spent several months in Sweden in 1968-69 reports:

    Everything one can imagine is legal and easily available, at least in Stockholm. You can rent blue films by the hour or day and cheaply by calling one of a number of companies listed in the telephone directory. If you want a dildo you can buy one at your nearest sex store. But what is interesting is not what you can find if you look or ask, but what you can’t avoid seeing. Amazing color close-ups of mouth-genital acts are on display a few inches away at eye level as you buy a paper at a sidewalk kiosk in downtown Stockholm, or pay for your cigarettes over a tobacconist's counter.

    The producers of pornography proceed rationally with their marketing, conducting ordinary market research. A market research from 1966 thus revealed that a quarter of the population read pornographic books but only half of the readers wanted to buy such books in stores or at newsstands themselves. No significant differences were found between high and low income groups. Publishers were bothered by many readers who were not buyers but, apparently, borrowers of the books. However, they could learn from the research that a third of the would buy the books by mail order and that a majority of this potential market did not care whether or not the supplier of the merchandise was mentioned as sender on the package.

  4. Studies of sexual activities by means of ordinary interviews become feasible.
    The shift in sexual control patterns removes sex from the area of conversational taboos and, thus, makes it amenable to study through ordinary interviewing methods. The shift has gone a long way in Sweden. It is not a coincidence that the first government to ask for a representative survey about the sex life of an entire nation was the Swedish government in 1966. A Royal Commission on Sex Education, charged with making a general review and reorganization of sex instruction in schools and in adult education programs, commissioned the work. A survey was conducted in 1967 and 1968 through the facilities of the Swedish Institute for Opinion Research (SIFO).

2) The findings were published by the Royal Commission on Sex Education (H. L. Zetterberg, Om sexuallivet i Sverige, SOU 1969:2, Stockholm, 1969). An English version entitled The  Contraceptive Society, is in preparation.

 

The Data Collection

The recency of the new pattern of free conversation about sexual matters makes it advisable for interview research to proceed with caution if the rate of refusals is to be reduced. Care was taken therefore in the Swedish project to avoid embarrassment for both interviewee and interviewer.

Interviewers in a Gallup-type poll had been trained to gather information in areas in which conversation flows easily, such as consumer habits, hobbies, political views, etc. They had not been trained to gather information about matters protected by the set of social norms that govern what is usually understood by "the sanctity of private life". It was necessary, therefore, to modify the techniques for collecting data. A simple solution was achieved by dividing the questioning in the homes of the respondents into two parts: regular oral interviews conducted by the interviewer and written questionnaires filled in privately and deposited in a portable ballot box brought by the interviewer.

The considerable skill and experience of the interviewers in gaining access to a home and in establishing friendly contact with the respondents was used in the oral interviews. The interviews dealt only with questions which could be easily discussed: questions regarding marital status, number of children, education, general attitudes toward welfare, children born out of wedlock, pornography, etc. The interviewer then handed out a questionnaire to be completed privately which contained the intimate questions about sex practices and contraceptives. The questionnaire was then sealed and put in a box that the interviewer had taken along but was not allowed to open.

A general rule for the fieldwork to which no exceptions were allowed was that men interviewed men and women interviewed women. The subjects to be interviewed were randomly selected from the population registry of the 117 counties that constitutes the master-sample frame of the Swedish Institute for Opinion Research. The sample was taken from a group which ranged from 18 to 60 years of age. Certain groups that are listed in the census returns, e. g. persons who are mentally ill, deaf and mute, or do not speak Swedish, were excluded.

Of 2156 persons scheduled for interviews, 10 could not be located because they had moved and their new addresses could not be established. Their moving had not been reported to the census agency and the parish registrar's office; no forwarding address had been left with the post office; and no information about their whereabouts could be obtained from their former neighbors. There were 34 persons who could not be reached during the two months of field work, in spite of frequent visits and telephone calls. There were 153 who refused to answer. The results of two interviews failed to reach the Institute and five were too incomplete to be of any value in our analysis. There was a total non-response of 204 individuals, or 9.5 per cent. This sampling completion rate is higher than the rates usually found in studies of far less delicate topics.

The number of respondents who completed the conventional oral interview but refused to answer the more intimate questions in the private questionnaire is in itself quite interesting. If it had been found that a large number of the population refused to participate, in spite of the protective circumstances created, it would have indicated to anyone engaged in education and counseling that one could not count on any mutual communication with the general public in any form of sex education that goes into intimate matters. The results showed, however, that the participation of the subjects was almost complete; 93.4 of those who were interviewed orally went on to the private questionnaire.

Of course, the success of the field work also depended on the fact that the question's asked had been thoroughly tested. Various wordings of questions were tested in the field until they became simple, unambiguous, and non-threatening. Pre-testing made it clear that one could not use the popular terminology for sex in a serious interview. Several arrangements of the internal order of questions were also tested to find a sequence that would facilitate the flow of the interview.

The field work was conducted for two months in 1967, and, during this time, no publicity whatsoever was given the investigation. No public complaints were made. No newspaper reporters managed to get a copy of the questionnaire or to write a story about any of the interviews. The four questions about pornography included in the oral interview part of the Swedish survey were repeated in 1970 in a U.S. survey for the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography.

The questions and the responses in the two countries were the following:

 

Sweden
(2000)
%

US

"Have you in the past year scanned through or read a magazine which you would regard as pornographic?"

Yes
No
Uncertain

41
55.5
3.5

*)

"Have you in the past year read any book which you would regard as pornographic?"

Yes
No
Uncertain

30
69
1

*)

"Have you in the past year seen any movie which you would regard as pornographic?"

Yes
No
Uncertain

18
80
2

*)

"Do you think pornography should be accepted or opposed?"

Accepted
Opposed
Uncertain

36
46
18

*)

*) The US figures are not available for publication since the U.S. Government Printing Office seems to have postponed indefinitely the technical reports of the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography.

Please note that these questions leave it up to the respondents to apply their own definition of pornography. It is likely that Americans call more things pornographic than do Swedes.

 

A Typology

There is a difference between attitude and action, between the ideals by which people live and the lives they live. To accept and tolerate pornography (an attitude) does not necessarily mean to consume it (an action). Likewise, to oppose pornography (an attitude) does not necessarily mean that one stays away from it (an action). If pornographic consumption is defined as having done at least two of the following three during the past twelve months

and if pornographic acceptance is defined as all who say that pornography should be accepted rather than opposed four categories are obtained:

  1. The wholehearted users,
    that is, the ones who both accept and consume pornography
  2. The benevolent bystanders,
    that is, the ones who accept pornography but do not themselves consume it
  3. The hypocritical opponents,
    that is, those who reject pornography but nevertheless consume it
  4. The genuine opponents,
    that is, those who reject pornography and do not consume it.

A division of the Swedish population into these types gives the following distribution:

 

Men
(1012)
%

Women
(989)
%

Wholehearted users
Benevolent bystanders
Hypocritical opponents
Genuine opponents

21
32
16
40

8
19
9
64

Among women the genuine opponents dominate. Wholehearted users and hypocritical users are found mostly among men and about every fifth person of both sexes are benevolent bystanders to the current wave of pornography.

 

Some Common Misunderstandings

There are several popular views about the consumers of pornography that are shattered by our research:

Most users of pornography are old men

Wrong.
Most consumers of pornography are in fact younger persons. The wholehearted users are found in the following proportions in various age groups of men:

18-20 years
21-25 years
26-30 years
31-35 years
36-40 years
41-50 years
51-60 years

( 77)
(156)
(106)
(115)
( 93)
(131)
(101)

33%
42%
31%
28%
19%
10%
10%


It is the younger generation, not the old one, who dominates the pornography market.

 

Wrong.
The consumption of pornography increases with higher education. Wholehearted users are found in these proportions among educational groups:

University
Lycee, gymnasium
High school
Trade school
Elementary school

( 44)
(135)
(185)
(129)
(517)

44%
34%
28%
26%
13%


Youth and education go together and with it goes pornography.

 

Wrong.
Any ordinary grouping of people into good citizens and not-so-good citizens will include both nonusers and users of pornography. The percentage of wholehearted users in some such categories are:

Members of:
- athletic clubs
- temperance associations
- trade associations
- labor unions
- political associations
- religious associations
- other associations

Members of no associations

(357)
(105)
(194)
(838)
(210)
(102)
(395)

(579)

26%
16%
20%
18%
12%
8%
17%

10%

Holders of local or national political office

Non-holders of local or national political office

(119)


(1863)

19%


15%

Those who:
- hold two jobs
- hold one or no job

(301)
(1692)

19%
14%

Those studying during spare time

Those not studying during spare time

(442)


(1549)

18%


14%

Those who are active in voluntary associations, in politics, civic affairs, and who work or study beyond the normal pattern, are more often consumers of pornography than those who are not active in these ways.

 

Most users of pornography are sexually unsatisfied persons

Wrong.
The proportions of wholehearted consumers, in the following answer categories tell the opposite story:

"On the whole, which of the following does best fit your experience?"

The sexual intercourses I have had have on the whole been very unsatisfactory and unpleasant experiences (15)

0%

The intercourses I have had have not been unpleasant but rather unsatisfactory (128)

6%

The intercourses I have had have been satisfactory but the pleasures they have given me have not made up for all the trouble (116)

9%

The intercourses I have had have on the whole been satisfactory and valuable experiences (963)

16%

The intercourses I have had have been wonderful experiences and some of them are the highlights of my life (390)

24%

On clear balance, a more satisfactory sex life is associated with a greater use of pornography.

 

Some Demographic Characteristics

The adjoining table presents a detailed analysis of the answers to questions on pornography in terms of some standard demographic categories. The relations that have been noted already dominate the response patterns. The first basic fact to note is that higher education leads both to greater acceptance and greater consumption of pornography. The young are better educated and accept pornography more than do the old. The slight difference found between higher and lower occupational classes is a reflection of the difference in their education. The greater acceptance of pornography among the unmarried is also a reflection of the circumstance that they are younger and better educated. The greater consumption and acceptance in urban areas is also by and large explained by the greater average education of the urbanites.

A second basic fact to be noted is the much greater consumption and acceptance of pornography by men than by women. In part the explanation is that most pornography is directed to men. (A pornographic magazine for heterosexual women was started in Sweden in 1966 but it folded after a few issues). In part it is explained by the generally and traditionally more conservative and restrictive attitudes that women have about virtually all sexual matters. The following figures on wholehearted consumers illustrate the rapid change that now is taking place.

Wholehearted consumers

- among men age 30-60
- among men age 18-29

15%
37%

- among women age 30-60
- among women age 18-29

2%
19%

Both men and women are changing to a more liberal stand on pornography as the movement from the older to the younger generation occurs. The younger females are now more liberal than the older males.

ALL

 




(2000)

SEX

AGE

MARITAL STATUS

DOMICILE

EDUCATION

CLASS

Men

(1012)

Women

(989)

18-29
years

(573)

30-60 years

(1427)

Married

(1357)

Single
Widowed
Di-vorced

(640)

Urban

(1357)

Rural

(643)

Grammar
School

(1474)

High School

(527)

Upper
&
Middle

(1133)

Lower Class

(851)


"Have you in the past year scanned through or read a magazine which you would regard as pornographic?"

1 Yes
2 No
3 Uncertain

41.0
55.5
3.5

55.9
40.6
3.4

25.8
70.7
3.5

54.1
42.9
2.9

35.8
60.5
3.7

37.8
58.3
3.8

47.8
49.5
2.7

43.0
54.3
2.7

36.9
58.0
5.0

37.6
58.5
3.9

50.6
47.1
2.1

40.9
55.8
3.2

41.4
54.8
3.8


"Have you in the past year read any book which you would regard as pornographic?"

1 Yes
2 No
3 Uncertain

29.7
68.9
1.3

36.4
62.4
0.9

22.8
75.5
1.7

43.0
55.9
1.0

24.3
74.1
1.4

26.8
71.9
1.1

35.7
62.7
1.7

34.3
64.6
1.0

19.9
77.9
1.8

24.2
74.2
1.4

44.9
53.9
0.8

33.0
65.5
1.4

25.5
73.2
1.1


"Have you in the past year seen any movie which you would regard as pornographic?"

1 Yes
2 No
3 Uncertain

17.5
80.2
2.1

21.2
76.3
2.4

13.7
84.3
1.9

31.9
64.0
3.8

11.7
86.8
1.5

13.3 84.9
1.6

26.3
70.4
3.2

18.6
79.2
2.0

15.1
82.4
2.4

15.7
81.9
2.2

22.3
75.6
2.0

16.9
80.8
2.2

18.4
79.3
2.1


"Do you think pornography should be accepted or opposed?"

1 Accepted
2 Opposed
3 Uncertain

35.7
46.3
17.7

43.9
38.5
16.9

27.2
54.2
18.6

56.2
23.2
20.7

27.4
55.5
16.5

31.2
50.7
17.7

45.0
36.9
17.9

40.3
42.7
17.0

25.9
53.9
19.2

28.6
52.5
18.5

55.6
28.9
15.4

40.2
43.1
16.5

30.0
50.1
19.5

Table 1: Analysis of the answers to questions on pornography in terms of some standard demographic categories

 

Some Attitudinal Characteristics

Acceptance or rejection of pornography is highly related to acceptance or rejection of the traditional pattern of social control of sex through taboos and silence. Consider the following attitudes as they relate to the acceptance of pornography:

 

Per cent with the stated attitude who, also has an attitude

Use of contraceptives
- One may refrain from use of contra-
ceptives or should never use them
- One should use contraceptives every time or normally

(102)

(1539)

21%

40%

Sex education in schools
- Should not be given
- Should be given

(169)
(1720)

8%
40%

Premarital sex relations
High school or more
- Accepts none
- Accepts, if with stable partner
- Accepts also with occasional partner

Less than high school
- Accepts none
- Accepts, if with stable partner
- Accepts also with occasional partner

(34)
(490)
(232)


(101)
(965)
(393)

2%
60%
76%


3%
31%
52%

Extramarital sex relations
High school or more
- Rejects
- Accepts

Less than high school
- Rejects
- Accepts

(446)
(78)


(1385)
(81)

51%
81%


12%
27%

It is seen consistently that those who have evolved the attitudes toward sex that are typical of the contraceptive society are also the ones who often have an attitude of acceptance toward pornography.

The pre-contraceptive society in which the social control of sex is achieved through a programmatic restriction of sexual knowledge also has some typical attitudes. These attitudes may be seen as by-products of the guard of silence and of the restrictions that have characterized the traditional upbringing in sexual matters. The restraint imposed in the sexual realm apparently has had some general effects also on non-sexual attitudes; thus, those who accept or oppose pornography accept and oppose in a quite consistent manner other statements that do not deal with sex as the following examples illustrate:

 

Attitude toward pornography

Accept
(713)

Oppose
(926)

Authoritarian attitude
"Obedience and respect for authority are the most important things to teach a child."

63%

 

78%

Tolerant attitude
"Teenage boys with long hair should be forced to have a haircut. "

6%

24%

Conventional attitude
"Parents should teach their children to say prayers even if they do not themselves believe in God."

53%

78%

Desire to be unaware
"Nowadays magazines, movies and TV deal too much with the problems of life instead of providing relaxation."

34%

56%

Categorical attitude
"There are really only two kinds of people - the good and the bad."

12%

26%

Rigid attitude
"There is no reason for changing from driving on the left hand side of the road to driving on the right hand side."
Note: the question was asked about half a year before a traffic reform was enacted in Sweden)

26%

48%

Careful attention should be given to the fact that these attitudes are probably only indirectly related to the attitude toward pornography due to a common origin of strict, traditional training. All the noted differences diminish when age, sex, education and social class are controlled, but they do not disappear.

 

Some Behavioral Characteristics

Somewhat simplified, it has been argued in this paper that a widespread use of contraceptives paves the way for acceptance of pornography. This idea can be tested on the reports of measures taken against pregnancy at the last intercourse prior to the interview. Excluded from this test were all who wanted a baby or already had a pregnancy in process and therefore did not use contraceptives, and all who for one reason or another could not get pregnant or cause a pregnancy:

 

Those who used condom, diaphragm, pill or spiral

Those who did not use contra-ceptives

Men
- Accepts pornography
- Wholehearted users

(220)
53%
29%

(268)
36%
15%

Women
- Accepts pornography
- Wholehearted users

(311)
40%
12%

(372)
26%
8%

 

Accepts
pornography

Rejects
pornography

The sexual debut
Median age at first intercourse
- 30-60 years of age
- 18-29 years of age

 

17.8
16.7

 

18.3
17.3

Change of partners
Percent who during the past month have had intercourse with more than one partner
- 30-60 years of age
- 18-29 years of age

12%
25%

7%
21%

Number of intercourses
Median number of intercourses during past months

7.3

5.1

The above findings may lead the reader to believe that acceptance of pornography gives rise to liberal and active sex practices. Such a belief can be illustrated by the following diagram:


The more likely relation, however, is this one:

It has been shown elsewhere 3) how liberal sex practices, particularly in regard to premarital relations, prevail in Sweden. The onset of heterosexual relations begin earlier for the younger generation; at age 30 the typical man or woman has had as many partners as his or her parents are ever likely to have. The younger also have more intercourses per week than the older. These trends have been explained in terms of a variety of factors and traditions, an important one among them being the spread of contraceptives. Since the greater use of contraceptives is also related to the acceptance and consumption of pornography, it follows that a spurious correlation will appear between acceptance and consumption of pornography and liberal and active sex practices.

To test such a notion it is necessary to show that the correlation between pornography and liberal, active sex practices disappears if the social control pattern is kept constant. This is attempted in my book The Contraceptive Society, and the results favor our model.

3) Zetterberg, op.cit.

Concluding Remarks

Most current pornography can be opposed on aesthetic grounds. Sadistic pornography can, and should, always be opposed on moral grounds. But can one oppose pornography as socially harmful, as a root of social evils?

Like any business, the pornography industry can contain abuses in finance, tax payments, manufacture and marketing. Like any other business, it may at times operate without reasonable safeguards for the dignity and honesty of its participants. In countries in which the pornography industry is forced to operate underground, it may have close contacts with the underworld and be a source of gangster income.

But can it be said, in the face of the evidence that pornography is harmful to the consumers, leading them to the bottom of society and to personal misery? Here the answer must be no. It has been seen that in Sweden where pornography has become generally available, and its existence is widely tolerated, only a minority of citizens become consumers and their consumption in most instances seems to be in small amounts. More important, the research in this paper shows very clearly that those who do consume pornography are most likely to be normal, healthy, active, educated, responsible citizens with satisfactory sex lives.

The present wave of pornography has not been interpreted as the cause of any social phenomena or as a factor responsible for any social ill, but has been seen as a symptom of a general process of shifting the social control of sex and its consequences from a pattern of silence and taboos, requiring the suppression of sexually inciting presentations, to a pattern that relies on mass use of medically reliable contraception for the control of sex and its consequences, requiring realistic sex education and allowing public discussion and presentation of sexual matters and activities. The present pornographers thrive in the twilight and the ambivalences of this transition: the old pattern is no longer fully enforced and the new pattern is not fully established. The sales volume of pornography is best seen as a symptom, as an indicator of other processes to which attention should be directed.

The report of research results as seen in this paper gives little comfort to those who feel that by stamping out pornography they do mankind a huge service. Yet further research may well turn up a connection between pornography and other problems but with a different relation between cause and effect than the antipornographers assume.

With the old pattern of social control was associated a certain character type. The taboos end the guarded silence around sex and sexuality may, as a by-product, have favored the emergence of a more rigid, conventional, intolerant, and introspectively unaware person with a trust in authorities. Many of the large, complex institutions of advanced societies have been organized to be manned by persons of the general character type produced by the old pattern of social control of sex. A new generation growing up in the contraceptive society may acquire a somewhat different character structure. In contraceptive societies the world over, the young now seem to demand profound changes in the bureaucracies and ask for new qualities in the relations between man and fellowman to make the social order more congenial with their own character.

The conservatives may be right that the prevalence of pornography indeed is related to genuine troubles facing their world. But they are apparently wrong in the assumption that a removal of pornography, which is a symptom, would remove any of the troubles. Overweight is not stopped by prohibiting the sale of bathroom scales.