Does pornography consumption shape the way consumers perceive rapists and rape victims?

Yes. Consumers who have viewed a significant amount of pornography have demonstrably been proven to perceive rapists with more compassion and rape victims with less.

In a study conducted in 1982, Dr. Dolf Zillman of Indiana University and Dr. Jennings Bryant of the University of Alabama questioned whether continuous exposure to pornography impacted an individual’s sexual beliefs and attitudes. 80 college-age male and 80 female participants were divided into three groups of pornography exposure (massive exposure, intermediate exposure, and no exposure).

The results found that men who actively consumed porn recommended on average a 50 month prison sentence to convicted rapists, while men who were not consuming porn recommend a 95 month prison sentence. Women who consumed porn recommended 77 month prison sentences, while women who did not consume porn recommend 143 months.

In this same study, men who were consuming porn were three times less likely to support any expansion of women’s rights.

It’s worth noting that at the time of study, the massive exposure group was shown only 4 hours of 48 minutes of non-violent pornography over six weeks. Today, the average US porn consumer watches around 10 minutes a day, or 7 hours over six weeks, of which is violent 88% of the time.

sources