Christian L. Hart

Pornography Actresses: An Assessment of the Damaged Goods Hypothesis

The damaged goods hypothesis posits that female performers in the adult entertainment industry have higher rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), psychological problems, and drug use compared to the typical woman. The present study compared the self-reports of 177 porn actresses to a sample of women matched on age, ethnicity, and marital status. Comparisons were conducted on sexual behaviors and attitudes, self-esteem, quality of life, and drug use. Porn actresses were more likely to identify as bisexual, first had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, were more concerned about contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and enjoyed sex more than the matched sample, although there were no differences in incidence of CSA. In terms of psychological characteristics, porn actresses had higher levels of self-esteem, positive feelings, social support, sexual satisfaction, and spirituality compared to the matched group. Last, female performers were more likely to have ever used 10 different types of drugs compared to the comparison group. A discriminant function analysis was able to correctly classify 83% of the participants concerning whether they were a porn actress or member of the matched sample. These findings did not provide support for the damaged goods hypothesis.

Characteristics of Pornography Film Actors: Self-Report versus Perceptions of College Students

The assumed characteristics of individuals in the adult entertainment industry have been used to advocate positions for and against pornography. Although prior studies have investigated perceptions of porn actors, no data on the actual characteristics of this group exist. The present study compared the self-reports of 105 male and 177 female porn actors to the perceptions of 399 college students on childhood sexual abuse (CSA), self-esteem, work and non-work sexual behaviors, and safe sex issues. College students were asked to identify the characteristics associated with either a male or female porn star. College students provided underestimates for both female and male porn actors on self-esteem, age of first intercourse, lifetime number of partners outside of work, ideal experience in a romantic partner, concerns regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), enjoyment of sex, and condom use during a first time sexual encounter, but overestimated earnings. Additional differences among male porn stars included an underestimate of the number of partners at work. For female porn stars, college students underestimated their enjoyment of work, the probability of catching an STD, and having unprotected sex. Although there were no significant differences on perceived rates of childhood abuse of porn actors, the incidence of CSA among the porn actor participants were within the ranges of the general population. The majority of college student stereotypes were not supported regarding the perceptions of porn actors. These findings were discussed within the context of attributing unfounded characteristics of individuals to an entire industry.

Online Female Escort Advertisements The Cost of Sex

Female escorts represent an occupational group that charges a fee for sex, which can be regarded as an extreme form of short-term mating. The present study examined if the fees charged by escorts are related to traits typically associated with female short-term mate value. A total of 2,925 advertisements for female escorts offering sexual services in the United States were examined, as a customized software program was used to download all the advertisements from an online escort directory. The advertisement content was coded, and relationships between advertised physical characteristics and the hourly rate charged by female escorts were examined. The analyses showed that higher fees were associated with female escorts who advertised a waist-to-hip ratio near 0.7, lower weight and body mass index, younger age, and photographic displays of breast and buttocks nudity. The findings provide evidence that evolutionarily relevant traits associated with female short-term mate value are systematically related to fees charged for sexual services.

A Comparison of Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes, Self-Esteem, Quality of Life, and Drug Use Among Pornography Actors and a Matched Sample

ABSTRACT The present study compared the self-reports of 105 porn actors to a sample of men matched on age, ethnicity, and marital status. Comparisons were conducted on sexual behaviors and attitudes, self-esteem, quality of life, and drug use. Porn actors’ first sex was at an earlier age, they had more sexual partners and a higher enjoyment of sex, they were more concerned about catching a sexually transmitted disease, and they were less likely to use a condom during a first-time sexual encounter compared with the matched sample, although there were no differences in incidence of childhood sexual abuse. In terms of psychological characteristics, porn actors had higher levels of self-esteem and quality-of-life indicators. Lastly, male performers were more likely to have used five different types of drugs compared with the comparison group during their lifetime and were more likely to have used marijuana during the past 6 months. These findings provide mixed support for stereotypes concerning male porn actors.

Why Become a Pornography Actress

ABSTRACT. There is very limited research on women who perform in adult films. The current study used a discovery-oriented qualitative methodology to examine the responses of 176 female actresses in the adult entertainment industry to questions regarding the reasons for becoming involved in the pornography industry, as well as their likes and dislikes of the work. The most frequent reasons for joining the industry included money, sex, and attention. Only one participant indicated that she was coerced into becoming a porn actress. The most favorable aspects of their work included money, people, sex, and freedom/independence, whereas the most frequently reported dislikes included people, sexually transmitted diseases, and exploitation. The responses from this study provide valuable insight from a large sample of a difficult-to-access population of pornography actresses on why they chose to become involved in the pornography industry and on positive and negative facets of their work. The results may be used to question many of the stereotypes that society commonly holds regarding attributes of female pornography actresses.

Attitudes Toward Dying and Death: A Comparison of Recreational Groups among Older Men

Previous research reports examining the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and involvement in death-related occupations have provided mixed findings as no clear pattern has been identified. Examination of the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and recreational activity has not received much attention. The current study examined attitudes toward dying and death of older men categorized into four groups defined by recreational activities. The groups included skydivers (high death risk), nursing home residents (high death exposure), volunteer firefighters (high death risk and high death exposure), and a control group. The analyses found that skydivers reported the least fear of death, while nursing home residents reported the highest level. In addition, skydivers and firefighters had higher death acceptance scores than nursing home residents and the control group for the confrontation dimension, whereas skydivers had higher death acceptance scores than all groups, and firefighters were more accepting of death than nursing home residents for the integration dimension.

Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes, Quality of Life, and Drug Use: A Comparison Between Bisexual and Heterosexual Pornography Actresses

This study compared the self-reports of 118 bisexual and 58 heterosexual pornography actresses on sexual behaviors and attitudes, quality of life, and alcohol and drug use. Compared with their heterosexual peers, bisexual porn actresses had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, liked sex more, reported more positive feelings and higher levels of spirituality, and were more likely to have used at least three different types of drugs in their lifetime. These findings show that within a population of women in the adult entertainment industry, bisexual actresses have comparable or better levels of well-being compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

A Cross-Sectional View of Fear of Death and Dying Among Skydivers:

The literature lacks a consistent pattern on the relationship between attitudes toward death and dying across occupations and recreational pursuits. The present cross-sectional study categorized a group of individuals engaging in a high-risk recreational activity (i.e., skydivers) on the basis of experience and classified them into student, intermediate, and experts. There were more negative attitudes of death and dying among student skydivers compared with more experienced skydivers. It was also found that expert skydivers had more negative attitudes toward death and dying on some of the measures compared with the intermediate level experienced skydivers. It may be the case that factors such as perceived personal control, overconfidence, and metacognition may be related to these observed differences between the two more experienced groups of skydivers. The possibility of the factors playing a role in skydivers’ attitudes toward death and dying should be taken into consideration in the training programs for skydiving.