A new study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives indicates that eight of the top 10 "red" states—states that identify themselves as more conservative and religious than others, and who also gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's run for the White House—also buy more online pornography than other states.

Adjusting for broadband Internet users—viewers need broadband access for most online pornography subscriptions—Mississippi ranks No. 3 in numbers of porn subscribers. Utah is No. 1, with Alaska catching the No. 2 spot.

Writing in Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment? (PDF, 1.27 Mb), Benjamin Edelman, assistant professor of business administration at Harvard University, says that revenue for online adult entertainment in 2006 reached $2.8 billion, exceeding spending at adult clubs. Revenue for adult videos still topped Internet spending for that year in the $12.8 billion adult industry, but video sales and rentals are falling while Internet subscriptions are on the rise.

"Subscriptions are slightly more prevalent in states that have enacted conservative legislation on sexuality," Edelman writes. "In the 27 states where "defense of marriage" amendments have been adopted (making same-sex marriage, and/or civil unions unconstitutional), subscriptions … (are) more prevalent than in other states."

"Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by," Edelman told ABC News.

States that ban gay marriage boast 11 percent more porn subscribers than states that don't restrict it.

On average, a visit to a pornography site lasts 11.6 minutes, with the average user visiting a site 7.7 times a month. Subscription rates commonly run from $20 to $30 a month, and seller use automatic credit-card renewals to keep customers coming back.

"[S]ubscriptions are also more prevalent in states where surveys indicate conservative positions on religion, gender roles, and sexuality," the study states. "In states where more people agree that 'Even today miracles are performed by the power of God' and 'I never doubt the existence of God,' there are more subscriptions to this service. Subscriptions are also more prevalent in states where more people agree that 'I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage' and 'AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior.Ҕ

In regions where people report regularly attending church services, new subscriptions typically fall off on Sunday, while on average, the regions consume the same amount of adult entertainment overall, suggesting that "those who attend religious services shift their consumption of adult entertainment to other days of the week."

On the whole, however, "adult subscription patterns show a remarkable consistency. … With interest in adult entertainment relatively constant across regions, there is little sign of a major divide."

Porn, it seems, could be one market immune to party politics, especially when the party is private.

Previous Comments

ID

144213

Comment

Often Suppression = Obsession.

Author

BobbyKearan

Date

2009-03-02T13:52:11-06:00

ID

144216

Comment

Funny: "Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by," Edelman told ABC News. States that ban gay marriage boast 11 percent more porn subscribers than states that don’t restrict it. Call it plain ole hypocrisy -- people publicly judging people for what they do themselves. And we all well know that the most immoral people tend to be the ones who are the loudest morality police. What do they have to hide? At least they take a break on Sundays ...

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-03-02T14:14:04-06:00

ID

144217

Comment

I'm rolling over here, Donna. I haven't had this good a laugh in ages. You do realize this is mostly ABC trying to stir up trouble, right? Nothing to see here, move along people. It's the liberal media out to smear it's enemies.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-03-02T14:15:43-06:00

ID

144218

Comment

Iron, relax, no one said that *you* buy porn. This isn't an ABC report. It's a study done by business academics at Harvard. And that "liberal media" comment is plain stupid, and you know it. Sounds like you've been hangin' out with Barbour et al. who blame everything they don't like on the "liberal media." At this stage, very few people take that seriously. If the "liberal media" had done its job, instead of being afraid of being called that by defensive folks who don't want the truth to get out, then we wouldn't have been in Iraq looking for non-existent WMDs, and we would have had some decent regulation that would have helped averted this financial disaster all those haters of "liberal media" got us into. Now, back to conservatives and their secret porn fetishes ...

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-03-02T14:21:52-06:00

ID

144219

Comment

Meantime, folks, remember that Mississippi is one of a handful of states that outlaw the sale of vibrators and other "sex toys." We are simply surrounded by hypocrisy.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-03-02T14:23:32-06:00

ID

144220

Comment

Study Reveals It Must Be a Slow News Day

Author

jbreland

Date

2009-03-02T14:27:14-06:00

ID

144222

Comment

There's nothing insignificant about exposing hypocrisy among people who try to legislate morality. I'd call such a study very important news. And amusing, no doubt. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-03-02T14:35:15-06:00

ID

144224

Comment

I knew conservatives like to get their freak on behind closed doors! And there's nothing wrong with that, until they start preaching to me that it's wrong and that they do it themselves. No wonder people are becoming so disenchanted at the conservative movement.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-03-02T15:25:02-06:00

ID

144225

Comment

This is the least crass of the list of jokes I was going to try: Hurray! We're in the Top 10! Eat THAT teen pregnancy!

Author

bryan doyle

Date

2009-03-02T15:28:30-06:00

ID

144226

Comment

I've got a copy of the report. Even it's author doesn't draw the conclusion that conservatives buy more porn. That's ABC doing that bit of statistical skullduggery. As for the liberal media comment, it's a fact. Can't avoid it. :)

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-03-02T15:55:08-06:00

ID

144230

Comment

Iron, Look at table 2, States with the most and fewest subscriptions. In column 3, which rates the top ten states that subscribe to online porn (adjusted for broadband) you'll find Utah, Alaska, Mississippi, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Arkansas, N. Dakota, Louisiana, Florida and W. Virginia. Of those, only Hawaii's and Florida's electorate voted majority Democratic/liberal. By extension, that means there are more Republicans/conservatives in eight of the 10 states that also purchased the most online porn. It's pretty simple extrapolation to say that states with more conservatives buy more online porn. You also seem to be dismissing the two DIRECT quotes from the study in the story that make the connection between conservative/religious voting and values, and online porn purchases. This statistic is also directly from the study: States that ban gay marriage boast 11 percent more porn subscribers than states that don’t restrict it. Your conservative slip is showing, Ironghost. You might not like the statistics, but that doesn't make the conclusions some kind of "liberal" fantasy.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-03-02T16:19:54-06:00

ID

144231

Comment

I badly want to explain how I disagree with this article , but I just cant pull myslef away from the porn site in the other window while my boss is away.

Author

dd39203

Date

2009-03-02T16:30:01-06:00

ID

144232

Comment

Frankly the whole topic rubs me the wrong way.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-03-02T16:31:57-06:00

ID

144233

Comment

Where's the "fact " that the media's liberal? Even Bill Kristol admitted years ago that it was used as a excuse to pin Republican failures on.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-03-02T16:32:51-06:00

ID

144234

Comment

To many people, "liberal media" simply means any outlet that dares to challenge a conservative. Fortunately, these days, the ploy doesn't work any longer, and people who try it just look silly. (Quick, look to the right: Even Ann Coulter is advertising on so-called liberal media!) What's important here is the hypocrisy, as I've said. We live in a state where moralizing comes so easy to people; meantime, we have horribly high divorce rates, and perverts all around preying on children. And sadly, we have so many people who use "values," morality and faith merely for personal and political gain, talking a radical-right game, but then guzzling tumbers of Jack Daniels and cheating on their spouses when they think no one is looking. Then those same people dare to try to tell other people who they can marry, what they can do in their own bedrooms and whether or not they have to bear children. I loathe hypocrisy, especially when it's aimed at my rights.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-03-02T16:39:43-06:00

ID

144237

Comment

Looking at the stats, Mississippi is #3 based on homes with broadband, not homes with internet access. That is VERY misleading and probably assumes an extremely low level of broadband use for the state, which jacks up the number. Not that I even care; what you do is your own business. But I do hate statistical manipulation. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Author

QB

Date

2009-03-02T18:01:07-06:00

ID

144239

Comment

LOL @ Brian Doyle!! That's hilarious! I think it stands to reason that people in states with the most conservative laws and attitudes would have to get their porn online. Because the people in power who think that way want to keep access to things of that nature limited or non existent. Just like Ladd posted it's supposed to be illegal here to even sell a vibrator. There just aren't going to be many outlets for porn in religious right governed states. If you are a porn aficionado in a red state where else are you gonna get it aside from online? I don't get where they come up with conservatives buying it though. Just because conservatives are the voting majority here doesn't mean that they are the ones doing all the buying.

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-03-02T18:03:51-06:00

ID

144240

Comment

Frankly the whole topic rubs me the wrong way. I could make any number of jokes about the way you put that but I won't. >:-)

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-03-02T18:11:55-06:00

ID

144247

Comment

wmartin, his comment was intentionally a double entendre

Author

jbreland

Date

2009-03-03T09:15:01-06:00

ID

144251

Comment

This just in... Sarah Palin makes her debut as the lead actress in "Muff Hunter!" Reports say that sales have doubled in Alaska, Mississippi, and Utah just over the past few hours. In other news, gun sales also have increased sharply once again.

Author

chip

Date

2009-03-03T10:42:01-06:00

ID

144272

Comment

Being #3 simply won't do. I'll be working single handedly to make us #1!

Author

dd39203

Date

2009-03-03T15:00:18-06:00

ID

144351

Comment

[QUOTE]Being #3 simply won't do. I'll be working single handedly to make us #1! [/QUOTE]I'm sure some of the porn addicts in this state would be happy to lend you a hand in achieving this goal. You shouldn't have to get it up by yourself.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-03-05T06:55:25-06:00