Special Issue: Masculinity, Sex and Dicks
THE DICK PIC PROJECT
This project explored public commentaries and discourses about the Dick Pic. It is funded by La Trobe University.
This study investigated why men might send women unsolicited pictures of their genitalia (otherwise known as ‘Dick Pics’) on various social media platforms such as dating websites (i.e. Tinder). It comprised of a literature review and small cultural analysis concerning how men's motivations for sending such photos are being framed in contemporary media.
Chief Investigator(s)
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Dr Andrea Waling, ARCSHS, La Trobe University
Project Staff
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Tinonee Pym, ARCSHS, La Trobe University
Host Institution
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The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), La Trobe University
Ethics
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La Trobe University Human Research Council Ethics (HREC S16-207)
Findings
HARMLESS
Some commentaries noted confusion concerning appropiate relations between men and women, and often relied on biological arguments about the innate differences in what men and women want romantically and sexually
CONFUSION
Dominant commentaries about Dick Pics often noted them to be sexually violent, aggressive, and an outcome of cisgender, heterosexual men's entitlements to women's bodies
VIOLENCE
Some commentaries saw Dick Pics as funny and harmless. In these commentaries, Dick Pics were often positioned as unthreatening, and people's experiences of them as violent were regarded as exaggerated.