Study: Hawaii Loves Porn

A nationwide study of online porn consumption has been raising eyebrows, most pundits seizing on the strong correlation between conservative and religious states (a.k.a. "Red States") and the number of porn subscriptions. But I was amused to discover that Hawaii is the number two consumer of porn, behind only Utah.

Seriously. Just read the actual study, published by Harvard Business School's Benjamin Edelman in the Winter 2009 edition of the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Page 9, Table 2 shows Hawaii solidly in second place in porn subscriptions per 1,000 residents and per home internet users, and in the top five when adjusted for broadband use and demographics.

Edelman notes that eight of the ten states that went to John McCain in the 2008 election are also the biggest porn consumers... and he describes Hawaii and Florida as the exceptions. Of course, Florida only barely tipped in Barack Obama's favor. But Hawaii's situation is more interesting. Politically, Hawaii is very "blue," and thanks to Obama's island ties, he took the Aloha State in a landslide. At first blush, it would seem that Hawaii is a significant outlier in Edelman's study.

But people who live here, and especially those who are born and raised here, will tell you that there's no mystery. While our politics may lean left, our culture largely leans right. I'm generally loathe to speak in stark, binary terms, Hawaii may look like a liberal paradise on the surface, but its foundation is very socially conservative. It's just that this fact only bubbles to the surface periodically, such as in the recent debate over civil unions (and the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that residents overwhelmingly voted for in 1998, surprising even me).

"Subscriptions are slightly more prevalent in states that have enacted conservative legislation on sexuality," notes Edelman. "Subscriptions are also more prevalent in states where surveys indicate conservative positions on religion, gender roles, and sexuality." So in some ways, Hawaii and Utah may not be that different.

How does porn consumption correlate with urban density? Or marriage and divorce rates? It's an interesting study, and worth a read.