"SEXTING"

THROUGH A LENS STARKLY CARNAL KNOWLEDGE by JOANN WYPIJEWSKI

This article appeared in the May 18, 2009 edition of The Nation.

Taking nude pictures of yourself--nothing good can come of it.
   --Police Capt. George Seranko, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

The police captain might be right, in one sense. Particularly for the unskilled or ill equipped, getting the angle right, the focus and lighting just so, might be an effort--too much for the unsteady hand, the shy poser, the butterfingers. Much better to take nude pictures with someone else, to make a game of it, a performance of seeing and being seen, an amuse-bouche before the banquet, or maybe in place of it. Safe sex, unless you're a teenager, in which case someone might want to arrest you.
Captain Seranko made his observation after three girls and three boys at Greensburg Salem High School were charged with child pornography. The girls, ages 14 and 15, are charged with taking pictures of themselves, nude or seminude; the boys, 15, 16 and 17, with receiving them.

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