Pornography Consumption and US Adults' Attitudes toward Gay Individuals' Civil Liberties, Moral Judgments of Homosexuality, and Support for SameSex Marriage: Mediating and Moderating Factors

This study compared views on homosexuality among US adults who varied in their consumption of pornography. Nationally representative cross-sectional data generated by the General Social Survey (GSS) between 2000 and 2012 were employed. Pornography consumers expressed more positive attitudes toward gay individuals' civil liberties, more moral acceptance of homosexuality, and more support for same-sex marriage. Moderation analyses indicated the importance of consumers' views on personal freedom and morality. Associations between pornography consumption and positive views on homosexuality were strongest when consumers placed a premium on personal freedom and adopted a relativistic perspective on morality. Mediation analyses indicated that pornography consumption indirectly predicted more positive views on homosexuality through a nontraditional attitude toward sex. Supplementary analysis of nationally representative three-wave GSS panel data confirmed the temporal sequencing of these links. Prior pornography consumption predicted a more positive subsequent attitude toward nontraditional sex, which in turn predicted more positive subsequent views on homosexuality.