Sexually explicit media, gender differences, and evolutionary theory (1996)

Malamuth, N. M. (1996).

Journal of Communication, 46(3), 8-31.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01486.x

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)