One thing that all these people agree on, though, is that the effects of pornography are negative. In newspaper stories and magazine articles we hear about people whose lives have been destroyed by it. We hear stories about guilt, shame, pathetic empty lives relying on, and destroyed by, dehumanised, objectified images of sex.

Fair enough. But what about the positive effects of pornography on consumers?

The University of Queensland and The University of Sydney are currently in the middle of a three-year research project called "Understanding Pornography in Australia" They are studying what kinds of pornography are being produced in Australia, what people are buying, what's actually in it (violence? objectification?) and what effects it has on its consumers. One part of this project is the largest survey of consumers of pornography ever done. Over one thousand people who use adult materials in their own lives have taken part, discussing their use of porn, and their attitudes towards adult materials, sexuality, feminism and other issues. The results have been surprising.

There are indeed people out there who have had bad experiences with pornography. The final figures and results aren't ready yet – everything has to be checked by independent experts before they can release the data – but it looks as though the number of people experiencing negative effects is very small indeed. By contrast, a large majority of porn users thought that it had either no effects on their attitudes towards sexuality or even a positive effect.

The most common positive effect reported is that pornography helps consumers to become more relaxed and comfortable about sex. People are also reporting that pornography has made them more open-minded and experimental – which they feel is a positive thing. Several people in long term marriages and relationships claim that it has helped to spice up the physical side of their relationships. Another effect that keeps coming up is increased tolerance towards people of different sexualities. Respondents have also mentioned the pleasure they get from pornography, as well as the educative effect it has - showing them other people's bodies and pleasures. According to the survey, pornography has also had a positive effect for people in marginal sexual groups – such as gay men – who have found out from it that they are not alone in their sexual preferences.

No final claims can be made until all the data has been checked but what is apparent so far in the study is that the debates we see about pornography in the public sphere don稚 seem to match up with the reality of the situation at all.