Skip to main content
Log in

Lotus Blossom or Dragon Lady: A Content Analysis of “Asian Women” Online Pornography

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A content analysis was undertaken to consider the depiction of sexual behaviors in a random sample of videos from the “Asian Women” category of content on Xvideos.com, which is the largest and most popularly visited free online pornography tube site in US. The study has shown that women in the Asian women category were depicted very differently from women in other categories of pornography. Women in Asian women category of pornography were treated less aggressively. In addition, women in Asian women category were less objectified but also had lower agency in sexual activities. Thus, the Asian women stereotype in current pornography is closer to “Lotus Blossom” and far away from “Dragon Lady”. The results are considered in terms of their potential to influence the perceptions of content consumers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashmore, R. D., & Del Boca, F. K. (1981). Conceptual approaches to stereotypes and stereotyping. Cognitive Processes in Stereotyping and Intergroup Behavior, 1, 35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barron, M., & Kimmel, M. (2000). Sexual violence in three pornographic media: Toward a sociological explanation. Journal of Sex Research, 37(2), 161–168. doi:10.1080/00224490009552033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernardi, D. (2007). Racism and pornography: Evidence, paradigms, and publishing. Cinema Journal, 46(4), 116–121. doi:10.1353/cj.2007.0033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: A content analysis update. Violence Against Women, 16(10), 1065–1085. doi:10.1177/1077801210382866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brosius, H. B., Weaver, J. B, I. I. I., & Staab, J. F. (1993). Exploring the social and sexual “reality” of contemporary pornography. Journal of Sex Research, 30(2), 161–170. doi:10.1080/00224499309551697.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D., & L’Engle, K. L. (2009). X-rated sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with US early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media. Communication Research, 36(1), 129–151. doi:10.1177/0093650208326465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, G., & Campbell, R. (1994). Racism and sexism in interracial pornography: A content analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 323–338. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00459.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, G., Lee, C., Levy, D., & Snyder, D. (1988). Dominance and inequality in X-rated videocassettes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 299–311. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1988.tb00945.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doran, K. (2010). Industry size, measurement, and social costs. In M. Eberstadt & M. A. Layden (Eds.), The social cost of pornography: A statement of findings and recommendations. Princeton, NJ: Witherspoon Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. E., & Stangor, C. (1992). The role of diagnosticity in stereotype formation: Perceiving group means and variances. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(3), 356–367. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.63.3.356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, N. (2016, June). From Cum Shots to Cunnilingus, the agentic and objectifying scripts of feminist and mainstream pornography. Paper presented at the 66th international communication association annual conference Fukuoka, Japan. Abstract retrieved from http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ica/ica16/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1108093&PHPSESSID=tacg8is4764v0gk4g6bci8hbc0.

  • Gorman, S., Monk-Turner, E., & Fish, J. N. (2010). Free adult Internet web sites: How prevalent are degrading acts? Gender Issues, 27(3–4), 131–145. doi:10.1007/s12147-010-9095-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R. (1986). Psychological processes promoting the relation between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior by the viewer. Journal of Social Issues, 42(3), 125–139. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1986.tb00246.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klaassen, M. J., & Peter, J. (2015). Gender (in) equality in Internet pornography: A content analysis of popular pornographic Internet videos. The Journal of Sex Research, 52(7), 721–735. doi:10.1080/00224499.2014.976781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klaassen, M. J., & Peter, J. (2016, June). Sex without love? Commitment, intimacy, and passion in popular pornographic internet videos. Paper presented at the 66th international communication association annual conference Fukuoka, Japan. Abstract retrieved from http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ica/ica16/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1107821&PHPSESSID=pr4qs2v80q46l1eaob32s6a8s2.

  • Krippendorff, K. (2013). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. (1981). The effects of mass media exposure on acceptance of violence against women: A field experiment. Journal of Research in Personality, 15(4), 436–446. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(81)90040-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malik, C., & Wojdynski, B. W. (2014). Boys earn, girls buy: Depictions of materialism on US children’s branded-entertainment websites. Journal of Children and Media, 8(4), 404–422. doi:10.1080/17482798.2013.852986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayall, A., & Russell, D. E. (1993). Racism in pornography. Feminism & Psychology, 3(2), 275–281. doi:10.1177/0959353593032023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee, A. (2005). The objectification of women in mainstream pornographic videos in Australia. Journal of Sex Research, 42(4), 277–290. doi:10.1080/00224490509552283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie-Mohr, D., & Zanna, M. P. (1990). Treating women as sexual objects look to the (gender schematic) male who has viewed pornography. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16(2), 296–308. doi:10.1177/0146167290162010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mok, T. A. (1998). Getting the message: Media images and stereotypes and their effect on Asian Americans. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 4(3), 185–202. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.4.3.185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monk-Turner, E., & Purcell, H. C. (1999). Sexual violence in pornography: How prevalent is it? Gender Issues, 17(2), 58–67. doi:10.1007/s12147-999-0015-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamatsu, T. (2005). Faces of “Asian brides”: Gender, race, and class in the representations of immigrant women in Japan. Women’s Studies International Forum, 28(5), 405–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okamura, R. (1976). Iva lkuko Toguri: Victim of an American fantasy. In E. Gee (Ed.), Counterpoint: Perspectives on Asian America (pp. 86 96). Los Angeles: Asian American Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Prince, S. (1990). Power and pain: Content analysis and the ideology of pornography. Journal of Film and Video, 42, 31–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimizu, C. P. (2006). Queens of anal, double, triple, and the gang bang: Producing Asian/American feminism in pornography. Yale JL & Feminism, 18, 235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1984). Sexual scripts. Society, 22, 53–60. doi:10.1007/BF02701260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, B., Glassner-Bayerl, B., & Stratenwerth, I. (1991). Stereotyping and self-stereotyping in a natural intergroup context: the case of heterosexual and homosexual men. Social Psychology Quarterly, 54(3), 252–266. doi:10.2307/2786654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, C., Bridges, A., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., & Liberman, R. (2008). A comparison of male and female directors in popular pornography: What happens when women are at the helm? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(3), 312–325. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00439.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trepte, S. (2006). Social identity theory. In B. P. Varderer (Ed.), Psychology of entertainment (pp. 255–271). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchida, A. (1998). The orientalization of Asian women in America. Women’s Studies International Forum, 21(2), 161–174. doi:10.1016/S0277-5395(98)00004-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vannier, S. A., Currie, A. B., & O’Sullivan, L. F. (2014). Schoolgirls and soccer moms: A content analysis of free “teen” and “MILF” online pornography. The Journal of Sex Research, 51(3), 253–264. doi:10.1080/00224499.2013.829795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallmyr, G., & Welin, C. (2006). Young people, pornography, and sexuality: Sources and attitudes. The Journal of School Nursing, 22(5), 290–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, R., & Crocker, J. (1983). Cognitive processes in the revision of stereotypic beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(5), 961. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.5.961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, L. (2010). Skin flicks on the racial border: Pornography, exploitation, and interracial lust. Media Studies: A Reader, 277, 71–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, B.J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, J., Donnerstein, E., Smith, S.L., et al. (1998). Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara study. In M. Seawall (Ed.), National television violence study (Vol. 2, pp. 3–204). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

  • Wright, P. J. (2011). Mass media effects on youth sexual behavior. Communication Yearbook, 35, 343–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. J., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2015). Activating the centerfold syndrome: Recency of exposure, sexual explicitness, past exposure to objectifying media. Communication Research, 42(6), 864–897. doi:10.1177/0093650213509668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, N., & Linz, D. (1990). Movie ratings and the content of adult videos: The sex-violence ratio. Journal of Communication, 40(2), 28–42. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1990.tb02260.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zillmann, D. (1989). Effects of prolonged consumption of pornography (pp. 127–157). Pornography: Research advances and policy considerations.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yanyan Zhou.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhou, Y., Paul, B. Lotus Blossom or Dragon Lady: A Content Analysis of “Asian Women” Online Pornography. Sexuality & Culture 20, 1083–1100 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-016-9375-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-016-9375-9

Keywords

Navigation