Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Sending Nudes: Intent and Risk Associated with ‘Sexting’ as Understood by Gay Adolescent Boys

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigates the understanding of teenage boys, who do not identify as heterosexual, as they reflect on the intent and risks associated with sending and receiving self-generated sexual images (sexting). Questions within the research surrounded the prevalence of adolescent sexting practice, the relationship between behaviour and sexual identity and the motivations specifically in the gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning/undecided participants (GBTQ). This questionnaire based study surveyed 2198 14–18 year old males, of which 2034 returned the questionnaire, 5.9% of these self-identifying as GBTQ. The study showed that overall sexting practice increases with age, from 37.8% at 14-years to 52.7% among 17-year olds. The average percentage of sexting in those who reported as heterosexual was 43.9% contrasted with 63% for those who identified as GBTQ. Whilst each episode of sexting, particularly images sent to a stranger, presents a potential risk to the individual, this study shows those young men who identify as GBTQ place themselves at increased vulnerability, with 33.3% of these young men admitting to sending images to people they did not really know, compared to 16.8% of heterosexual sexters. The arising themes and dependent connections within the study support the conclusion that, whilst sexting may be associated with risk taking behaviours such as early initiation of sexual activity, unsafe sex, bullying and access to alcohol and illegal drugs, participants did report a degree of positive impact. Sexting was reported to support relationships, allow access to similar peers and increase self-confidence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albury, K. (2017). Just because its public doesn’t mean it’s any of your business: Adults’ and children’s sexual rights in digitally mediated spaces. New Media & Society, 19(5), 713–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albury, K., & Byron, P. (2014). Queering sexting and sexualisation. Media International Australia, 153, 138–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauermeister, J., Yeagley, E., Meanley, S., & Pingel, E. (2014). Sexting among young men who have sex with men: Results from a national survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 606–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BERA. (2018). Ethical guidelines for educational research (4th ed.). London: British Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, D., Morelli, M., & Baiocco, R. (2016). Psychometric properties of the sexting motivations questionnaire for adolescents and young adults. Rassegna di Psicologia, 3(35), 5–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkett, M. (2015). Sex(t) talk: A qualitative analysis of young adults’ negotiations of the pleasure and perils of sexting. Sexuality and Culture, 19, 835–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champion, A., & Pedersen, C. (2015). Investigating differences between sexters and non-sexters on attitudes, subjective norms, and risky sexual behaviours. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 24(3), 205–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • College of Policing. (2016). Briefing note: Police action in response to youth produced sexual imagery (sexting), Version 1. College of Policing.

  • Davidson, J. (2014). Sexting: Gender and teens. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • de Gámez-Guadix, M., Santisteban, P., & Resett, S. (2017). Sexting among Spanish adolescents: Prevalence and personality profiles. Psicothema, 29(1), 29–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handschuh, C. La, Cross, A., & Smaldone, A. (2018). Is sexting associated with sexual behaviors during adolescence? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 64(1), 88–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hertlein, K., Shadid, C., & Steelman, S. (2015). Exploring perceptions of acceptability of sexting in same-sex, bisexual, heterosexual relationships and communities. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 14(4), 342–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HM Government. (2003). Sexual Offense Act. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents. Accessed 2 April 2018.

  • HM Government. (2018). Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education, Department for Education Guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, teachers. https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education/supporting_documents/20170718_%20Draft%20guidance%20for%20consultation.pdf. Accessed 2 December 2018.

  • Houck, C., Barker, D., Rizzo, C., Hancock, E., Norton, A., & Brown, L. (2014). Sexting and sexual behaviour in at-risk adolescents. Pediatrics, 133, e276–e282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonsson, L., Bladh, M., Priebe, G., & Svedin, C. (2015). Online sexual behaviours among Swedish youth: Associations to background factors, behaviours and abuse. European Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 1245–1260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, A. (2012). Sexting among US adolescents: Psychological and legal perspectives. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 20(2), 86–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jütte, S. (2016). Online child sexual abuse images: Doing more to tackle demand and supply. London: NSPCC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klettke, B., Hallford, D., & Mellor, D. (2014). Sexting prevalence and correlates: A systematic literature review. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 44–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M., & Crofts, T. (2015). Gender, pressure, coercion and pleasure: Untangling motivations for sexting between young people. British Journal of Criminology, 55, 454–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M., Crofts, T., & McGovern, A. Milivojevic. (2015). Sexting among young people: Perceptions and practices. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 508, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martel, M. (2013). Sexual selection and sex differences in the prevalence of childhood externalizing and adolescent internalizing disorders. Psychological Bulletin, 139(6), 1221–1259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, K., Finkelhor, D., Jones, L., & Wolak, J. (2012). Prevalence and characteristics of youth sexting: A national survey. Pediatrics, 128(1), 13–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mowlabocus, S. (2007). Gay men and the pornification of everyday life. In S. Paasonen, K. Nikunen, & L. Soarenmaa (Eds.), Pornification: Sex and sexuality in media culture (pp. 61–71). New York: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of National Statistics. (2016). Sexual identity, UK: 2016. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/bulletins/sexualidentityuk/2016. Accessed 2 December 2018.

  • Pingel, E., Bauermeister, J., Johns, M., Eisenberg, A., & Leslie-Santana, M. (2012). A safe way to explore’: Reframing risk on the internet amidst young gay men’s search for identity. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(4), 453–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quayle, E., & Newman, E. (2015). The role of sexual images in online and offline sexual behaviour with minors. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17(6), 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Rhoades, H., Winetrobe, H., Sanchez, M., Montoya, J., Plant, A., et al. (2012). Sexually explicit cell phone messaging associated with sexual risk among adolescents. Pediatrics, 130(4), 667–675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ṧevčỉková, A. (2016). Girls’ and boys’ experience with teen sexting in early and late adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 51, 156–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shields-Dobson, A. (2015). ‘The things you didn’t do’: Gender, slut-shaming, and the need to address sexual harassment in narrative resources responding to sexting and cyber bullying. In A. Shields-Dobson (Ed.), Post-feminist digital cultures: Femininity, social media and self-representation (pp. 2–15). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Silva, R., Teixeira, C., Vasconcelos-Raposo, J., & Bessa, M. (2016). Sexting: Adaption of sexual behaviour to modern technologies. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 747–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UKCCIS. (2016). Sexting in schools and colleges: Responding to incidents and safeguarding young people. London: UK Council for Child and Internet Safety.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Oosten, J., & Vandenbosch, L. (2017). Sexy online self-presentation on social network sites and the willingness to engage in sexting: A comparison of gender and age. Journal of Adolescence, 54, 42–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Ouytsel, J., Walrave, M., & Van Gool, E. (2014). Sexting: Between thrill and fear—how schools can respond. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 87(5), 204–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ybarra, M., & Mitchell, K. (2014). Sexting’ and its relation to sexual activity and sexual risk behaviour in a national survey of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55, 757–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No funding was received in connection with this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Halesowen, West Midlands, UK

    Jon Needham

Authors
  1. Jon Needham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declare that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Committee of Newman University (Ref No. 1704280-180501) and with the BERA (2018) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research.

Additional information

This article is dedicated to David whose brave disclosure inspired this research.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Needham, J. Sending Nudes: Intent and Risk Associated with ‘Sexting’ as Understood by Gay Adolescent Boys. Sexuality & Culture 25, 396–416 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09775-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09775-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation