Speak to a group of single women who date men, and chances are one of them will have a story about an unsolicited d**k pic.
The phenomenon is a baffling one. Although it ~seems~ that common sense would suggest sending a photo of genitalia requires consent, a subset of society continues to sling out nudes like they were free hugs.
Image: Columbia Pictures
The conundrum is so vexing, in fact, that a group of scientists from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in Montreal decided to complete a study on it.
As news.com.au has reported, the research looked into the motivations behind (very, very) unwanted photos of penises, and the findings were surprising.
For the study, a group of “men who have sex with women” were surveyed on sexual behaviours including “photographic exhibitionism” (i.e. sending unsolicited d**k pics).
Those fellas who revealed they had shared their junk without being asked to were then quizzed further on the reasons behind the, er, bold move.
Additionally, the study looked at elements like “narcissism, erotophilia-erotophobia, and gender-role belief. Participants were also asked whether they had ever engaged in any non-technology mediated acts of exhibitionism.”
The somewhat surprising results showed that the most common motivation these men had for sending photos of their genitals was a “transactional mindset“. Or in other words: the expectation that they would receive a nude snap in return.
Image: Universal Pictures
This is particularly surprising because the act of exposing yourself to someone who has not indicated they’re okay with it comes across as disrespectful and even aggressive. So the view that it could be a means of turning someone on is truly perplexing.
But, wait! There’s more.
Researchers went on to analyse the broader personality traits of the participants. These results, however, were less shocking:
“Of particular interest were differences in personality characteristics between men who do, and do not, send unsolicited penis pictures,” the paper stated.
Disparities were seen specifically “on variables of narcissism and both hostile and benevolent sexism”.
So, long story, short: if you think someone wants a photo of your bits, ask them first. If they are not into it, put down the phone and desist.