The influence of collaborative pornography viewing on relationship quality in heterosexual couples

Abstract

Coining the term collaborative pornography viewing, we used a mixed method study to test the perception of individual relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, trust, closeness, and communication after watching pornography together. The purpose of this article is to present the qualitative findings of the study. In the qualitative portion, a subset of couples from the larger sample (8 couples; N = 16) participated in interviews about their experience in the study and, specifically, the collaborative viewing of pornography. The findings indicated that collaborative pornography viewing enabled practice in negotiation, relationship communication, normalized pornography viewing in the relationship, created a boundary around the couple, and increased conversations. These results support the recommendations of previous scholars advising couples that viewing pornography together may improve certain aspects of the relationship.