Sexting

Open Access: No.

Abstract

Young women are increasingly engaging with digital sexual media, yet discussion of female desire remains absent or is vilified. This paper examines young women’s online sexual expression, as seen through the eyes of both young men and young women. Based on small friendship group interviews conducted with 106 12-16-year-old young women and men in Aotearoa New Zealand, I analysed perceptions of young women’s sexual expression. Framed through patriarchal ideals and underpinned by competitive masculinity, young women’s sexuality and opportunities for sexual expression were policed and regulated. Young women were expected to be passive yet digitally heterosexy, but not slutty. Perceptions of young women’s sexual expression continue to be framed within silencing and absent pleasure discourses, which ultimately compromises both young men and women’s development of sexual subjectivities.

Relevance

According to these young people aged 12-16, boys involvement in sexting was largely justified as biological (e.g., due to hormones); girls who sexted were often labelled “slutty” and “wanting attention.”

Girls but not boys were often pressured to send nude images; boys but not girls were pressured to share images they received (without consent from the initial sender).

Boys collected these images to impress their male peers.

“The individuals whose images were shared experienced put downs in terms of body image, bullying, slut shaming and victim blaming, all of which carried implications for young women’s reputation, social status and cultural capital.” When images were non-consensually shared, “young women experienced greater harm overall” from harassment, reputation damage, intimidation, sexual advances and abuse, and humiliation.

Many of the young women, but not the young men, linked the non-consensually sharing of intimate images to other forms of gendered violence. One young woman called it “mental rape.”

Girls felt that boys who non-consensually shared images should be punished; the boys also blamed the victims.

“The findings suggest that young women’s sexuality and sexual expression were framed through a patriarchal lens which emphasised competitive masculinity.”  And, “Young women’s sexuality and sexual expression were tightly regulated and young women were expected to be navigate between being sexually passive, digitally heterosexy, but not slutty. Engaging with sexting was considered risky in terms of exposure, shame and reputational damage. As women were viewed as being responsible for all of their sexual decisions, they were forced to accept responsibility of risk and any harassment they might receive. This was compounded by slut shaming and victim blaming.”

Citation

Meehan C. (2022). Young people’s perceptions of young women’s engagement in sexting. Culture, health & sexuality, 24(10), 1395–1407. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2021.1956594