Boobs, back-off, six packs and bits: Mediated body parts, gendered reward, and sexual shame in teens' sexting images
Abstract
In this paper, we explore a contemporary panic around teen sexting considering why it focuses mostly on girls' bodies and ‘breasts’. Drawing on empirical findings from research with 13- and 15-year olds in two London schools, we ask: How are girls' and boys' mediated bodies and body parts constructed, negotiated and made sense of in the teen peer group? How are images of girls' breasts surveilled and owned by others? In what ways can images of girls' bodies be used to sexually shame them? How do images of ‘boobs’ work differently than those of ‘six-packs’ and ‘pecs’? When and how is digital proof of sexual activity shamed or rewarded? Our analysis explores the affective dimensions of digital affordances and how relative gendered value is generated through social media images and practices. We demonstrate how our qualitative research approach facilitates exploration of the online and offline relational, material embodied performance of negotiating gender and sexuality in teen's digitally mediated peer cultures.
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The fallout of the non-consensual sharing and showing of nude images was described as worse for girls.
“Moreover, the fallout of the non-consensual sharing and showing of nude images was described as worse for girls, which aligns with previous research on how girls commonly face slut-shaming (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill, & Liv ingstone, 2013; Ringrose & Harvey, 2015; Ricciardelli & Adorjan, 2019) and victim-blaming (Mishna et al., 2021; Lippman & Campbell, 2014) and their images are”
From Young people's experiences of image-based sexual harassment and abuse in England and Canada: Toward a feminist framing of technologically facilitated sexual violence (2022) · cites this paper as Ringrose & Harvey, 2015
Both IBSH and IBSA stem from aggressive and predatory, homosocial masculinity practices and competitive, heterosexual peer hierarchies, with more harmful effects for girls.
“Both stem from aggressive and predatory, homosocial masculinity practices (Hayes & Dragiewicz, 2018; Mandau, 2019) and competitive, heterosexual peer hierarchies (Ringrose & Harvey, 2015) with more harmful effects for girls.”
From Young people's experiences of image-based sexual harassment and abuse in England and Canada: Toward a feminist framing of technologically facilitated sexual violence (2022) · cites this paper as Ringrose & Harvey, 2015
This is likely partly because these were the cases that they knew about from their school environments and peer interactions which had gone wrong, resulting in images being 'leaked' and 'exposed'.
“This is again likely partly because these were the cases that they knew about from their school environments and peer in teractions which had gone wrong, resulting in images being 'leaked ' and 'exposed ' (see also Ringrose & Harvey, 2015).”
From Young people's experiences of image-based sexual harassment and abuse in England and Canada: Toward a feminist framing of technologically facilitated sexual violence (2022) · cites this paper as Ringrose & Harvey, 2015
Keeping a dick pic did not serve as currency or evidence of sexual kudos for girls in the same way nudes of girls are celebrated among heterosexual boys.
“so it did not serve as a form of currency or evidence of sexual kudos in the same way that nudes of girls tend to be celebrated amongst heterosexual boys (Ringrose & Harvey, 2015; Salter, 2016a).”
From Teen Girls’ Experiences Negotiating the Ubiquitous Dick Pic: Sexual Double Standards and the Normalization of Image Based Sexual Harassment (2021) · cites this paper as Ringrose & Harvey, 2015
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References 52 · Cited by 200
- Authors
- Ringrose, J., & Harvey, L.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- University of Surrey (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ringrose, Jessica
- Venue
- Continuum
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-03-04
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 205-217
- ISSN
- 1030-4312 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-3666
- OpenAlex
- W1870695261
- Cited by
- 200
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 33.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Continuum (publishedVersion)
- Open Research (University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Surrey Research Insight Open Access (The University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/J02208X/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Sexuality, and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Keywords
- body image, breast, sexual shame, adolescent sexuality, peer culture, social media, digital affordances, gender performance, surveillance, girls' bodies
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