Misperception and Attitude of Society against Pornography

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue XII, December 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186

Misperception and Attitude of Society against Pornography

R. Fathin1, R. Normala2, Z.M. Lukman3, C. Azlini4, M.Y. Kamal5

1,2,3,4,5Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract— Pornography and other sexually explicit materials are controversial issues and emotional topics to be conducted asa research study in Malaysian society. This research study aims to identify the misperception about pornography and attitude of society(age of 17 to 45 years old) against pornography. The data was collected through questionnaire. However, a persistent problem in conducting the survey was to obtain legitimate answers for sensitive questions. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics was reported as frequency and percentage to determine the perception of Malaysian society and their attitude against pornography. 505 people took part in this research but the number of respondents who answered the questionnaire correctly is approximately 325 people and consists of both men and women. The results show that there is still misperception among the society against pornography. They feel that watching pornography is a good thing. Based on the results, everyone should play their role in spreading the negative effects of watching pornography. In addition, parents should monitor their children whenever they access the internet using any device.

Keywords— Pornography, Misperception, Attitude, Society

I. INTRODUCTION

Pornography isa taboo in Malaysia because it is considered immoral, adulterous and contrary to the culture and religion [1]. According to[2]it is agreed that society who is exposed to pornography will be addicted to watching its materials and they will also have the tendency to get involve in social problems such as free sex. [3] says the content of pornography is considered as prostitution. In other words, pornography has different ways of triggering or enhancing sexual imaginations and thoughts or fantasies with sexually explicit materials and sexual acts [4]. It also includes clear pictures or sexual descriptions of sexual organs such as anal or vagina, oral sex, etc [5]. Pornographic content is not only available on a particular sexual site, but it can also be found in magazines, films, social media, or comic illustrations [6].Nowadays, the advancement of technology in mobile devices which act as a medium of sharing sexually explicit materials, as well as the accessibility of the internet are the contributing factors that help spreading pornographic images, visuals, and videos in Malaysia [7]. Therefore, some people are open to intercede [3]. In addition, the Internet allows users to explore sexuality visually (i.e. how sexual acts are conducted and the opposite sex anatomy) [8].