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I derive no satisfaction from being mean to others, unlike those who have problems with my preference." "It was not my intent to cause distress," another user explained. When confronted, they simply became defensive. In my study, many of the respondents seemed to have never really thought twice about the source of their preferences. Preferences may appear natural or inherent, but they're actually shaped by larger structural forces – the media we consume, the people we know and the experiences we have. Sociologists have long been interested in the concept of preferences, whether they're favorite foods or people we're attracted to. (During the 2020 #BLM protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, Grindr eliminated the ethnicity filter.) His image of his ideal partner was so fixed that he would rather – as he put it – "be celibate" than be with a Black or Latino man. That user went on to explain that he had even purchased a paid version of the app that allowed him to filter out Latinos and Black men. I just don't like Latinos or Black guys."Ī Grindr profile used in the study specifies interest in certain races. The most common was to simply describe their behaviors as "preferences." One participant I interviewed, when asked about why he stated his racial preferences, said, "I don't know. The gay men I connected with tended to make one of two justifications. Part of that fieldwork was focused on understanding the role Grindr plays in LGBTQ life.Ī slice of that project – which is currently under review with a top peer-reviewed social science journal – explores the way gay men rationalize their sexual racism and discrimination on Grindr. From 2015 to 2019 I interviewed gay men from the Midwest and West Coast regions of the United States.
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I'm seeking to move beyond simply describing the problem and to better understand why some gay men behave this way. While social scientists have explored racism on online dating apps, most of this work has centered on highlighting the problem, a topic I've also written about. Since 2015 I've been studying LGBTQ culture and gay life, and much of that time has been spent trying to untangle and understand the tensions and prejudices within gay culture.