Voluntary exposure to pornography and men's attitudes toward feminism and rape

Journal of Sex Research, Spring, 1997 by Kimberly A. Davies

Dependent variables for this analysis were obtained through four questions. First, I used the following question as to whether the Constitution should be amended to include the Equal Rights Amendment: "There has been considerable discussion about amending the U.S. Constitution with an Equal Rights Amendment. What about you? Do you favor or oppose an Equal Rights Amendment?" This question reflects participants' support or lack of support for feminism.

The second question I used asked whether a law against marital rape should be passed: "Do you favor or oppose having a law in (State) that would permit a wife to accuse her husband of rape?" This question reflects respondents' attitudes about the individuality of women as well as exposing general attitudes toward rape. Last, I used two similar questions about the punishment, if any, a man who has committed date rape or marital rape should receive:

There has been a considerable amount of

discussion in the mass media about

"marital rape," which is when a man,

with the use of physical force or threat

of force, has sexual relations with his wife.

Some people feel this is a serious

crime while others feel this should not

be considered a crime. What about you?

Which of the following statements

comes closest to your opinion about

what, if anything, should happen to a

man who with the use of such force has

sexual relations with his wife?

1 He should serve a long term, 10 years or more, in prison. 2 He should serve a short term, at least 1 or 2 years in prison. 3 He should serve a few months in a local jail. 4 He should be required to have counseling and do community service work. 5 This should not be treated as a crime, but should be grounds for divorce. 6 Do nothing--this is a private issue between a husband and a wife. 7 Don't know/no answer.

There has been a considerable

amount of discussion in the mass media

about "date rape," which is when a

man, with the use of physical force or

threat of force, has sexual relations with

his date. Some people feel this is a

serious crime while others feel this

should not be considered a crime. What

about you? Which of the following

statements comes closest to your

opinion about what, if anything, should

happen to a man who with the use of

such force has sexual relations with his

date?

1-4 Same as first four responses above. 5 This should not be treated as a crime, but the woman should be able to sue him. 6 Do nothing--this is a private issue between a man and his date. 7 Don't know/no answer.

As with Zillmann and Bryant's (1984) study, a longer period of incarceration represents disapproval for these types of rape. Sexual callousness toward women is expected to be expressed in no punishment or less severe punishment for the rapists.

The questionnaire used for this research was designed to help secure completion. It contained 30 questions. Except for the final three questions about date and marital rape, the questionnaire was originally designed and previously used to measure community obscenity standards. Questions about the media and the community's acceptance of nudity and sexual activities in movies and magazines were included in addition to the four questions used in my analysis. The first questions were general media questions such as whether a person subscribed to a newspaper and if his or her television was connected to cable. Then, the Equal Rights Amendment question was included along with questions about a persons religious and political conservatism/liberalism. Next, questions about community standards of obscenity were included, followed by common demographic questions such as the respondents age and educational level. Finally, the last three questions asked were the marital and date rape questions that I used in my analysis.