While the growing use of social networks and dating applications has increased the sending of what are called ‘nudes,’ or naked photos, receiving them voluntarily or not can involve another element. In particular, identity theft... or penis theft, in this case.
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The term ‘cockfishing’ is not new... It was first referenced on Urban Dictionary in 2018 and comes from the contraction of two words: ‘cock’ and ‘catfishing,’ which is when a person pretends to be someone else online, using, for example, an image that is not their own.
Fake or edited
As you can see, for dick pic senders, cockfishing is all about ‘sending pictures of a penis that isn't theirs to unsuspecting women or men who have no idea until it's too late.’ Or more generally, sending, even if it is consensual, a fake photo of their genitals to the recipient.
It can also be an ‘enhanced’ image, where the sender plays with the angle and light to make the penis appear larger or longer than it is. Some even retouch their photos. It's easy to do, given the range of free editing applications available on the market.
Easy, but stupid, because the deception can quickly be detected. According to Glamour, all it takes is ‘a completely distorted object in the background or slightly blurred edges.’ However, even if they are caught, it seems that cockfishing enthusiasts are not about to stop anytime soon.
‘A certain form of narcissism’
One of the real reasons why men send dick pics is due to a ‘transactional mindset.’ The senders hope that by sending photos of their genitalia, they will get a nude picture in return.
On the other hand, this kind of exchange is nothing more than the manifestation of the exhibitionism of an ultra-connected world, explained sociologist Janine Mossuz-Lavau, who specialises in sexuality issues, to 20 Minutes:
Generally speaking, a man who shows his penis to strangers wants to be reassured about his masculinity. He wants to show that his body is exciting. These are individuals who think they can do anything. The dick pic is a manifestation of a certain form of narcissism.
For cockfishing more precisely, it would thus be mainly a question of masculinity and ego problems.
More and more wide-angle lenses
Narcissism is thus pushed to the limit with this cockfishing phenomenon. According to the Daily Mirror, it is likely to spread even faster with all the new features on today’s smartphones. iPhones, for example, can now be used to increase the size of objects in photos thanks to a double wide-angle lens.
However, beware of getting scammed yourself. The Daily Mail tells how one man who sent a picture of his penis to his Grindr match ended up receiving... one of his own photos from before. ‘[He] said it was his pic, but I still had the boxers that were in the picture’ he describes. It had obviously been passed around... until it came back to him.
