Um, Why Are Straight Men Sending Each Other Pictures Of Their Junk?

Dick pics are weird AF and really gross. They’re especially bad when they’re unsolicited, and even worse when you find them in your boyfriend’s messages history… to another guy. Yes, straight guys are sending each other dick pics. WTF?

  1. They get honest reviews. One of the reasons why straight men are sending each other crotch shots is because they want 100% honest (read: blunt) reviews on the state of their junk. They know that their BFF will tell them straight if their bits look weird in the shot or not, and they’ll receive more than “nice pic” as a reply (which is what some women might say).
  2. They can do a test run. If a guy wants to send the woman he’s dating a dick pic, he might first run it past his best mate just to check that the picture looks good, his junk looks huge, and she won’t be thinking that he really could’ve used a different filter ’cause this one makes him look ridiculous.
  3. It’s a way for guys to get real. We imagine guys bonding over beers at the pub, but with how technology has changed the way people relate, it sort of makes sense that it would give them greater freedom to bond in new ways. Dick pics are like a virtual locker room, with no topic being off the table. Guys can be completely open and uncensored with each other.
  4. They might be (harmlessly) flirting. According to Jane Ward, author of the book “Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men”, friendship between straight men and gay men has increased. Men feel more comfortable with each other, which could result in them playfully flirting with each other. So no, just because your boyfriend’s sending his gay best friend a picture of his junk, it doesn’t mean he’s gay. But it might still be weird AF to you because nudes are nudes  no matter who they’re being sent to, right?
  5. They want to show off. These guys might be sending each other these pics to show each other up. It’s like saying, “Check out my amazing penis.” Insert eye roll. But you know, this actually sheds some light on why guys send women dick pics. Maybe it’s not always about sleeping with women, but about overconfident guys showing off their goods to absolutely anyone. Ugh, that actually makes these photos even worse!
  6. They’re insecure AF. For guys to be sending each other these pics for approval and feedback, it just highlights how stressed out guys can be about their penises. But funnily enough, research has shown that a man’s worry over his penis size isn’t linked to how his genitals actually measure up. So maybe that explains why some guys feel this desperate need to show their mates their penises—they want to be reassured that they’re okay and women will like their junk.
  7. It’s just for laughs. Guys might tease each other or play the fool when they’re drunk AF, which is why they end up sending each other nudes or taking ones of each other. Ugh, you know how crazy they can get. To them it’s nothing serious, though—they’re likely to say “no homo” just to reiterate the fact that they’re not into guys. They’re just being childish AF.
  8. A compliment is a compliment. Maybe to the guy, it doesn’t matter if he gets a compliment about his penis from a man or woman—it still gives him some of the validation he was after. And maybe after his friends have boosted his confidence, he’ll feel better about himself before his next exchange with you.
  9. They’re having a bromance. A study by the University of Winchester in the UK found that many men feel more comfortable discussing emotional issues with their mates than with their girlfriends. And if they’re talking about lots of emotionally intimate things, it could very well lead to sharing body insecurities. The author of the study said that bromances tended to be judgment-free—which is probably why a guy will send his mate a picture of his junk instead of sending one to you.
  10. Women do it too. Frexting” is a trend that involves friends sexting each other, and women are jumping onto the bandwagon, sending each other nudes via text as a way to make sexting a funny, light-hearted thing. It’s the female version of “no homo” and it can also be used to get an ego boost from each other. It might even be a way to bond for women, and if they’re doing it, why should it be weird for guys to do it with each other? Hmm.
  11. It might actually be a good thing for women. Hear me out. If guys are sending each other their nasty dick pics, hopefully their friends will put them off sending them to you because they’re tasteless, which saves you the horror of having to deal with them. Bonus! Everybody wins.
Giulia Simolo is a writer from Johannesburg, South Africa with a degree in English Language and Literature. She has been working as a journalist for more than a decade, writing for sites including AskMen, Native Interiors, and Live Eco. You can find out more about her on Facebook and LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter @GiuliaSimolo.
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