Previous research showed that greater frequency and/or orgasmic consistency of penilevaginal intercourse (PVI) are the only sexual behaviours that are consistently associated with indices of better physical and psychological health, and relationship quality. Other sexual activities (notably masturbation and anal sex) tend to be unrelated or even inversely related to indices of health and relatedness. Study 1 showed that, in a sample of largely Scottish women, more use of immature psychological defence mechanisms (associated with psychopathology and relationship difficulties) was associated with lesser orgasmic consistency through PVI, but unrelated or directly related to other sexual behaviours. Study 2 replicated many findings of Study 1 in a sample of persons of diverse countries (47.6% Scottish and 4.8% from other parts of UK), and also showed that men’s immature defences are associated with greater frequency of sexual behaviours other than PVI. Study 2 also demonstrated that greater orgasmic frequency of PVI and/or lesser frequency of other sexual activities are associated with indices of better health and relatedness, namely greater heart rate variability, greater conscientiousness, and less avoidant attachment, in both sexes, and with less anxious attachment and greater handgrip strength, in women. Study 3 showed the same pattern of findings regarding conscientiousness, in a sample of mostly Scottish University students, after controlling for potentially confounding personality traits, but the behaviour of some students raises concerns regarding the validity of the findings. Study 4 confirmed the pattern of findings regarding immature defence mechanisms and relationship quality, in a sample of cohabiting British, after controlling for a variety of socio-cultural factors related to traditional ideology and negative attitudes to noncoital sex. The results provide support for the hypothesis that evolution selected biopsychological phenotypes linking capacity to seek and appreciate PVI with health and relatedness, as one strategy for promoting gene propagation

Oral sex behaviour is fast and widely transforming into an everyday practice of modern adolescents’ life. Although seemingly less risky than vaginal or anal sex, it is accompanied by a rise in STIs alongside depression and anxiety associated with oral sex experiences of some young females, thus putting at risk both current and future adolescents’ sexual and psychological health and well-being. The four studies included in this thesis were designed to contribute to our understanding of adolescents’ oral sex behaviour as a part of their more complex psycho-social functioning. In particular, these studies aimed to test a proposed pathway of effects between self-control and successful or unsuccessful management of adolescents’ oral sex behaviour and associated with this behaviour psychological well-being through the application of self-regulation theory. Students’ oral sex behaviour and psychological well-being were tested at cross-sectional and longitudinal level, and analysed in detail through both quantitative and qualitative studies. The findings indicated that high dispositional ability to restrain sexual behaviour, motivation to control sexual behaviour and compliance to normative rules had a restrictive effect on the likelihood of engagement in oral sex, although their combined effect was found to vary under power relation pressure and according to the type of ego depletion state. Accounting for gender differences, for female students, body image satisfaction, self-esteem, and negative body image thinking habits were found to influence the likelihood of engagement in oral sex behaviour under gender power pressures in relationship and in ego depletion states (i.e. physical tiredness, cognitive load, alcohol consumption, emotional rise). In terms of psychological well-being, self-confidence was reported to be the most important factor influencing both females’ engagement in oral sex and its re-appraisal. The findings are in accordance with previous work on application of self-regulation theory in other areas of health-related behaviour; they indicate that self-control and motivation to control sexual behaviour can be promoted in modifications of risky sexual behaviour.

This thesis explores feminist anti-pornography activism in the UK in the first decade of the twenty-first century, in the context of what has been termed the 'mainstreaming‘ of pornography. It investigates how and why feminist anti-porn activism is re-emerging in this particular historical moment, examining the ways in which groups are organised, and how feminist campaigns around pornography are developed, executed and received. It provides an in-depth analysis and theorisation of the ideological stance, ethos, tactical repertoires and impact of campaign groups, along with a detailed consideration of the motivations, perspectives and experiences of activists. The thesis locates feminist anti-pornography groups and activists in various contexts: the 'mainstreaming' of pornography (or 'pornification'); feminist debates around pornography and the sex industry; second and third wave feminist activism; debates around ‗post-feminism‘ and the resurgence of grassroots feminist activism in the UK. This contextualisation enables me to assess the significance of current feminist anti-pornography activism in the light of social, political and cultural trends, and with regard to other feminist priorities and agendas. The thesis draws on qualitative research data gathered from feminist ethnographic studies of two London-based groups, along with twenty-four in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with activists across the UK. Utilising a theoretical framework drawing on social movement literature and feminist theory, I analyse and interpret my research findings in order to construct an argument regarding the impact of feminist anti-pornography activism and its significance in relation to contemporary feminism. Emphasising continuities between second wave radical feminist analyses of pornography and current activist perspectives, I argue that their foregrounding of issues of violence against women, objectification and gender inequality, along with their critical engagement with concepts such as 'choice', 'agency' and 'empowerment', poses a challenge to postfeminist and liberal perspectives on pornography.

This work examines soft-core pornography, pornographic conventions in advertising, the representation of male sexuality in men's magazines and of female sexuality in popular media and subcultural forms. Specific instances are taken to investigate the applicability of widely used concepts such as 'transgression', 'objectification' and 'pornography' itself, and to pursue a more contextualized discussion of particular types of texts and their aesthetic, generic, cultural and social characteristics. Broader issues of consumption are examined in work on the marketing of sex products to women and on the development of online sex 'taste cultures'. This charts some current developments in sexual representation and consumption such as sex toy manufacturing and online alternative pornographies in order to investigate the development of commodified and recreational forms of sexual pleasure and display which are increasingly important in constructing identity and social networks. The work also addresses existing research on audiences of sexually explicit media and the representation of pornography consumption in public debates and in academia. Here, issues of methodology, institutional framing and the socio-historical context of research are brought into sharper focus. Finally, the work considers how the examination of texts, discourses, practices, identities and ethics might be integrated in the development of this area of study; particularly in relation to pornography research, approaches to online pornography and understandings of the contemporary sexualization of mainstream media. This aspect of the work identifies some of the major shifts in the production and consumption of sexually explicit materials along with some of the emerging and key issues in the field and suggests ways of developing the area of study.

This thesis investigates the relationship between gender and ecology. It conceptualizes relations of difference and inequality socially constructed upon gender and nature as part of specific systems of oppression: patriarchy (male domination) and anthroparchy (human domination of the environment). It does not see these oppressions as isolated, but as relatively autonomous and interconnected. It critiques green theory as gender-blind, and feminist theory, with the exception of eco-feminism, as nature-blind. Drawing upon analyses within eco-feminism, radical feminism and other literature in sociology, it develops a dual systems approach in order to examine the relationship between patriarchy and anthroparchy as one characterized both by harmony and mutual reinforcement, and by conflict and difference in terms of the forms dominance assumes and the degrees to which such forms may operate. The thesis is substantiated via comparison of two contemporary case studies: meat and pornography, which are examined as cultural phenomena (regimes of representations), and as industries. Green theory has seen meat as ‘speciesist’ (discriminating against Other animals on the basis of species membership), and radical feminism has largely understood pornography as a patriarchal construction. This thesis attempts to show the problems with such approaches, and argues the specific instances of oppression of meat and pornography involve the articulation of both patriarchy and anthroparchy, although these oppressive systems operate in different forms, to different degrees, and at different levels, depending on case and context.

The paedophile is the bogeyman of our age. The very word itself has become a conduit for fear and public loathing, often beyond all moderation. Indeed, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of paedophiles are male, commentators reach easily for parallels with a reviled figure from a bygone age - the witch. While we haven't yet reinvented the ducking stool or trial by water, we have found a pretty effective 21 st-century equivalent in trial by newspaper. And, after being named and shamed, the "guilty" are hounded from the community by a mob baying for blood. (Silverman & Wilson 2002: 1)

Discourses about pornography have grown since the diffusion of print communication and the first erotic representations. In the 80s, the so-called sex wars involved intense debates about pornography s liberating or objectifying nature, while in the 90s, the emergence of porn studies offered a more balanced and contextualized analysis of pornography, highlighting the need for researchers to also focus on the audience s understanding of the experience. Although the majority of research in this field has focused on adults, much of the concern relates to children. To date, however, most of the research relating to children has focused on effects and on potential harm. Audience researchers in Cultural Studies have examined how children understand representations of sex, love and romance, but only in relation to mainstream media. Yet when it comes to pornography in particular, the discussion is to a great extent based on adults assumptions about what is potentially harmful for children. My aim is to approach children s use and interpretation of sexual content in the media through an audience reception approach. In a sense, this brackets off the question of possible risk or harm, in favour of focusing on the nature of the experience itself. My research is based on interviews conducted with young adults (18-22 years old) thinking retrospectively about their experiences with sexual content in childhood and early teenage life. Despite the number of disadvantages this approach may have, this thesis aims to focus on how participants themselves report and account for their actual experiences. Using a basic thematic coding, I consider the self-reported nature and context of young people s experiences. Next, I focus on the discourses used to interpret and contextualize their experiences. Finally, through a narrative approach I examine their constructions of identities in talking about sexuality. In these ways, this thesis wishes to offer new insights into the topic through an audience reception approach that until now has been largely missing from the academic agenda.

This study examines the ways in which men who relate sexually to children, identified in the press as paedophiles, are represented in four leading newspapers in the Republic of Ireland in the period from 2003-2005. Utilising a qualitative research methodology namely critical discourse analysis, a social constructionist approach and informed by post-structural perspectives, this research examines the ways in which the masculinities of the man represented as 'the paedophile' are constructed. This research demonstrates how the normative is reinforced through the delegitimation of the masculinities of these men. The discursive regimes and cultural scenarios drawn upon in representations of 'the paedophile' reflect degrees of deviation from hegemonic masculinity in an always already 'deviant' group of men. Inactive heterosexuality and homosexuality are not hegemonic masculine practices, and the masculinity of supposedly, celibate clergymen and homosexual men is discursively subordinated. A consideration of the material dimensions of these discourses, illustrates how the media representation of men who relate sexually to children, confirms the normative contours of society and strategically excludes hegemonic masculinity and the wider society from association with adult male sexual interaction with children.