ABSTRACT
This chapter explores sex-negativity as it relates to young people’s sexual identities and behaviors, often by virtue of their age, by focusing on two broad examples: experiences of LGBTQ youth and criminalization of teen sexting. LGBTQ youth may be overcharged with sex offenses (in cases where the age of consent differs for same- or opposite-sex partners, for example), and they may receive unnecessary sex offender treatment for normal and age-appropriate sexual activity that just happens to be with same-sex peers. They may even be forced to undergo “reparative” or “conversion” therapy that attempts to “cure” their sexual orientation. We also discuss law enforcement of the status offense of sexting among minors, a fairly recent social phenomenon. We examine instances of criminalized underage teen sexting and subsequent institutional violence using a queer/ed sex-positive feminist lens informed by our overarching concept of “thick desire.” We discuss a number of criminological concerns that have arisen in conjunction with underage teen sexting: debates about age of consent, the question of whether sexts constitute child pornography, inclusion of young people on sex offender registries, and the potential for cyberbullying and subsequent emotional and physical harm.
