December 5, 2005 | Sex & Society

Study says porn treats the ladies right

It's written in the feminist handbook: Porn objectifies women. There's new evidence, however, that the handbook needs a re-write.

A recent study by Australian researchers, to be published in the world-renowned Journal of Sex Research, suggests that the women in adult videos are, in fact, very much in control.

Queensland University Professor Alan McKee led the study, which analyzed 50 of the best-selling porn movies in Australia -- many imported from the United States -- to find out whether the people who acted in them were represented as sex objects.

Researchers compared male and female roles in porn, noting who initiated sex in the videos, whose pleasure was their focus, whether the actors vocalized their desires and from whose perspective the videos were shot. What the researchers found surprised them.

"We were surprised at just how active and in control the women were in these videos," McKee told the Australian Associated Press.

The findings are part of a three-year study of pornography funded by the Australian government, which in 2003 reported, among other things, that large tits are scary for some men, that conservatives like porn magazines and that adult films have realistic plots.

Look for the study's final results next year, when they will be published in the form of a pop culture book. Just don't let your radical lesbian friends see it.

• Australia concludes porn doesn’t make women sex objects [YNOT Masters]
• Study disputes claims about porn [Sydney Morning Herald]