Body image self-consciousness and sexting among heterosexual and non-exclusively heterosexual individuals

Abstract

This study sought to explore whether body image self-consciousness during sexual relations predicts whether and for what reasons individuals send sexts. A series of ordinal and binary logistic regression analyses revealed that increased body image self-consciousness during sexual relations predicted consensual but unwanted instances of sexting for men and women, a lower frequency of sending sexts among heterosexual individuals, and a lesser likelihood of sending sexts in order to flirt. Body image self-consciousness, however, was not predictive of sending sexts in general or sending sexts in order to ‘feel sexy’. This research provides support for the negative relationship between body image self-consciousness and sexual agency across gender, and suggests that individuals affected by body image anxieties might be prone to technology-mediated abuse. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.