“I knew about people who sent nudes as early as seventh grade,” said one anonymous student about the culture surrounding sexually explicit photos at Tualatin. 

A quick Snapchat photo, an Instagram DM – as technology advances and social media has become our primary source of communication, teens find themselves with a dangerous weapon at their disposal: the power to send sexually explicit photos in an instant. Of course, we’re taught about the dangers of sexting in health class, but the constant rhetoric of “just don’t send” overlooks the pressures felt by young people at the hand of toxic relationships, low self-esteem and the trust felt when someone says the words, “I would never show anyone. I promise.” 

Currently in Oregon, child pornography laws that have been put in place to protect minors from sex abuse unintentionally harm victims who have had their sexually explicit photos leaked. (Read more here.) Because of a lack of differentiation between consensual sexting between minors and the non-consensual distribution of another person’s nudes, a teen who has their sexually explicit material exposed by an ex-partner may receive the same felony charge as their assailant. 

Bottom line is, the safest choice will always be not to send. The danger of legal consequences is not worth the risk, no matter how much you may trust the person you’re sending to. This being said, as seen in the criminalization of acts like drug use and prostitution, just because something is made illegal doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Sexually explicit photos are commonly seen as weapons in toxic and abusive relationships. The pressure to send can feel overwhelming, and even worse, the looming threat of your ex leaking your pictures post-breakup can trap people in an unsafe space. 

Ideally, teens everywhere will find the strength to say no, but it’s naive to overlook the male validation many people, especially young girls, are taught to crave. Instead, by removing the felony charge from a taboo issue such as the consensual sending of sexually explicit photos between minors, victims of revenge porn will feel empowered enough to come forward and accuse their assailants without fearing criminal charges themselves. 

In Washington, a law was passed titled the Responsible Teens Communications Act, which maintains felony charges for the non-consensual distribution of another person’s photos, yet made it so that a minor who chooses to send their own sexually explicit photos will be met with an educational approach, not a criminal offense. Times have changed, and though it’s only natural to hesitate when someone suggests changing child pornography laws, legislation around sexually explicit photos needs to reflect the era of social media that we live in. 

On the school level, what can Tualatin do to help dismantle the rape culture surrounding sexting? 

First of all, the attitude around nudes currently is dehumanizing. Stories of boys using girls’ nudes as trading cards or exchanging a photo for a cookie at lunch support the idea that, once a girl sends, she becomes an object to be auctioned off – a commodity. Sending nudes is dangerous, but leaking is humiliating, and objectifying another person for succumbing to pressure to send a photo of themselves is inexcusable. Even if you personally don’t engage in this, we can all do better to hold our classmates accountable. 

Secondly, don’t ask. A lot of lessons in health classes are centered around telling minors never to send, and while that’s important, let’s keep in mind that consensual sexting is usually prompted by someone asking. Pressuring a person to send is never okay, and even in consensual situations, by asking, you are encouraging a minor to engage in illegal activity. 

Certainly, much has to change – both statewide and internally – for the issue of sexting to be addressed properly at Tualatin. There are layers of sexism, social media and politics that prevent our community from moving forward, but this doesn’t mean we stop trying. We know that sexting is uncomfortable to talk about, so we hope this editorial will help open up an honest conversation between students, staff and parents. The more we discuss it, the quicker we can find solutions together. 

Finally, we want everyone reading this article to know: a picture does not define your worth.