Study finds #SexPositivity posts on Instagram often reinforce women’s objectification and narrow beauty ideals

Instagram posts tagged with #SexPositivity often promote objectification, narrow beauty standards, and commercial branding more than sexual empowerment, according to research published in Sex Roles.

Sex positivity is usually understood as a movement that treats sexuality as a healthy and potentially empowering part of life. It emphasizes consent, autonomy, pleasure, respect, sexual education, and acceptance of diverse sexual identities and expressions. In this sense, sex positivity is not simply about being “pro-sex” but also about challenging shame, stigma, coercion, and narrow ideas about sexuality.

But as sex-positive language has become more visible online, some researchers and critics have questioned whether its meaning has shifted in popular culture. Teagan Stotz and colleagues examined how sex positivity is actually portrayed on Instagram, one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.

The researchers conducted a cross-sectional content analysis of Instagram posts using the hashtag #SexPositivity. They created a research Instagram account and collected every fifth eligible public post published between October 1 and November 2, 2023, resulting in an initial sample of 500 posts. Video posts were excluded so the analysis could focus exclusively on static images and accompanying captions, and four posts that could not be translated into English were removed, leaving a final sample of 496 posts.

The researchers systematically coded each post using established coding procedures from previous content analyses. They examined visual characteristics, including whether posts featured photographs of people, text-only images, drawings, or sexual products.

For photographs containing people, coders evaluated perceived gender, age, race, body size using Pulvers et al.’s (2004) Figure Rating Scale, conformity to Western beauty ideals, clothing coverage, and indicators of sexual objectification, such as emphasis on specific body parts, sexually suggestive posing, and whether faces were obscured. They also analyzed the combined visual and textual content of each post for messages reflecting established sex positivity themes identified by Ivanski and Kohut (2017), including consent, sexual health, education, autonomy, empowerment, relationships, and respect for diversity.

The findings suggested a clear gap between the ideals of sex positivity and the way the hashtag was often used. More than half of the posts featured photographs of people. In those photographs, women made up more than 80% of the individuals shown. They were most often portrayed as young adults who were White, small-bodied, conventionally attractive by Western standards, and dressed in revealing clothing.

Objectification was also common, with more than 86% of photographs including at least one indicator of sexual objectification, such as suggestive posing, emphasis on particular body parts, or the partial or complete omission of the face. Women were more likely than men to be shown in ways that aligned with Western beauty ideals, to wear revealing clothing, and to be sexually objectified.

The captions and overall post content told a similar story. Relatively few posts addressed core sex-positive themes such as consent, sexual health, sexual education, autonomy, or respectful relationships. Instead, many posts appeared to serve promotional purposes. About one-third primarily functioned as advertisements, often for products such as lingerie or sexual products. Others seemed intended to build a following, promote an influencer, or direct users to monetized platforms.

Overall, the study suggests that #SexPositivity on Instagram is often used more as a branding or marketing tool than as a space for inclusive discussion about sexuality. Although the hashtag may signal empowerment, much of the content attached to it appears to reinforce the very patterns the sex positivity movement was meant to challenge.

Of note is that this study examined only publicly available static Instagram posts using one hashtag during a relatively short period. Videos, private posts, and posts using other related hashtags were not included. As a result, the findings do not capture every form of sex-positive content on Instagram or across social media more broadly.

The study, “Sex Positivity or Sexual Objectification? A Content Analysis of #SexPositivity Posts on Instagram,” was authored by Teagan Stotz, Jessica L. Mackelprang, Danielle Hunt, and Simone Buzwell.