PAST PENTHOUSE PORNOGRAPHY: A STUDY OF SEXUAL HEALTH AND YOUTH’S CONSUMPTION OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERNET MOVIES

Abstract

Sexually Explicit Internet Movies (SEIM) have emerged as a frequently accessed sexual resource by youth; however, SEIM’s potential influences on youth’s sexual health remains an understudied area. This study aimed to develop crucial insight into what youth perceive to be SEIM consumption’s sexual health influences. Employing an exploratory, constructivist grounded-theory approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Three main findings emerged from the data analysis: 1) Youth experienced SEIM consumption as having interconnected negative and positive sexual health influences; 2) SEIM were utilized by youth as a means to explore both their individual sexual self and the subject of sexuality; 3) Youth perceived SEIM consumption differently in the contexts of individual sexual health versus sexual health promotion. Youth’s perceptions suggest that it would be beneficial to enact more holistic, sex-positive approaches to sexual health promotion, and support the utility of creating alternative, lived experience-based discourses about youth sexual health.