Recent sexting "scandal"

[jasenj]

If you've been paying attention to the news lately, you'll know that in Colorado a whole lot of parents were shocked! to find out their teenagers have been exchanging naked pictures of themselves at a large scale. The popularity of sexting is not limited to one school in Colorado. The media is picking up on this "epidemic" and many adults are shocked! to discover adolescents are interested in the opposite sex and viewing & sharing naked pictures.

A web search for "sexting scandal" will turn up lots of hits. Below are a few links.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/opinion/schools-cant-stop-kids-from-sexting-more-technology-can.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/09/colorado-s-sexting-nightmare.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sexting-...to-vault-apps/ (Warning: auto-play video.)

The complication here is the very severe child pornography laws that exist in many places. These laws were designed & written to punish adults preying on children, before almost every 12 year old carried a camera with them all the time. Now you have hundreds, thousands, probably hundreds of thousands across the country if not millions, of children becoming child pornographers by taking, sharing, and possessing naked pictures of themselves and their peers. As the laws stand, these children are guilty of serious felony charges and could be required to be registered as sex offenders for a long time.

How does this relate to nudism?

Nudists/naturists have been saying for a long time that seeing others and being seen naked is not a big deal. People have natural curiosity and satisfying that curiosity in a safe environment keeps things from escalating in bad ways.

[nudeyooper]

Let's hope that prosecutors abide by the spirit of the law rather than the letter and that common sense prevails. These kids do not know the potential chance they are taking and the possibility that they may be ruining their lives for ever. It seems so ironic that they have gone to being overly modest in places where they can be nude to taking pictures of themselves and sending them to their friends with the potential to be seen by just about anyone. There has to be some way to define a depiction of someone in a picture who is nude as compared to someone in a pose to sexually excite a recipient.

[dakref]

It is completely asinine that these children can be subjected to adult laws that were designed for pedophiles. People at this age are not fully baked so to speak and make some bad choices. But hopefully this is how we learn some things. To possibly be labeled as a sex offender and have to register as such for the rest of their lives is just wrong wrong wrong.

[Bob S.]

First issue is what others have said, prosecutors are using laws to protect underage teenagers to punish the underage teenagers presumably from themselves. This is a horrible travesty of justice especially as the punishment far outweighs the act. It becomes nearly a life sentence on the sex offender registry for a stupid teenage act. It also destroys the teens' futures as well as a problem with the parents. A discussion on the seriousness of the situation is all that is required.

Second issue is all I have heard and read is they are exchanging nude pictures .Nude pictures are not a violation of the law. I have yet to see the Colorado laws that define child pornography, but usually those laws do specify sexual behaviours or pictures that concentrate on the penis/vagina. I view these nude pictures as similar to self-portraits. What do they do with nudist publications or nude photography books with underage nudes in them? This is the other danger.

Bob S.

[jbw]

I faced something similar a few years ago. Will not/cannot go into detail but uncovered a video tape that some students made. Lots of saber rattling but nothing could be done since all involved were under 18. They made it for their enjoyment only with no intention to distribute. No one over 18 involved so no laws (at that time) were broken. Lots of embarrassed parents though.

[Guest]

Several years ago, I was a jurist on a child porn case - I would gladly have volunteered to be a member of the firing squad for the person responsible for the things I saw if offered the chance. So I know first hand what the worst of that seedy world is about. Regarding kids sending some pictures back and forth, I have mixed emotions about how to deal with something like this which, based on the evolution of modern life, has created several key issues that need to be woven into existing laws, or used to replace them. If all kids involved were under the age of majority, and there were no sexual acts captured or shared, there should be nothing but parental administered punishment. If any of these kids had just crossed the threshold of majority, there should be limited legal action with no long-term impact.

And for those looking to prevent this sort of behavior in the future...I propose parental influence with maybe a good dose of technological denial as a start. And as an affront to atheists, a good does of Juneau/Christian based values would also help.

[usuallylurk]

IMHO - kids who are "sexting" should know - that this can come back to haunt them, and make life miserable for them, even without law enforcement getting involved.

The fact that they ARE getting involved - is an attempt to stop kids from doing that.

That being said - again - an advisory - just because it's nudity - or involving nudity - doesn't mean it's necessarily "innocent".

We've had these discussions before - those laws ARE designed to protect children. Even from themselves. Should they be used against the kids? To educate, and as a preventative measure - YES. As punishment = NO.

[Agde]

I think this is precisely something where naturists have something important to say to the mainstream community, to legislators and to kids. First, it is really not about clothing. It is about intent and respect for each other. Second, it is about trust, vulnerability and safety. Kids are testing trust relationships, but need to be street-smart about how fragile trust can be, especially when time horizons on internet are basically forever. Third, kids need to be alert that the instant that things turn toward sexy or sexual, well, things get enormously more complicated and less safe. But parents/adults also need to realize that gender relationships are rapidly evolving and should not be judged by Ozzie & Harriet standards. Finally, pedophiles and child porn deserve harsh sanctions because it is crass exploitation of vulnerability. Just as naturists are quick to condemn and protect. But there also needs to be an understanding that, among young peers, the issues and lessons involve discovering the value of practicing golden-rule social norms and rituals of mutual respect. Laws must give kids some space to fail and succeed, and laws must focus on protecting youth from any non-peers who ever (ie. forever) try to steal and misuse somebody else's youth for ignoble purpose. Naturist values turn out to be the gold standard for evaluating 'sexting' and giving kids a way to know what is what. And for parents/educators to teach. And for legislators to compose a common sense legal framework.

[usuallylurk]

I think this is precisely something where naturists have something important to say to the mainstream community,.....<brevity>Naturist values turn out to be the gold standard for evaluating 'sexting' and giving kids a way to know what is what. And for parents/educators to teach. And for legislators to compose a common sense legal framework.

Keeping in mind that nudist publications carried nudist pictures of teens for many years, and (I don't know if they still do) some publications carried ads for "nudist family videos", . And many sites purporting to be "nudist" are profusely illustrated with pictures of those under 18.

I don't believe that "N" magazine carries ads for such videos anymore, I don't think The Bulletin does, either, not sure, but they did come under fire. I assume they stopped advertising them as well. Remember the dialog on "Russian Teen Boobie Flicks" in here some years ago???

But given nudist history, nudism might not be the most credible source of guidance on the topic of illustrated sexting, except to say nudism has made mistakes but has cleaned its house over the years, and youngsters can learn from nudist history. "Why nudist publications no longer have pictures of teens and kids" - might be a good teaching lesson.

[nudeM]

It might be helpful if nudists would re-interate that nudism is a lifestyle and has nothing to do with exhibitionism. Nudists prefer to live their lives without clothes, but have to be clothed in certain situations i.e. around family and friends. I have sent nude pics of myself to my wife only, but only in humor, not as a proposition. They were full body shots, not close-up genital shots. It is true kids do send nude pics of themselves, but with more in mind than just "...here I am...". There is no fine line and sexting is wrong. With today's technology, kids will only find ways to exploit the original uses of modern devices. It only takes one bad apple to ruin an entire basket and I-pods, smartphones, I-pads are no different.