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“It’s Not the Right Way to Do Stuff on Facebook:” An Investigation of Adolescent Girls’ and Young Women’s attitudes Toward Sexualized Photos on Social Media

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Abstract

Using thematic analysis of interview data, the present study assessed teen girls’ and young adult women’s attitudes toward posting sexualized profile photos on Facebook. In addition, sexualization behaviors depicted in participants’ profile photos were examined. Participants overwhelmingly disapproved (either in a reluctant or a clear manner) of posting a profile photo of oneself in underwear on social media. A somewhat different pattern emerged in attitudes about posting a swimsuit photo in which specific conditions were laid out determining whether swimsuit photos were acceptable or not. Sexualization cues in profile photos were generally low. Findings suggest that posting a sexualized photo on social media comes with relational costs for girls and women. Strategies for educating young people about new media use and sexualization are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Circle of Excellence Grant to the first author from Oregon State University Cascades. We thank Marlee Layh, a graduate student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and the many research assistants at Oregon State University Cascades who assisted on this project for their careful work, especially Emily Clark, Desiree Jackson, Patricia Forsberg, CaraLyn Chamberlen, Taylor McGowan, Emily Williams, Monika Castaneda, Rebecca Lovelady, Heather Springer, and Megan Knight.

Funding

This study was funded by an internal Grant to the first author from Oregon State University Cascades’ Circle of Excellence Program.

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  1. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA

    Elizabeth A. Daniels

  2. University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Eileen L. Zurbriggen

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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Daniels.

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Daniels, E.A., Zurbriggen, E.L. “It’s Not the Right Way to Do Stuff on Facebook:” An Investigation of Adolescent Girls’ and Young Women’s attitudes Toward Sexualized Photos on Social Media. Sexuality & Culture 20, 936–964 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-016-9367-9

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