Porn, Power, and the Brain: Pornography scripts shaping Gen Z�s neurodevelopment, objectification perceptions and political beliefs

Abstract

By age 12, most Gen Z teens encounter pornography, often before any real-life sexual experience, yet its social and psychological impacts remain largely overlooked. This research examines how mainstream porn functions as a surrogate sex educator, scripting hierarchies of dominance and submission that distort intimacy and gender roles. Drawing on social cognitive theory, I collected qualitative data via a Google Form survey with Q&A and interview-style text responses, engaging 159 participants aged 1825 across diverse gender identities. Findings reveal early porn exposure shapes expectations, internalises aggressive sexual scripts, blurs the line between performance and desire, and amplifies objectification, infrahumanisation, and affective detachment. Beyond the bedroom, these distortions intersect with socio-political dynamics: early porn exposure, male loneliness, and legitimised misandrist discourse create an emotional and ideological vacuum, driving some young men toward simplistic, authoritarian models of leadership. This research underscores the urgent need for transformational leadership, critical sex re-education, and media literacy, framing pornography as a potent social force shaping intimacy, gender norms, and political attitudes.