Masters Thesis

Sexting: a gendered response to the advancement of technology in everyday life.

This paper will address the electronic exchange of sexually explicit material, otherwise known as sexting. Specifically, addressing the dynamics of sexting as a social interaction and the affect it has on intimate relationships. A sample of twenty-three participants between the ages of eighteen to twenty-one was interviewed for this study. Building on a Dramaturgical perspective and the concept of "doing gender," this study builds on individuals managing their self-presentations in ways that both reproduce and sustain societal norms of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. Using a grounded theory approach, this study examines how women and men discuss their public presentations and gender performances in the context of a frontstage performance. The findings from this study can better illuminate how men and women actively negotiate doing gender when they are sexting.

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