Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively and Vanessa Hudgens aren’t alone in their apparent penchant for keeping racy photos on their computers and phones. A new study from Harlequin reveals that a large number of women surveyed have admitted to “sexting,” or sending a text message containing explicit sexual language or images.
Harlequin, one of the world’s leading publishers of romance novels, announced it’s annual findings Thursday, which include the news that 43 percent of respondents admitted to using explicit language in texts. Of those women, 65 percent said they will only send the racy messages in a serious relationship, while 35 percent admitted to sending them after only a few dates. And like Johansson and Lively, who both had nude photos stolen from their electronic devices, 27 percent of women admitted to sending nude photos via emails or text messages.
“Modesty is no longer a virtue in contemporary society – in the news or real life,” the study concluded.
Other findings included that the sweeping majority, 91 percent of the women polled, believe dating rules have become more flexible.
“Today, women consider themselves more independent and powerful than ever before – yet we’ve found that many of the traditional beliefs about romance, dating and relationships still persist,” said Michelle Renaud, Senior Manager, Public Relations, Harlequin. “Additionally, we are seeing new challenges as women are managing their image on a digital level. There is a real need to curate an online persona as much as a real-life presence in an extremely connected society.”
Almost 75 percent of the women also believed their dating life was “boring,” regardless of their relationship status.
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