Dick pics: common but unwanted, poll shows

Sarah Noble, Social Media Manager

Cheyenne Jones, a theater student and frequent Tinder user, said she was texting a man she didn’t know on the dating app when he sent her a surprising image.

“He was asking what I like about theater, and as I was typing, he sent me a dick pic,” Jones said. “Then he asked, ‘What do you think?’”

At first, she said, she was confused. Jones said she thinks most people use Tinder to talk to multiple people at once, so she thought he meant to send it to another person.

Jones said that after not responding for a few minutes, he sent her more messages asking if she liked the picture.

“When I figured out he sent it to me on purpose, I was baffled,” she said. “We weren’t even talking about that; there was no indication that I wanted it.”

Receiving unsolicited pictures of male genitalia over social media, text and dating apps has become a norm for female college students. According to a Campus Current survey of 338 students, 43.2 percent of women have received an unsolicited dick pic.

Six percent of men said they have sent an unsolicited dick pic.

Eighty-seven percent of students—including 88 percent of men in the survey—said sending a dick pic without permission is sexual harassment.

“It’s uncalled for and inappropriate,” said second-year nutrition student Angel Douberly. “And, it’s not even nice to look at.”

According to Bustle, an online fashion blog, “One in two millennial women say they have received an unsolicited dick pic, and one in five men said they won’t ask for permission before sending.”

But men around campus called the trend “gross.”

Bradley McCready, a second-year entrepreneurship student, said sending an unsolicited dick pic is “uncalled for … because dicks are gross to look at. I mean, a dick is a dick; it’s not special,” he said.

Some women who talked to Campus Current said sending unsolicited sexual images should not be allowed.

“You’re not allowed to display yourself like that in public, so why is it OK in a digital format?” Caitlyn Lee, a first-year transfer studies student, said.

According to Karen Cook, the dean of the School of Business and Law and AACC’s federal compliance officer, the college has never received a report involving unsolicited sexual pictures.

But she said if one were brought to her by a student, it would be investigated.

“I understand that would be very hard to police,” Cook said. “[But] it falls under the definition of sexual harassment. If someone was offended by it, they would definitely have the right to submit a complaint.”

Dr. Felicia Patterson, the vice president for learning support services, said students should be more careful when taking and sending sexual images.

“What is that going to mean for you later?” she said. “It may not have a lot of meaning now … [but] you have to be thoughtful as to what you are putting out into the social atmosphere.”

According to Cook, professors and faculty members are “constantly reminding [students] during class not to put things on social media that could be harmful in the future.”

Since Jones received the dick pic, she has not logged on to Tinder.

To men who send unsolicited pictures, she says: “Stop. Don’t do it. Unless I ask specifically to see your dick, do not send me a picture. Your face is fine, but no to the dick.”