Youth, Gender and Pornography - A Qualitative Study in Sweden

Introduction and objectives: The visibility and accessibility of pornography in public space has increased dramatically over the last decade. In many Western societies, among them Sweden, there is a wide-spread concern about the implications and consequences of this development, especially for young people. However, seldom are young people’s own voices being heard in this debate. Our research tries to remedy this by asking teenagers about their experiences, views and relationships to pornography. Methods: Data were collected in 2006 through qualitative research interviews and focus groups with young people; 73 informants between 14 and 20 years of age are included in the study, 36 girls and 37 boys. Results: The increasing accessibility of pornography has contributed to a process of normalization with regard to young people’s attitudes and behaviours in relation to pornography. This change, however, is related to both age and gender, which allows us to talk about gender specific pornography careers. Our study also confirms the influence and growing importance of the pornographic script as a frame of reference or behavioural code that more or less explicitly prescribes how to look and what to do. However, it seems that most of our interviewees have acquired the necessary skills in how to navigate in the pornographic landscape in a sensible and reflective manner. Most of them seem to have the ability to distinguish between pornographic fantasies and narratives on the one hand, and real life sexual interaction and relationships on the other. Conclusions: Growing up in a society with an easily accessible pornography both lead to a defused view on sexuality and to a critical and reflective outlook. The impact of the so-called pornographic script is clear. However, at the same time the script brings to the fore an ambivalence towards sexuality, and to pornography specifically. It contains both pleasure and harmfulness in a way that seems to be both tempting and frightening

<i>disiRNA</i> loci are methylated.

<p>(A) Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analyses using <i>Dpn</i>II or <i>Bfu</i>CI showing that <i>disiRNA</i> loci are methylated. CD and CB are samples that were only treated with either <i>Dpn</i>II or <i>Bfu</i>CI restriction digestion buffer, respectively. <i>ζ-η</i> and <i>ncu06312</i> gene regions were used as positive (methylated) and negative (unmethylated) controls, respectively. Primer pair 113–114 covers a region without DpnII/BfuCI recognition sites. Agarose gel images show the results of semi-quantitaive PCR analyses. The estimated percentages of methylation (right) for these loci were determined by qPCR. (B) Correlation between DNA methylation level (upper panel) and disiRNA expression profile (low panel) spanning the <i>disi-47</i> locus as determined by MSP using qPCR. The <i>am</i> locus served as a negative control. (C) Correlation between DNA methylation level and disiRNA expression profile at the <i>disi-6</i> locus determined by MeDIP. Arrows indicate the locations of primer pairs (see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#pgen.1003761.s001" target="_blank">Figure S1</a> and <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#pgen.1003761.s009" target="_blank">Table S1</a> for primer information).</p

<i>disiRNA</i> loci have an on/off pattern of DNA methylation.

<p>(A) Bisulfite sequencing result of the <i>ζ-η</i> locus reveals significant methylation in all DNA clones examined. Each row of circles represents the number of cytosines in one subcloned <i>ζ-η</i> fragment. Opened and filled circles indicate unmethylated and methylated cytosines, respectively. (B) Strategy for detecting methylation in <i>disi-6</i> locus (strategy 1, <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>). The lack of cleavage by <i>Dpn</i>II indicates no methylation at the GATC recognition site of the original sequence, whereas the cleavage by <i>Dpn</i>II indicates that the DNA sequence contained 5mC. (C) 9 clones from “cut” and “uncut” populations were subject to sequencing. DNA methylation profiles were shown. (D) Southern blot analyses of <i>disi-29</i> and <i>disi-47</i> loci. The <i>am</i> and <i>ζ-η</i> loci were as the negative and positive control, respectively.</p

DNA methylation is induced in the promoter region of an artificial convergent transcription construct upon induction of transcription.

<p>(A and B) MeDIP results showing the DNA methylation status of the <i>ccg-1</i> promoter, <i>luc</i> gene body, and the <i>qa-2</i> promoter of the indicated construct. The artificial construct <i>Pqa-2:cul:1-gccP</i> (A) or <i>Pqa-2:cul</i> (B) resides at the <i>his-3</i> locus. The top cartoon of each panel depicts the architecture of the construct and black bars indicate the approximate location of primer sets. Three independent repeats were performed. Values are mean ± s.d. (C) Distribution of DNA methylation at the endogenous location of the <i>qa-2</i> promoter of the <i>Pqa-2:cul:1-gccP</i> strain. (D) Distribution of DNA methylation around the <i>Pqa-2:cul:1-gccP</i> construct at the <i>his-3</i> locus with/without the activation of the <i>qa-2</i> promoter. In panels A-D, QA+ and QA- indicate presence or absence of quinic acid (QA), respectively. DNA methylation was measured with MeDIP. (E) <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#s2" target="_blank">Results</a> of bisulfite PCR in the region upstream of the <i>qa-2</i> promoter of the <i>Pqa-2:cul:1-gccP</i> construct. Two aliquots of genomic DNA from <i>Pqa-2:cul:1-gccP</i> strain, one digested with <i>Bfu</i>CI and one untreated, were subject to bisulfite treatment and sequencing, respectively (strategy 2 of bisulfite sequencing, primer sequences in <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#pgen.1003761.s012" target="_blank">table S4</a>). Each row of circles represents the order and number of cytosines in the subcloned sequence. Opened and filled circles indicate unmethylated and methylated cytosine, respectively.</p

DNA methylation and disiRNA in <i>disi-47</i> locus requires transcription.

<p>(A) The disiRNA distribution at <i>disi-47</i> locus in wild-type and <i>wc-2^KO</i> strain. Arrows indicate the transcription start sites. dLRE and pLRE are the two WC complex binding sites. The red bars indicate approximate primer set locations (see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003761#pgen.1003761.s009" target="_blank">Table S1</a> for primer sequences). (B) RT-qPCR analyses of <i>frq</i> mRNA. (C) RT-qPCR analyses of the transcripts in the <i>frq</i> promoter region from a wild-type strain grown in constant light (LL) or constant darkness (DD) conditions and the <i>wc-2^KO</i> strain grown in LL. (D) MeDIP results of the dLRE region in the wild-type (LL and DD conditions) and the <i>wc-2^KO</i> strains (LL). In (B), (C) and (D), three independent repeats were performed. Values are mean ± s.d.</p

Pol III knockdown results in the reduction of milRNA expression.

<p>A. Race tube assays showing the growth rates of the indicated strains in the presence or absence of QA. B. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>rpc5</i>-specific siRNA in the indicated strains. C. qRT-PCR analysis showing the reduction of pri-milR levels when <i>rpc5</i> was silenced. rRNA level was used as the loading control for qRT-PCR. A Pol III-transcribed tRNA was served as a positive control. D. Northern blot showing the levels of <i>milR-1</i> and <i>milR-4</i> small RNAs.</p

RNA sequencing of poly(A) RNA results showing the presence/absence of Pol II transcripts in the selected milR loci.

<p>Viewing window was set as 2000 nt. The vertical line in each panel indicates the location of the indicated <i>milR</i> gene.</p

RNase Z is required for <i>milR-4</i> processing.

<p>A. A Diagram showing the predicted secondary structure of <i>pri-milR-4</i>. B. RT-PCR analysis, which used a pair of primers indicated in A, showing the presence of transcript that spanning the two alanine tRNAs and <i>milR-4</i>. C. Race tube assays showing the growth rates of the indicated strains in the presence or absence of QA. D. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>rnaseZ</i>-specific siRNA in the indicated strains. E. qRT-PCR analysis showing the reduction of <i>rnaseZ</i> mRNA level in the ds<i>rnaseZ</i> strain in the presence of QA. The asterisk indicates <i>P</i> value<0.05. Error bars indicate S.D. F. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>milR-4</i> milRNAs in the indicated strains in the presence or absence of QA.</p

The involvement of Pol II in milRNA production.

<p>A. Race tube assays showing the growth rates of the indicated strains in the presence or absence of QA. B. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>rpb5</i>-specific siRNA in the indicated strains. C and D. qRT-PCR analysis results showing the reduction of <i>rpb5 and β-tubulin</i> level in ds<i>rpb5</i> strain in the presence of QA. The asterisks indicate <i>P</i> value<0.05. Error bars indicate S.D. E. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>milR-1</i> and <i>milR-4</i> small RNAs. F. ChIP assay using c-Myc antibody showing the binding of Pol II to milR loci in the Myc-RPB6 strain. A <i>tRNA</i> and the <i>β-tubulin</i> gene was served as the negative control and positive control, respectively.</p

<i>milR-1</i> transcription is mediated by a non-conventional Pol III promoter.

<p>A. Northern blot analysis showing the levels of <i>milR-1</i> in the indicated strains. B. qRT-PCR analysis showing the reduction of <i>pri-milR-1</i> levels in the <i>mut1</i> and <i>mut2</i> strains. WT and <i>milR-1^ko</i> served as the positive and negative control, respectively. C. ChIP assays using the c-Myc antibody showing the reduced binding of Myc-RPC7 at the <i>milR-1</i> locus with the mutated TATA-like element. The asterisk indicates <i>P</i> value<0.05. Error bars indicate S.D.</p