https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820909469 new media & society 1–19 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1461444820909469 journals.sagepub.com/home/nms Body image self-consciousness and sexting among heterosexual and non- exclusively heterosexual individuals Dominika Howard , Bianca Klettke, Elizabeth Clancy, Ian Fuelscher and Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz Deakin University, Australia Abstract This study sought to explore whether body image self-consciousness during sexual relations predicts whether and for what reasons individuals send sexts. A series of ordinal and binary logistic regression analyses revealed that increased body image self- consciousness during sexual relations predicted consensual but unwanted instances of sexting for men and women, a lower frequency of sending sexts among heterosexual individuals, and a lesser likelihood of sending sexts in order to flirt. Body image self- consciousness, however, was not predictive of sending sexts in general or sending sexts in order to ‘feel sexy’. This research provides support for the negative relationship between body image self-consciousness and sexual agency across gender, and suggests that individuals affected by body image anxieties might be prone to technology-mediated abuse. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed. Keywords Sexting, body image self-consciousness, LGBTQI+, pressure, coercion, sexual risk- taking, sexual preoccupation Corresponding author: Dominika Howard, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia. Email: dhowar@deakin.edu.au 909469NMS 0 0 10.1177/1461444820909469New Media & SocietyHoward et al. research-article 2020 Article