Jennifer Lawrence Nude Photo

Team Bish member Tom on the latest celebrity nude photo leak/theft and why it’s not sexting that is the problem …

by Tom Beasley, member of Team Bish

The Jennifer Lawrence nude photo leak shows the dark side of celebrity culture, but it shouldn’t put you off sexting [if you’re old enough and really want to do it, more on this here – Justin].

By now, the nude selfie leak is a sad inevitability for any female star. Intimate photographs taken for partners find themselves in the hands of first hackers and, secondly, hordes of drooling adolescents eager for a glimpse of flesh.

Night before last, naked pictures of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence leaked online, alongside a list of other female celebrities who had allegedly been hacked, including Glee star Lea Michele and Rihanna. The mass leak is being referred to as CelebGate or, on the grimmest corners of Reddit, the Fappening.

Unfortunately, it’s the Reddit ‘Fappening’ attitude that’s prevailing online. The victim blamers and misogynists are out in force, high-fiving at the intrusion into a young woman’s privacy. It’s her fault, they say, for taking nude pictures in the first place. As a celebrity, they argue, she is a full-time commodity of the masses and has no right to privacy.Obviously, none of this is reasonable at all.

Anyone, regardless of their level of fame, should be able to share intimate images with someone they trust, without them getting into the wrong hands.

In a trusting relationship, sexting can be an exciting activity, especially – as I’ve previously discussed on this site – in a long distance situation. In amongst the fun, though, it’s important to take the necessary precautions to keep the pictures private.

Given past high-profile leaks involving the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Vanessa Hudgens, it’s clear that celebrities are a huge target for hackers. For every female celebrity who wants to share a picture with a trusted loved one, there are a dozen lecherous hackers who are prepared to go to great lengths to intrude and expose in the foulest way.

It also highlights one of the biggest dangers of sexting and the sending of nude photos. As good as modern cloud storage is, an online service is seldom completely secure. If you do take, receive or store intimate pictures, it’s worth delving into your phone’s settings to ensure that they aren’t being automatically synchronised to some barely concealed corner of the internet.

The sharing of nude photos is a part of many modern relationships. Sky’s Stand Up, Be Counted Twitter feed shared an infographic today that claims nearly a fifth of teenagers have sent naked or semi-naked images of themselves to someone else.

With this increasing popularity, it’s important that teenagers educate themselves on the benefits, etiquette and risks surrounding sexting. Feel free to get the smartphones out, but make sure you can be absolutely certain of where the photos are going.

[Thanks Tom! If you fancy writing for Team Bish get in touch via ‘Ask Bish‘ – Justin]

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