Harvard study links people’s political minds with their dirty ones.

A study done by the Harvard Business School concluded states that have passed conservative legislation on sexuality tend to have higher subscriptions to web pornography than those that have not. 

Conducted by Benjamin G. Edelman, professor at the Harvard Business School, his study found “subscriptions are slightly more prevalent in states that have enacted conservative legislation on sexuality,” and “in the 27 states where ‘defense of marriage’ amendments have been adopted (making same-sex marriage, and/or civil unions unconstitutional), subscriptions to this adult entertainment service are weakly more prevalent than in other states.”

A table was created in the study that recorded the “difference, in subscriptions per thousand broadband households, between a hypothetical state where all residents disagree with the quote versus one where all residents agree with the statement.”  Communities that agreed with strong religious statements such as “AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior,” and “I have never doubted the existence of God” had higher subscription rates.

 “That’s really funny.  Maybe it’s even hypocritical,” University of Massachusetts senior Dan Roy said. “[These types of restrictions cause] people to look for some sort of outlet. It makes me wonder if the people passing these laws are the ones who have the subscriptions.”

UMass junior Max Lienchits agreed.

“If that’s what the data shows, it has to be correct,” Lienchits said. “If you restrict sexual activity you move people in the direction of pornography because it is more accessible.”

Although the study does conclude that pornography subscriptions are higher in hypothetical communities that would agree to conservative religious statements and in states that have passed conservative legislation on sexuality, it does not indicate a divide in voting differences.

“I found no significant relationship between subscriptions to this adult entertainment service and presidential voting in 2004, based on poll data by congressional district,” Edelman wrote.   However they did find differences in the type of subscriptions people from “blue” states and “red” states. 

States that voted for Al Gore in 2004 were more likely to have people with subscriptions to adult escort sites, while states that voted for George W. Bush in 2004 were more likely to have people with subscriptions to wife swapping sites, adult web cams and sites about voyeurism.

Despite all these differences found, the study stated that interest in online adult entertainment was fairly consistent across the country and that “there’s little sign of a major divide.”

Sean McDonough can be reached at smcdonou@student.umass.edu.

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