Former Big Brother contestant Lewis Gregory has provoked a debate over whether sending unsolicited d*ck pics should be criminalised.
The reality star appeared on Victoria Derbyshire Live where he revealed the last time he sent an explicit photo of himself was via Snapchat just three days before. And while he defended his behaviour, and claimed there was always a mutual understanding with those receiving them, the topic sparked a wider conversation over whether sending unsolicited pictures should be made a crime.
Talking on the show, Lewis explained: "We speak for a while, somehow the topic comes up, and eventually we share a picture or two"
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Continuing: "Sometimes I get a bit flirty and suggest it. Or they might. For instance, I might receive a picture of her in the bubble bath, or I might send one like that."
However, Lewis insisted that whenever he does send explicit pictures, they're always consensual, because it would be 'weird' or 'pervy' to send unsolicited images of his genitals.
Journalist and former model, Stina Sanders, also appeared on the programme, where she revealed she receives two or three sexual images from men every single day.
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"When I first restarted receiving them it was really shocking and awful. I don't want to see that," she explained. "I'm actually quite used to it now, desensitised to it."
While receiving such pictures might have become the norm for many women, two in three British adults say it should be illegal to send unsolicited images of your genitals, according to a poll by BBC Radio 5 Live.
If a person were to flash their genitals at an innocent passerby in real life then they'd be guilty of indecent exposure, and potentially find themselves on the sex offenders register, so many argue that it should be no different when it's done via social media.
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This sentiment is shared by Conservative MP Maria Miller, who is campaigning to see new legislation introduced to reflect this. Maria is keen to focus on the harm that receiving such images can have on children and young people.
"I hope people wake up [to the fact] that this is a sex offence if you're dealing with under-18s," she stressed, adding that it is illegal to send explicit images to anyone under the age of 18.
One viewer suggested a different way of tackling the issue of the unsolicited images, that doesn't involve the police.
"There are easy technical solutions to this. Facebook already blocks nudity. So, they can identify pics with algorithms and warn the recipient before image is shown," she commented. "Similar to the google drunken message check. Police are already burdened with knife criminals let tech giants pull their weight!"
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Featured Image Credit: Waitrose