Sexting

Open Access: Yes.

Abstract

This paper draws upon a qualitative study with 144 young people in seven different research schools in England, exploring how cis-heteronormative homosocial masculinity practices shape digital sexual image exchange. We examine three types of practices: 1) boys asking girls for nudes (pressurized sexting, which we position as online sexual harassment); 2) transactional nude solicitation (boys sending dick pics and asking girls for nudes, which we position as image based sexual harassment and cyberflashing); 3) non-consensual sharing of girls and boys nude images (which we position as image based sexual abuse, showing the differential impacts with lasting sexual stigma worse for girls). Our findings confirm earlier research that demonstrated homosocial masculinity currency is gained via the non-consensual sharing of images of girls’ bodies. We also investigate the more recent rise of male nudes (dick pics) and how a homosocial culture of humour and lad banter tends to lessen the sexual stigmatization of leaked dick pics. We argue providing boys with time and space to reflect on homosocial masculinity performances is crucial for disrupting these practices and our conclusions outline new UK school guidance for tackling online sexual harassment, cyberflashing and image-based sexual abuse.

Relevance

The study found that “homosocial dynamics of pressure have led to boys  pressuring girls to produce and send images to boys and men.” In all, 70% of the girls had been asked to send nudes photos. “Many requests for nudes  were from unknown men or boys in their networks on Snapchat and Instagram, but girls were also asked by users that they termed ‘friends of  friends’ or known boys at school,” and often multiple girls were asked simultaneously by the same boy.

Often, boys initiate the request by sending girls unsolicited ‘dick pics.’ “Girls discussed receiving transactional dick pics from strangers online as well as from romantic or sexual interests the girls knew.”

Among the boys, it is “ubiquitous” to share any nudes they received with the wider peer  group. This is done nonconsensually. Normative heterosexual masculinity was enacted through an “economy in which sexual images of girls’ bodies functioned as a form of currency between boys.” Sending out these images was a way to garner attention, respect, and prestige. But “there is a lack of awareness of these practices as abusive.”

If a boy’s “dick pic” is circulated by a girl, there is little consequence. By contrast, the girls are rather abusively shamed when their images are nonconsensually circulated. This is a clear double-standard.

The boys were aware that most of the girls did not want to receive “dick pics,” yet they still sent them. And while the girls did not want to be pressured for nudes or to receive unwanted dick pics, they did not view this as sexual harassment.

Note: What was missing from this otherwise excellent article was the recognition or discussion that these practices all originate from, and emulate, mainstream pornography.

Citation

Ringrose, J., Regehr, K., & Whitehead, S. (2022). Wanna Trade?: Cisheteronormative homosocial masculinity and the normalization of abuse in youth digital sexual image exchange. Journal of Gender Studies, 31(2), 243–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1947206