Why do women send nudes?

Bruce Ndlovu
This week, local womena��s empowerment group Katswe Sisterhood presented a petition to the Parliament of Zimbabwe in which they advocated for revenge porn laws in the country.

Over the past few years, the leak or exposure of naked pictures, or a�?nudesa�? as they are commonly referred to on social media, where they invariably always end up, has become a constant embarrassment for many women.

From Zimbabwe to America, women have fallen victim to the phenomenon of their most private moments becoming a source of debate and scorn.

From super models to actresses and policewomen, nude pictures have led to the distress of many a woman as explicit pictures fodder for social media voyeurs.

In 2014, the internet was abuzz after nude pictures from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Hillary Duff among a dozen others found themselves on the worldwide web.

Various Zimbabwean celebrities have also fallen victim to the same vice.

With the disasters that have befallen women both in their personal and professional lives after the leak of nude pictures, one thus wonders why women still send provocative snaps of videos to their partners.

For men, nudes are like the Holy Grail. When the embers of conversation are blazing brightly late at night and onea��s partner is far from their arms, requesting a picture that keeps the fires of sexual passion burning from afar is not beyond any ordinary man.

With this being the case, one can thus see why women also like to send these pictures as, being sensual and sexual beings themselves, they might feel the need to provide the spark needed through a provocative picture or video.

One could argue that the biggest reason that women still send nude pictures to their significant others however, is trust. Women are perhaps more trusting of their partners in romantic relationships, and they send these pictures without the knowledge that their partner might have malicious intent.

Boys will be boys, as the adage foolishly goes, and most men in moments of empty bravado will share their sexual exploits with close friends when the beer is flowing or when accomplishments are being compared in everyday manly conversation. When a man is trying to prove his prowess to his friends, pictures might be irresponsibly shown around or even worse, shared in a social media group.

Statements from women after the pictures have leaked are always similar, as they do not expect the betrayal of trust.

a�?I would like to formally apologise for the embarrassment this situation may cause you. It has not been my intent or purpose to have events that take place in my private life, be used to bring you disrepute.

a�?Sadly, as it happened, sometime mid of last year my mobile phone with all of its contents was stolen from me,a�? said TV and radio personality Tinopona Katsande after an explicit tape of hers leaked online.

a�?When I made the videos I had only my partner in mind and never thought they would be public knowledge. I was surprised to find that they were now common knowledge among people in Njube,a�? said a city model who had her pictures splashed all over social media last year.

Her story is similar to that of many women who have had the same experience with their partners. Unfortunately in the days of mass sharing, it is perhaps wiser to rein in onea��s trust of their partner and make sure that they make do with other means of sexual arousal.