When a man sends an unsolicited picture of his genitals, it might say a lot about his personality. In a paper published in the Journal of Sex Research, psychologists from Pennsylvania State University have concluded that, “men who reported having sent unsolicited dick pics demonstrated higher levels of narcissism.They also endorsed greater ambivalent and hostile sexism than their non-sending counterparts.”
The above observation was derived from 1,087 responses by heterosexual men, who participated in a survey about whether or not they had ever sent pictures of their genitals without being asked, and why they had done so. They also answered questions related to personality traits — including exhibitionism, narcissism, sexism, and openness to sex and sexuality.
Of the participants, 48% of them had admitted to sending pictures, and 63% of those who did scored highly on narcissism and sexism.
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The researchers also noted that most men weren’t sending unsolicited dick pics in order to scare women. For some of them, the actwas about expecting something in return; while some others admitted to sending pictures for their own sexual gratification. Most of them did it in order to arouse the recipient or to feel attractive.
“We determined that the most frequently reported motivational category for sending genital photos was a transactional mindset — i.e., motivated by hopes of receiving images in return,” the paper reports. However, the psychologists write, “women tend not to appreciate or reciprocate upon reception of these images.”
When asked what response they expected in return, only a quarter of the men reported to prefer a positive one which left 75% of them either ambivalent or actually intending to offend, the paper states.
“This finding, the authors say, supports feminist writers who claim the practice is inherently sexist; the issue is not that these men don’t understand the concept of consent, it’s that they just don’t care,” the psychologists said, reported the New York Post.
