Sext-ual Double Standards: Gender Differences and the Gender-Related Consequences of Sexting for Adolescents

• In Event: Hybrid High-Density: Sex and Sexting and Pornography, Oh My!

Abstract

This study explored a possible sexual double standard for adolescent boys and girls regarding sexting through a survey of 201 girls and boys aged 14-17 in the Midwestern region of the United States. The results showed that even though girls felt more negatively about sexting than boys, they felt a strong pressure to sext and thus intended to sext, while boys were more likely to request sext messages than girls. Furthermore, girls reported experiencing more negative consequences of sexting while boys reaped more benefits of sexting, and the acceptance of women as sex objects predicts attitudes about sexting and intention to sext for both boys and girls. Thus, the results confirm that at least in this sample, sexting functions on a system of sexual double standards. The results of this study can inform parents, teens, practitioners, and researchers about sexting double-standards, and can aid targeted intervention programs.

Author

• Ashton Gerding Speno, Southern Illinois U - Edwardsville