Female Continues to Comment on His Social Media Post
Thesis Statement
There is a gender imbalance online and offline when it comes to young females posting and sharing revealing photos on social media compared to young males. Young girls are receiving negative comments and reactions because of the images they post on social media, however males who upload photos with similar content tend to receive less negative attention. It is discussed in this paper how Web 2.0 and social media aids the sharing of these images.
Abstract
It is shown in this paper how technology and social media aids the sharing of these images. This paper explores how young girls are receiving negative comments and reactions because of the more revealing images they post on social media unlike their male friends. The negative comments take place both in person and online and people share similar opinions regardless of how they are expressed. The first point will compare the reactions and comments made when it comes to females sharing intimate images of themselves from a young male and young female perspective. The reactions that females get compared to males when they have intercourse and how this can be linked to similar treatment they receive when sharing intimate photos will also be discussed. The situations are different but the double standard between males and females is still very active and similar in both situations. Young females are looked down upon unlike their fellow male students who are celebrated. These opinions can translate onto social media and societies acceptance of intimate photos, the same double standard exists in both events. The final point will compare how female students aged between 10 and 17 are treated online compared to offline. There is a clear sexual double standard between males and females in the offline world and the online world. This shows how the thoughts of their fellow students can follow the young females from their online social media life to their real offline lives. This paper's objective is to bring to light these imbalances from both male and female perspectives comparing and contrasting students' opinions.
Young girls are receiving negative comments and reactions because of the images they post on social media, however males who upload photos with similar content tend to receive less negative attention. The internet, specifically Web 2.0, social media and mobile phones are aiding the sharing of young female student's intimate images. A double standard between young males and young females when it comes to the sharing of revealing or intimate photos online is evident. It is taboo for a young female to share an intimate photo, it is seen as a stupid action but getting a hold of this photo as a male gives the male student notoriety between their friends and fellow male students. Intimate photos are images of individuals which depict a person being nude and showing their sexual organs or breasts, or images containing any sexual activity. This paper will discuss the double standards and imbalance between male and females when it comes to the sharing of intimate and revealing images through technology including social media (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015).
A double standard has been created between young males and young females when it comes to the sharing of revealing or intimate photos online. Young females who take intimate photos of themselves typically get blamed if their photo is shared without consent, however there seems to be no negative reactions for the male students who take part in sharing these photos. Giovanna Mascheroni, Jane Vincent and Estefania Jimenez conducted interviews between students aged 11-16 in countries such as Italy, UK and Spain. They interviewed the students on the issue asking them questions to gauge their reactions and opinions on young females posting online. The interviewers asked questions relating to young females sharing intimate photos and getting the comments from both male and female students. Sharing intimate messages is not a recent activity but the sharing of intimate images is and has been aided and made easier with the use of mobile phones (Berlatsky, 2015).
Social media is a part of Web 2.0 which is the second generation of the internet. Web 2.0 allows people to collaborate and share information and lets users contribute to this information via social media, blogging and through web-based communities. Web 2.0 allows users to interact with each other and this allowed the sharing of intimate images via social media ("What is Web 2.0? – Definition from Techopedia", n.d.). Before Web 2.0, students could share intimate images and messages through text but now they can also share them through social media which has become a part of our everyday lives. Social media is a big part of Web 2.0 because of its ability to connect people instantly.
Young girls are posting images of themselves on social media but are receiving negative reactions and are perceived to be struggling for social acceptance online (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). The images that young females are posting online often get a mix of positive and negative attention and the poster can also receive unexpected bullying and stranger grooming. While they receive mostly negative reactions, it is also believed by their peers that it is deserved. Students in the study were also aware that males did not receive the same reactions. The girls posting these images are often lifted up by their close friends who leave comments like "stunning", "beautiful", and "love you" (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). These comments would be the only positivity attached to these photos. The rest of the attention is negative and is often people thinking poorly of the young females for their choice to take the photo. A female student said when the picture is of a boy without a t-shirt or in his underwear, no negative comments are made but encouraging comments such as "you're the boss" are made by their friends. The female students can be insulted by fellow male students by name calling. Another says that young male students can take their tops off and if they've got a six-pack or an appealing appearance, they can show it and post it on Facebook and other social media sites. Boys are more likely to post these photos compared to female students. Although boys may post more photos of themselves with little clothes on, they are celebrated but females are looked down upon. This shows the double standard that males and females are subjected to when it comes to posting revealing photos online or sharing them via messaging or texting (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015).
In another journal article the authors also interviewed school students on the topic of young girls sharing images. A young female mentioned a competition that involves young male students where they try and see who can get the best photos of nude female students and the competition even came to who had the best photos of larger breasts or who had the photo of the most popular girl. This situation uses technology, social media and Web 2.0 to share the images, but they are more private intimate images. The images are shared through private messaging or texting. Even though the messages are being sent with technology they are often between two parties that are known to each other in the offline real word., There are situations where two people meet online and keep their relationship online only, due to the two parties living too far apart to see each other, or if catfishing is involved and one doesn't want to meet with the other because they will be caught lying and deceiving the other. In the situation of male students getting photos to show their fellow male students, the intimate photos have more credit if the female student in the photos is known in the offline world (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill & Livingstone, 2013).
The young female students still blamed the problem on their fellow female students for sharing their photos and not the act of male students showing their friends or sending them around. Several other female students also blamed the fellow female students for taking the photos in the first place. Four year 10 girls said 'it is the girl's fault most of the time. They shouldn't be taking the pictures in the first place' (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill & Livingstone, 2013). Another also says, 'the boys make it worse by spreading it, but the boys don't really care' (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill & Livingstone, 2013). This attitude puts blame on the young female students in the pictures but does not hold equal blame on the male students who were involved in sharing the images. The interviewer then asks what their thoughts are regarding if the male takes the photo of the female during a sexual experience, with the young female's response being that it's the young male's fault but also the young females for letting him take the photo. The year 10 girls said if a male has sex then it's was viewed as positive by their fellow students but if a female student has sex it's seen negatively. Females are not held to the same standard as male students and this situation already shows the double standards when comparing the two genders. The discussion/interview that unfolded shows the clear double standard based on gender. During the discussion both males and females are criticised for their actions but the females sharing the images on social media or via texting are perceived as stupid for putting themselves in the situation, even if the males have taken the photos the females are still stupid for letting them take the photos. Male students were also asked what they thought about the action of sharing intimate photos. The male students found that they would get respect from their fellow male students for having these photos but also thought the girls were 'slutty' for sending the photos. As the male students gained respect the female students involved in the photos lost respect. The male students also said it was common to share the images and to show their male friends. One male student even says girls like this he wouldn't love (referring to a girl who wrote his name on her breasts and uploaded it to social media using Web 2.0). He didn't know why, he just wouldn't love or have respect for them. He would just have sex with her and then he would leave her. He would talk to her, but he wouldn't get into a relationship with her. This view showed that their online opinions continued into the real world. Such kind of situation also showed that even though the male student got a good photo when it came to the social competition between male students, he didn't respect the female individual who took the photo.
These double standards are not new but are further aided by technology which allows youth to circulate these images with ease, such as social media sites and mobile phones. Interestingly one male student said that girls who sent these images didn't respect themselves but then also said that he didn't respect them either.
The double standards do not just show in the online world. People's online identities are directly linked to their real identities and with this the opinions they received online followed into their real lives. Young females and males are inclined to present or create the best side of themselves online that they personally believe will be liked and well received by their peers (Boyd, 2007). Offline females get treated the same as online females. This is shown in the situation where the male student is tagged in a public photo of his name written on a young female's breast. He said that girls who post photos like that he would never love but just have sex with and leave (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill & Livingstone, 2013). Comparing this to the male students having a social hierarchy competition on what photos they could get and having social value depending on who was in the photo and the size of their breasts. The male students and other female students looked down on the female students who shared these photos of themselves but also the male students benefited socially from having these images (Ringrose, Harvey, Gill & Livingstone, 2013). The last example is both female and male students posting similar sexual images online and receiving different responses. The female students would receive praise by their friends but behind their back people would be calling them names or talking negatively about them. When male students posted similar images, they were called things such as "boss" and seemed cooler (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). Comparing similar photos but with differing genders showed two different reactions to the photos, highlighting the gender double standards in both the online and offline worlds.
Conclusions
In conclusion, there is a clear double standard between males and females online and offline when it comes to the sharing and posting of intimate photos. Male and female students sharing the photos publicly would receive completely different reactions, highlighting the double standards between the two sexes (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). It is shown in this paper how technology and social media aids in the sharing of these images. It is taboo for females to share these images but perfectly okay for males to post similar images. The double standards are present in both the online and offline world. The two offline and online opinions are not separate, and the individual receives the same opinions in both on and offline. These opinions towards females are more negative compared to the male students, and there is a clear double standard between the two sexes.
References
Berlatsky, N. (2015). The Misguided War on Sexting.Reason,47(1), 68-69. Retrieved from https://searchproquestcom.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/docview/1671113654?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
BBoyd, D. (2007). Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.Macarthur Foundation Series On Digital Learning,Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume, 13. Retrieved from http://www.danah.org/papers/WhyYouthHeart.pdf
Mascheroni, G., Vincent, J., & Jimenez, E. (2015). "Girls are addicted to likes so they post semi-naked selfies": Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of identity online.Cyberpsychology: Journal Of Psychosocial Research On Cyberspace, 9(1). doi: 10.5817/cp2015-1-5
Ringrose, J., Harvey, L., Gill, R., & Livingstone, S. (2013). Teen girls, sexual double standards and 'sexting': Gendered value in digital image exchange.Feminist Theory,14(3), 305-323. doi: 10.1177/1464700113499853
What is Web 2.0? – Definition from Techopedia. Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4922/web-20
Source: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/10/female-students-receive-more-negative-reactions-to-revealing-images-they-post-on-social-media-compared-to-their-fellow-male-students/
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