JSM Sexual Medicine - Social Outlook Mediates the Impact of Pornography on Sexual Orientation in Conservative But Not Progressive Regions: A ‘Social Contagion’ Paradox

Sep 15, 2026

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Beliefs about the causes of nonheterosexuality shape acceptance of sexual diversity, with “pro-diversity” often aligned to “nature” accounts and “antidiversity” linked to “nurture” accounts. The latter includes claims that nonheterosexuality is socially contagious and will spread when prohibitions are relaxed. This study examines a China-focused concern that consuming female-oriented male-male erotica (“danmei”/“Boy’s Love”) may lead audiences to reject heterosexuality, testing whether pornography can affect sexual orientation and how social outlook mediates this effect under low-acceptance conditions using Sinophone and Anglophone survey data.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

Study rationale and context

Danmei/Boys’ Love and censorship background

Abstract and key findings

Hypothesis about mediation and context

Conditional Process Analysis across survey contexts

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Central | JSM Sexual Medicine | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Review Article
Social Outlook Mediates the Impact of Pornography on Sexual Orientation in Conservative But Not Progressive Regions: A ‘Social Contagion’ Paradox
Anna Madill* and Yao Zhao
School of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK | | | *Corresponding author
Anna Madill, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK, Tel: +44(0)113 343 5750
Submitted: 29 November 2023
Accepted: 17 January 2024
Published: 19 January 2024
ISSN: 2578-3718
Copyright
© 2024 Madill A, et al.

OPEN ACCESS
Keywords
• Boys’ Love
• Danmei
• Pornography
• Homosexuality
• Sexual orientation | | Abstract
Beliefs regarding the causes of nonheterosexuality are linked to acceptance of sexual diversity, pro-diversity aligning with ‘nature’ explanations and antidiversity with ‘nurture’ explanations. The latter includes the idea that nonheterosexuality is socially contagious and will spread if prohibitions are relaxed. We focus on the concern in China that consuming female-oriented male-male erotica (‘danmei’ or ‘Boy’s Love’) may result in its audience eschewing heterosexuality. This provides a case study to test if pornography can impact sexual orientation and, if so, to understand better how, for whom, and under what conditions. We posit that the effect of pornography on sexual orientation, if it exists, is mediated by audience members’ social outlook and will be evident only in regions with low acceptance of sexual diversity. We employ the statistical modelling technique of Conditional Process Analysis, comparing results using data from our Sinophone (N = 2128) and Anglophone (N = 2001) audience surveys representing, respectively, conservative and progressive contexts. As hypothesised, the model was supported by the Sinophone and not the Anglophone data. We conclude that regions with low acceptance of diverse sexualities paradoxically create phenomena which look like the socially-contagious processes they are trying to stem. | | | | | INTRODUCTION
There is a growing body of research on the impact of pornography on viewers. This is an important, and increasingly relevant, topic given easy access to sexually explicit material of all kinds on the internet. However, the impact of pornography on sexual orientation has not yet been subject to systematic research. We are in the unique position of having large data sets from a Sinophone and an Anglophone survey [1] providing us a case study to test if pornography can impact sexual orientation and, if so, to understand better how, for whom, and under what conditions. The impetus for our study is the concern expressed in the Chinese academic literature that consuming femaleoriented male-male erotica may result in its audience eschewing heterosexuality.
Known in China as ‘danmei,’ and globally as ‘Boys’ Love’(BL) or ‘yaoi,’ female-oriented male-male erotica portrays romantic and sexual relationships between men. It is female-oriented because the majority of creators and consumers are young women [2,3] . The main media include manga, graphic novels, anime, novella, online series and, most successfully in China, online TV drama. Original material is created professionally and semi-professionally, alongside a huge amount of derivative fan works. The genre first appeared in the early 1970s in Japanese | | girls’ manga and American fan fiction, the latter imagining a romantic relationship between the characters Kirk and Spock in the TV series Star Trek. Today it is one of the largest erotic subcultures for women. Despite a blanket ban on sexually explicit materials, state censorship of nonheterosexual themes, forced website closures, and prosecutions [4], danmei is ubiquitous on the Chinese internet. Its popularity is such that ‘danmei-lite’eroticised male friendship is a common marketing strategy in Chinese popular culture because it drawsa large female audience.
C

FAQs

What central concern does the study address regarding danmei consumption?

The study addresses the concern that consuming female-oriented male-male erotica (“danmei”/“Boy’s Love”) could make its audience reject heterosexuality, reframing it as a possible effect on sexual orientation.

How does the paper explain when and for whom pornography might affect sexual orientation?

The paper proposes that any effect of pornography on sexual orientation is mediated by audience members’ social outlook and should be evident only in regions with low acceptance of sexual diversity.

What do the results show when comparing Sinophone and Anglophone data?

Using Conditional Process Analysis, the model is supported by the Sinophone data representing conservative contexts, but not supported by the Anglophone data representing progressive contexts.

Sep 15, 2026

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