Sexting is a form of role play that occurs on mobile devices on various social media platforms. Unlike most people believe, it is actually not a millennial phenomenon. Many people from different ages and walks of life enjoy the thrills of sexting.
A study showed that 82% of respondents ages 18-82 had engaged in sexting before, and have done it in the last year.
Is it shameful to send nudes? With such a high number of people engaging in this technological sexual activity, you would think slut-shaming would be at a low; however, increased amounts of hate are shown especially to women whose nude photos are leaked onto the internet. Comments such as “trash, desperate and filthy” plague women’s comment sections of their social media.
This is the risk one takes when sending nudes to strangers and partners. In an ideal world we would not feel ashamed about our bodies, however, unfortunately, we live in a world where female, intersex, and transgender bodies are seen as shameful and dirty and where people will interpret the sending of a naked photo as evidence against your character.
Just like physical sex, there’s nothing inherently wrong with exchanging nudes. Feeling good about your body, documenting it in a photo, and inviting someone to participate in that by sharing the photo with them is not ‘morally’ sinful.
I’m not giving the go-ahead to send naked pictures of your body. To be clear you should never, ever send a nude to someone because you feel pressured to do so. You are in control of your own body and your sexuality!
The problem with sharing nudes is that the receiver of that nude shouldn’t be trusted. In many cases, people have fallen victim to revenge porn and leaked images of themselves due to the receiver being spiteful. This leads to people suffering from depression because of the embarrassment and harsh words being said to them by family members and strangers.
In my opinion, I am not for or against nudes. I feel people should feel free to do and send what they like to one another but they should also be safe in doing so.