“In my village everything is known”: sexting and revenge porn in young people from rural Spain

ABSTRACT

Sexting, and the cyber violence that may result from it, such as revenge porn, have received great attention from many different scientific disciplines. The present study incorporates an important dimension in the research conducted on these expanding digital behaviours, namely place and its influence on the effects that may unfold. Our objective has been to study, from a feminist perspective, the practices of sexting and revenge porn, the gender implications and its consequences for young people in a rural Spanish context. For this, we undertook a qualitative methodology obtained from in-depth interviews (N = 40) carried out with young people (22 women and 18 men) between 18 and 24 years of age who reside in rural areas in northern Extremadura (Spain). The results show that transgressions of gender mandates through sexting pose a greater challenge for young women in life environments in which there is little space for it to go unnoticed. The characteristics of rurality accentuate the effects for the protagonists of the non-consensual circulation of images, such as greater social pressure or the devaluation of their femininity. The findings are discussed and contributions to the debate on the responsibility of young women in the agency of sexting and its consequences are included.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexting
• revenge porn
• young people
• rural areas
• gender

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank James Hayes (JDH Translations) for the English translation of this article, the anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve it, and the journal editors, Cynthia Carter and Isabel Molina, for their guidance and help throughout the review and publication process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. And introduced in Article 197.7 through Organic Law 1/2015, of March 30, updating Organic Law 10/1995, of November 23, of the Spanish Penal Code. Available at https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1995-25444.

2. In order to ensure the confidentiality of the participants, as we have said, we have anonymized the names of the municipalities. Town 1 and Town 2 are separated by a distance of 15 km, Town 2 and Town 3 by 22 km, and Town 1 and Town 3 by 35 km.

3. There is a distance of 200 km between Town 1 and the city of Madrid.

4. Revised document of the State Pact measures concerning gender-based violence. Congress and Senate. Available at: https://violenciagenero.igualdad.gob.es/pactoEstado/docs/Documento_Refundido_PEVG_2.pdf.

Additional information

Funding

This study has been supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [Ministry of Science and Innovation], «Proyectos de I+D+i» Programas Estatales de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento Científico y Tecnológico del Sistema de I+D+i y de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad [R&D&I Projects of the State Programs for the Creation of Knowledge and the Enhancement of Science and Technology of the R&D&I System and R&D&I Oriented toward the Challenges of Society], 2019 [PID2019-105122RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033].

Notes on contributors

Laura Pavón-Benítez

Laura Pavón-Benítez is sociocultural anthropologist, researcher at the University Institute for Research in Women's and Gender Studies of the University of Granada, PhD student in Social Sciences and member of the research group HUM-603. Her research interests include different forms of gender and sexual violence and the consumption of alcohol and other drugs in young people. Her recent work has appeared in Journal of Rural Studies and European Journal of Women's Studies.

Nuria Romo-Avilés

Nuria Romo-Avilés is full professor of Anthropology at the University of Granada and of the Gemma Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies since 2007. Involved in several projects related to gender and different aspects of the social life, including health research or education. She is currently leading a Project on the use of alcohol and technology in young people from a gender perspective under the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Pilar Tarancón Gómez

Pilar Tarancón Gómez (PhD in Criminology) is Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and Qualitative Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. She is also a certified professional trainer for ATLAS.ti. Her research focus on sexual violence and gender based-crimes, and the analysis of legal and judicial decision-making in these areas. Her articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.