West Virginia proposes to "protect" girls from the risk of embarrassment due to sexting by piling punishment on top.

When sex is concerned, we see many proposals to punish those who are mistreated in one way or another. I think that this is just prudery at work — the talk about "helping" or "protecting" is just a disguise.

If we really want to help people, we need to think about why they get hurt. The US has a ridiculous taboo on nudity, and women who show their sexuality are sneered at. This is tied up with sexism, mysogyny, and religion. If a girl feels hurt due to publication of a nude photo of her, this stigma is probably why it hurts.

One way to destigmatize something is to get lots of people doing it. I made the suggestion that Facebook should require every user to provide a nude photo. This was a joke — no one should use Facebook! — but also serious. If lots of teenagers post nude photos, so that it becomes normal, the stigma will be gone.