In news we all already know but feel gratified to have confirmed by science, men who send unsolicited dick pics are wankers (pun unintended).

According to a recent study published in The Journal of Sex Research, dick pic senders are more narcissistic and sexist than their male counterparts. The report asked 1,087 heterosexual men to answer four surveys which determined participants’ levels of narcissism and sexism, their sexual behaviour, and motivations behind sending uninvited images.

With 48 per cent of participants confirming they have sent non-consensual sexual photos, the study was split fairly evenly between senders and non-senders. The results show that the main motivation behind sharing penis portraits™ is ‘transactional’, with men hoping they’ll receive a photo in return.

A further goal of sending an unsolicited dick pics is reportedly to arouse the receiver, which the study correctly drags as being “representative of male over-perception of female sexual interest, given that women tend not to appreciate or reciprocate upon reception of these images”. With 82 per cent of senders believing their voluntary cock shots™ will arouse the receiver, it proves a lot of men don’t understand – or don’t care about – the importance of consent. 

Sadly – but unsurprisingly – misogyny, power, and control are also motivations behind unwelcomed photos, with just 18 per cent of men reporting they send images for their own sexual satisfaction. In fact, just a quarter of senders said they would rather receive a positive than negative response, suggesting that many are specifically sending dick pics to harm and harass women.

The study found that men who send shaft snaps™ demonstrated higher levels of narcissism, and endorsed both ambivalent and hostile sexism more than those who didn’t send photos. There were no significant differences in exhibitionism between senders and non-senders, which the report’s authors put down to the anonymity of the internet and normalisation of dick pic sending, which “may promote engagement in such behaviours among individuals who do not otherwise display exhibitionist tendencies”.

Addressing its limitations, the report suggests future research should be more inclusive as this study only examined male behaviour towards women. Though researchers earlier explained that existing data suggests dick pics sent between men are often more well-received.

Although the results confirm what most women already know, it’s encouraging to see research into this behaviour, particularly when it addresses the motivations behind it. When it comes to learning lessons from the study, it’s clearly vital that pleasure and consent are taught to men from a young age and reinforced throughout adulthood. And if they don’t stop, I guess we can just continue turning their dick pics into art.