Understanding Sexualized Self-Presentation on Mobile Dating Apps: A Qualitative Study.
Mobile dating, has become one of the most prominent ways to find potential suitors. Research suggests that users of mobile dating apps (MDAs) often conform to sexualized standards of attractiveness. Considering the potential negative impact of such self-sexualizing practices on body image, this pape...
| Publicado en: | Sexuality & Culture Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 3006 - 3029 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Dec2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=189361267&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 189361267 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10955143 DZ0 jtl: Sexuality & Culture issn: 10955143 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Dec2025 vid: 29 iid: 6 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 189361267 10.1007/s12119-025-10405-5 ppf: 3006 ppct: 23 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1003KB tig: atl: Understanding Sexualized Self-Presentation on Mobile Dating Apps: A Qualitative Study. aug: au: Konings, Femke Sumter, Sindy R. Willems, Elena Vandenbosch, Laura affil: https://ror.org/05f950310 Media Psychology Lab, Faculty of Social Sciences, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen https://ror.org/04dkp9463 Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands su: Identity (Psychology) Dating (Social customs) Interviewing Sexual objectification Mobile apps sug: subj: Identity (Psychology) Dating (Social customs) Interviewing Sexual objectification Mobile apps keyword: Identity presentation Interviews Mobile dating Objectification Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology ab: Mobile dating, has become one of the most prominent ways to find potential suitors. Research suggests that users of mobile dating apps (MDAs) often conform to sexualized standards of attractiveness. Considering the potential negative impact of such self-sexualizing practices on body image, this paper seeks to explore the underlying mechanisms driving sexualized self-presentation on these platforms. This qualitative study therefore conducted online semi-structured go-along interviews with a subsample of individuals who engaged in sexualized self-presentation in their MDA profiles (N = 15, Mage = 23.47, 53.33% women). Participants were asked about their perceptions of the mobile dating environment, their motivations for their self-presentation choices, and their evaluations of other users. Findings revealed that participants viewed MDAs as cultivating a gamified and sexualized culture, marked by peripheral decision-making, an abundance of options, and casual interactions. They also expressed experiencing platform-induced pressures to conform to sexualized appearance norms. Participants identified various motivations for engaging in sexualized self-presentations, including seeking relational, intrapersonal, entertainment, and social gratifications. While participants placed high value on (sexual) physical attractiveness in potential partners, they expressed discomfort with an overemphasis on appearance in others' self-presentations on MDAs. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Sexuality & Culture is a copyright of Springer, 2025. All Rights Reserved. item: Sexuality & Culture holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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