Digital media and the unsolicited dick pic – constructions of masculinity and femininity among Swedish teens

• The prevalence of sexting and dissemination of explicit sexual images (ESI)among teenagers has risen with mobile technology. Social media plat-forms amplify these practices, perpetuating problematic usage patterns.This study explores the understanding of how young people perceive thesenders and receivers of unsolicited dick pics, focusing on gender con-struction. Ten semi-structured group interviews with cisgendered girlsand boys aged 12–16 were conducted and analysed thematically. Thefindings show that boys are the primary senders of dick pics, while girlsare primarily on the receiving end, with boys and girls interpreting unso-licited dick pics differently. Girls more often viewed such behaviour asromantic, while only boys recognized it as harassment. This disparityemphasizes the need for internet safety education and interventions tochallenge mainstream constructions of gender norms. By addressingthese issues, educators and caregivers can better support adolescents innavigating the complexities of online interactions and promoting healthyrelationships.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Adolescents; explicit sexualimages; gender norms;sexting; sexual solicitation;social media

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

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