AN EXPLORATION OF THE MOTIVATIONS AND INTERACTIONS OF GRINDR USERS IN LIMA, PERU
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Nº 5 - 2nd series // May 2022
AN EXPLORATION OF THE MOTIVATIONS AND
INTERACTIONS OF GRINDR USERS IN LIMA, PERU
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
SERGIO PLAZA-VIDALÓN
Universidad de Lima
saplaza@ulima.edu.pe
JULIO-CÉSAR MATEUS
Universidad de Lima
ORCID ID 0000-0001-5161-3737
jmateus@ulima.edu.pe
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
ABSTRACT:
Grindr is a dating application that is oriented to non-heterosexual males and that
works by geolocation. With a profile, users can interact, search for a partner, meet
new people, create contact networks and, above all, arrange casual sexual
encounters. The aim of this study was to describe the motivations, gratifications and
interactions generated among Grindr users in Lima, Peru. The methodology was
mixed: both a questionnaire with 110 participants and 8 in-depth interviews. The
results describe negative consequences in the use of this application. These include
discrimination and objectification among users, seen in users’ language and self-
generated behaviors, as well as stereotypes of toxic masculinity that condemn the
feminine and exalt the masculine.
KEYWORDS: Grindr; dating app; discrimination; masculinities; feminiphobia.
122
1. Introduction
Grindr is a dating application for mobile devices that works by geolocation. Upon
login, the interface shows the user a grid of 100 profiles of different users near their
location; each with an image, either a photograph chosen by users or a standard
silhouette that is assigned to those who do not upload a profile picture. It was
created by Joel Simkhai in 2009 and, by 2016, it had 27 million users (Frías 2019)
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
in 234 countries, of which 3.8 million are active for an average of 54 minutes per
day (Smith 2020). It also has a web version that synchronizes with the mobile
application, in the same way that other mobile apps work, like WhatsApp Web or
Tinder Web.
Grindr seeks to be an application that promotes communication and
encounters between non-heterosexual men. However, its use has brought to light
problems of discrimination and segregation among its users. According to Kapp
(2011), these users are subdivided into two groups: those inclined towards the
“masculine-normative,” and those who are considered more “feminine”. Different
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
pre-existing stereotypes of masculinity have been reproduced on Grindr, where they
are governed as a “standard” of behavior, sexual desirability and status. This creates
obstacles for users considered more feminine, as we will see in the testimonies of
interviewees, where they recount how they are rejected or mocked when they
attempt to engage in Grindr interactions.
In the Peruvian context, up to the time of writing this article, Grindr has only
been studied in order to describe risk behaviors – such as the reasons for an increase
in condomless anal sex among men (Passaro et al. 2019) – so this paper offers to
fill that gap from another theoretical perspective, exploring the interactions and
motivations of users of this application in the city of Lima.
1.1. Gratifications, motivations, and interactions
The encounters between users of the app provide almost immediate sexual
gratification. In this regard, many protagonists report leaving the encounter without
being affected emotionally, rationally or socially (Licoppe et al. 2015). Other
gratifications Grindr users seek are safety, control, ease, accessibility, mobility,
connectivity, and versatility (Miller 2015). Less common are “hanging out” and123
networking; not to mention the search for immediate sexual gratification (Goedel
and Duncan 2015).
This application is also used as a substitute for the offline places that non-
heterosexual men can frequent, where they usually perform flirting activities, meet
new people, find potential sexual partners, etc. Grindr, being an online space, is the
preferred medium for the search for sexual partners (Lemke 2020), as it provides
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
greater ease and transience for this purpose. Unlike offline spaces, where looks and
gestures are used to reach the casual sexual encounter, in the application users are
forced to adopt various alternative seduction techniques, such as being friendly,
speaking bluntly, and even being arrogant, so that they are able to “hunt” their
sexual target without much difficulty (Licoppe et al. 2015).
Users active on this application have developed a specific way of
communicating, with their own semantic system (Licoppe et al. 2015). This system
of meanings is negotiated and responded to by the very interactions that occur
between users (Maracci et al. 2019). For example, when it is already clear what role
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
a user would play in the sexual relationship, by the info shared in the user’s profile,
it is acceptable to begin a conversation with only a photo and no further greeting.
Another common practice performed on Grindr is the sharing of erotic images one
takes of oneself: naked selfies (Phillips 2015).
1.2. Segregative practices and feminiphobia
Of the various consequences of Grindr use, user discrimination and segregation
stand out. This discrimination occurs for different reasons, but, above all, it is
related to a rejection of the feminine and a legitimization of the masculine (Gómez
2019). Grindr’s interface legitimizes and facilitates this discrimination, as it
presents a high variety of simultaneous users from which it is possible to choose
according to tastes. In addition, it is possible to organize other users based on preset
“categories”, which were designed following stereotypes: jock, bear, twink, daddy,
among others (Shield 2018). According to Illouz (2007), the “image” or the
“appearance” of users has undergone a substantial change since the emergence of
dating apps in the last decade. That is, users give much greater importance to
physical appearance, in ways that do not happen in an offline context. This becomes
a segregative or discriminatory determinant when engaging in conversations online,
and it is much more cutting than in the offline world. As also found in heterosexual124
dating-apps research, there is an intense pressure on users to prescribe to normative
and formulated dating scripts, omitting the responsibility of corporate actors to take
any actions upon users’ wellbeing (Duguay et al. 2022).
Grindr seems to be a space legitimizing masculinities that, in turn, reject the
feminine and that are normalized in patriarchal societies (Gómez 2019). This
rejection of the feminine affects the behaviors and attitudes of its users, forming a
vicious circle of legitimization. Thus, the figure of the “hegemonic gay clone” has
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
also been referred to as the virtual user who legitimizes masculinity and condemns
femininity, and who is present both in the context of Lima and in other cities around
the world. He is compared to the figure of the “urban gay male clone” of the 1970s,
presented by Gramsci as a hunting and feminiphobic being. The hegemonic gay
clone dominates cyberspace (Shuckerow 2014).
Grindr masculinities have also been defined as being of two types according
to the way users expose and place their bodies in online profile pictures:
hypersexualized masculinity and lifestyle masculinity. Hypersexualized
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
masculinity refers to bare-torso or muscle-focused pictures shared by users,
whereas lifestyle masculinity refers to luxury activity-focused pictures shared by
users, such as on a yacht, hiking or at a beach. The practices that users engage in
everyday spaces encourage the emergence of these masculinities within the app
(Bonner- Thompson 2017). Similarly, users legitimize these discriminations when
communicating and interacting with each other, and when they engage in
discriminatory practices towards the feminine (Shield 2018). The feminiphobic
language used has an impact on the way users perceive each other, which develops
into segregation and prejudice. This impact then continues to manifest and
reproduce itself in offline spaces as well (Miller and Behm-Morawitz 2016).
The use of Grindr generates other consequences in the way users interact and
think, some of them contradictory. On the one hand, it is said that these men get to
experience “networked intimacy” – that is, developing affection and trust with
someone that they had only known virtually (Chan 2017). On the other hand, users
end up distancing themselves from each other after they carry out the sexual
encounter, and it is very likely that they will not meet again (Licoppe et al. 2015).
Similarly, the feelings that are generated in users after the use of the app turn out to
be both positive and negative at the same time (Miller 2015).125
1.3. Consequences on identity
Some users come to experience feelings of abandonment, low self-esteem, and
relegation (Fitzpatrick and Birnholtz 2017) when they realize that they are being
ignored. This may happen in the cases of some users changing their profile pictures
and descriptions, in order to become invisible from the other's view.
For Jaspal (2017), the “rules of the game” abided by all users in such spaces,
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
as well as the addiction generated using the application, are factors that damage the
individual identity and the social and psychological well-being of users. For
example, after an encounter, users tend not to meet the same person again, but to
look for someone new. This is also linked to an avoidance of developing deeper
relationships (Licoppe et al. 2015). Other learned norms are those moments of
“browsing” where the user only spends time viewing various images of other users,
sending taps or engaging in conversation with users who do not respond.
The interactions that take place on Grindr are also known to have an impact
on how users perceive the physical appearance and mannerisms of others, as well
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
as generating obsessive weight control behaviors and toning their own bodies
(Filice et al. 2019). Similarly, users have become increasingly accustomed to a form
of immediate consumption of apps such as Grindr, where they put extra effort into
presenting themselves through the best image they have, so that they may have
greater chances of concretizing a larger number of sexual encounters. This is
because affectionate relationships have become increasingly capitalist in nature
(Illouz 2007). In other words, intrapersonal relationships, from Grindr users’
perspective, have to necessarily offer a “price” or something “beneficial” for the
user. It is not free to have sex with someone else. For them, if they do it, it is to their
own benefit, their own pleasure, to feed their ego. It is not because they want to
form a serious relationship with someone else nor make a long-term commitment
in which they would give love and care.
For Sherry Turkle (2011), the constant connectivity that technology provides
actually causes higher rates of loneliness. Consequently, we feel anxiety, as well as
the need to be constantly connected to each other. Thus, our mobile phone is seen
as an instrument to evade reality. Similarly, this connectivity provides us with an
illusory companionship, lacking the typical demands of friendship in the material
world. Turkle says that we have thus been creating a culture of overactive
communication that increasingly depletes the time we have to sit and think in peace.126
At the same time, we are required to respond more and more quickly. And this is
what generates anxiety. In addition to this, recent work shows the role of algorithms
in transforming digital practices into addictions and other dangerous pathologies,
based on behavioral theory and the economy of attention (Patino 2020).
In the context of COVID-19 lockdowns, dating apps “were at the forefront of
solutions to pandemic-related loneliness and isolation, […] spurring users to
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
continue dating for their emotional and social wellbeing, dating apps encouraged
virtual dating as a safe and trustworthy approach” (Duguay et al. 2022). However,
its perception as “hook-up apps” facilitating casual sex also carry risks and threaten
some conceptions on relationship-building. In addition to this, the role of algorithms
in transforming digital practices into addictions and other dangerous pathologies
must be approached when discussing users’ well-being (Patino 2020).
2. Method and approach
The aim of this article is to explore the interactions and motivations of Grindr use
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
by users in Lima, Peru, as well as the consequences on their identity, integrity and
self-esteem. For this purpose, we applied a mixed methodological approach based
on a questionnaire application and in-depth interviews. An advantage of the mixed
approach was that the sample is enriched with different perspectives, which allows
for greater depth. Also, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods
provides greater integrity with the treatment of the results (Hernández Sampieri et
al. 2014, 537).
2.1. Instruments
First, we designed an ad-hoc questionnaire of 34 closed questions. This tool sought
to catalog and measure the incidence of interactions generated within the
application, which included the process of creating a profile. It contained questions
in six different axes: user profile, profile creation, incidences in interactions and
other dynamics in the application, motivations and gratifications, stereotypes and
toxic masculinities, and frustrations generated by the use of the application.
The instrument was validated by 5 volunteer participants corresponding to the
sample who collaborated with the study and gave their opinion on the quality of the
instrument (comprehension of the questions, reliability and relationship of the
questions with the objectives of the study).127
Then, a semi-structured questionnaire guide was designed with 21 open
questions, also regarding the previously mentioned six axes corresponding to the
axes of the quantitative instrument. The purpose of this instrument was to delve
deeper into users’ responses, since interviews were conducted for this part of the
process.
2.2. Sample
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
For the application of the questionnaire, we constructed a non-representative
sample based on known characteristics of typical users of the application: non-
heterosexual men between 18 and 65 years old who have a mobile device with
internet access, who have the Grindr application and who use it. Given that the
universal demographics of users residing in Lima is unknown, it was decided to
send surveys through the same platform, creating a profile for research purposes
and filtering participants according to age ranges. The users were sent a message
with the questionnaire, and they were informed that the study was for academic
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
purposes, i.e., that the answers would contribute to scientific knowledge on the
topics covered. The selection of participants was random with the only geographical
bias given by the location of the profile created for the study (upper middle-class
district of the city of Lima). A total of 969 surveys were sent out, of which 110 were
completed. Regarding the uncompleted surveys, some users simply did not answer
the message. Other users were wary of the content or purpose of the research; some
were offended by being asked such questions. Other users were apologetic and
noted that they interacted sexually with other men on the down low but were afraid
to exposing personal information.
The interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of eight app users,
aged 23 to 35, from various districts of Lima and with the same socioeconomic
levels as the questionnaire participants. The approximate duration of each interview
was 40 minutes, in which questions were asked about the following topics: use,
motivations and gratifications of the application, the creation of one's own profile
in the application, negative consequences of segregation and discrimination
experienced in the application, and stereotypes of masculinities reflected in the
application. We chose to select this sample intentionally for the interviews, instead
of making a more open or random call, since the authors could not have access to a
broader range of interviewees in order to call for volunteers, because of COVID-19128
related difficulties. The fieldwork was conducted in May 2020, in the context of the
mandatory quarantine decreed by the Peruvian government. For this reason, the
interviews were conducted by video or telephone calls.
3. Results
We have organized the results along six axes: user profile, profile creation,
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
incidences in interactions and other dynamics in the application, motivations and
gratifications, stereotypes and toxic masculinities, and frustrations generated by the
use of the application.
3.1. Profile of Grindr users
Grindr users participating in this study range in age from 18-32 years. Those over
45 years of age are in the minority.
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
Figure 1. Ages of respondents.
Most respondents identified as cisgender. There were no participants who
identified as transgender. Forty percent did not specify any gender.129
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
Figure 2. Gender with which respondents identify themselves.
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
In terms of sexual orientation, the majority identified as homosexual, followed by
bisexual. Heterosexuals are a minority on the app. The vast majority have been
using Grindr for more than 18 months. On the other hand, only 9% of respondents
downloaded the app for the first time after the mandatory COVID-19 quarantine
was imposed in the country. Finally, almost half of the respondents also use Tinder,
another dating app.
3.2. Profile creation
Profile creation refers to the name users choose to display on their Grindr profile,
as well as the type of picture they display, and the additional profile data they
choose to fill out. Most users choose not to use their name and remain anonymous.
Another common practice is to use a fake name. Only 18% of respondents use their
real name.
During the interviews, most of the interviewees agreed that the most
important field to fill in is photography. According to them, it is important to know
who you are talking to:
Being a hookup app, whose purpose is to get gay people to have sex, the profiles
should be focused on making that 'procedure' as light as possible. Without a130
photo, I have no way of knowing if the other person is attractive to me or not.
(Subject D; San Borja, 30 years old)
3.3. Incidents in the interactions and other dynamics in the application
According to the survey results, the main activity that users perform on Grindr is
chatting (94.60%). In second place, with 63.10%, comes arranging sexual
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
encounters and then sending photos with explicit content (53.20%). These activities
are not mutually exclusive. During the interviews, most users agreed that arranging
sexual encounters through Grindr is extremely simple:
It's super easy. They see your picture, if [...] you are nice […], they write you. Or
in the same way, you write if you are looking for sex with someone you find
attractive. [...] In this case, an application where there are only men looking for
sex is [snaps fingers] super simple. (Subject B; Comas, 23 years old)
Likewise, users state that, after having sexual encounters with other users, they
maintain contact with them. However, this does not happen with everyone with
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
whom they have had an encounter, but only with a minority: “[...] There are people
you meet for one night and that’s all you want, and there are people you meet more
than once, so you have contact with them and you talk regularly” (Subject H; San
Borja, 26 years old).
Most of the interviewees recounted their experiences of being blocked in the
application, as well as admitting to having blocked other users. One of the main
reasons why a user blocks another user is because he finds an acquaintance (relative,
friend, neighbor) in the application and is embarrassed to be seen there. For this
reason, they block them as soon as they find them on the grid. Another reason why
they block other users is because they are no longer interested in talking to that
person. The interviewees stated that it is less uncomfortable to block a user than to
have to explain to them why they no longer want to continue talking to that person:
There are people who really want to know, and they write constantly and [...] the
person has clearly moved on and does not want to face that kind of conversation,
so they prefer to stop writing instead of giving explanations. (Subject A;
Surquillo, 24 years old)
Another reason Grindr users block each other is because they feel that the other user
gets too insistent with the conversation. This can be in behavior such as repeatedly
asking for a response or sending photos:131
Mostly [blocking] when they are too insistent, or when they send you a picture of
a pack [...]. Or when they send you a ton of photos [...]. In order not to sound
rude, because you don't want to talk to the person, you simply block them.
(Subject B; Comas, 23 years old)
When users are blocked, they experience negative feelings that impact their self-
esteem and mood. This will be discussed in more detail below in the section
“Frustrations generated because of the use of the application”.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
3.4. Motivations and rewards
According to the survey results, the main motivations for using the app are to meet
new people (79.3%), have sex with other users (67.6%) and make friends (55.9%).
The interviewees agreed that they perceived that most users who are on the app
use it for the immediate sexual purpose, especially because they are very direct in
their requests (by sending explicit photos without greeting first, asking for the user's
role as soon as the conversation starts, among other forms of interaction). For those
interviewed, most do not seek or find a romantic relationship on Grindr. “I don't
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
know if it’s because they are men, but it’s simply that your libido seeks to be
satisfied, and you satisfy it, somehow, by looking for sex. [...] I don't know if I’m
being too radical, but I feel that men are very passionate, very carnal,” says subject
B, a 23-year-old resident of Comas. Additionally, subject C, 35 years old, resident
of Surquillo, comments: “I understand that these apps are more for sex, and I was
looking for the love of my life”.
While it is true that many respondents use another dating app in addition to
Grindr, they noted that this app is known for providing much greater immediacy in
interactions. They also noted that Grindr’s positioning among its users is primarily
as an app for having sex. For example, unlike Tinder, there is no need to match with
the other user before you can talk to him/her; in Grindr, you just have to select
him/her in the grid, and you can talk to him/her. Also, within the private chat
between users, the application has the option to share the location where you are,
so that facilitates and streamlines the coordination of a meeting: “What is different
is that Grindr is more direct. I mean, I want to have sex and I'm looking for someone
who also wants to have sex, and it’s more direct. While in other applications it is
more like chill, see photos, talk, and if it happens in the conversation to meet
someone, that's it” (Subject H; San Borja, 26 years old). When making a parallel
between Grindr and Tinder, another interviewee commented: “A journalist said that132
Tinder is like a buffet where you keep throwing up to keep consuming” (Subject C;
Surquillo, 35 years old).
However, the interviewees also state that they are not only looking for sex,
but also to chat or meet people, make friends. Although they think that most Grindr
users are only looking for sex, they continue to use the application.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
I think that behind everything I was doing there, I was looking for a relationship.
But on Grindr it was very difficult, people sometimes even got annoyed. If there
was someone interesting and I was talking to them, they would ask me for photos
and I would say: “I don't send photos”, to which they would reply, “You get in
here, you don’t know why, you’re wasting time”. (Subject C; Surquillo, 35 years
old)
Nowadays I’m not looking for sex. [...] My profile says everything I'm looking
for: networking, chatting, meeting people and in “a place to meet” I put, I don’t
know, a café, a bar, etc. No more “My place/your place”, no, nothing casual
anymore. Nowadays what I'm really looking for is to meet people or inspire
people. [...] If I see 19-21 year old kids, I throw them out, I tell them “What are
you doing here? Please get out of here. This network is not for you” etc. (Subject
F; San Borja, 30 years old)
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
3.5. Stereotypes and toxic masculinities
Regarding the stereotypes and toxic masculinities that are present on Grindr,
respondents indicated that they do agree that users seek to look and act more
masculine. On the other hand, they believe that users with athletic builds are more
attractive to users. For overweight users, they believe the opposite. Cisgender users
are also more attractive; transgender users and those with androgynous features, the
opposite.
The interviewees pointed out that while it is true that these levels of attraction
to certain physical stereotypes exist, there is aggressive discrimination within the
application by users. This discrimination is manifested in the texts in user profiles,
as well as in messages in chats. This discrimination is not only directed towards
people who do not meet the athletic physical stereotype or are skinny, but also
towards those who are overweight, are over forty, based on the district in which one
lives, and even, as one interviewee points out, the size of one's member.
I think that adults [...] who are over sixty may feel discriminated against. [...] I
have seen profiles in which they say, “No more than thirty”, [...] I think it is valid
to have a taste for a certain type of people or a certain type of age, but I always133
think you have to be careful in the way you say it. (Subject E; Independence, 33
years old)
[...] There is a big problem of discrimination in Grindr, especially because
masculinity is something very well regarded in the community, while the
feminine is despised, avoided and even humiliated. This is reflected in the profiles
that say, “No crazy women”, “No feather”, “Masc x masc”, etc. There is also the
cult of the body: someone more fit is always going to be preferred over a person
who is either too thin or too fat or too flabby. [....] Anyone who does not fit the
Western masculine male mold may feel discriminated against (feminine attitudes,
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
musical tastes, physical condition, skin color, etc.). (Subject D; San Borja, 30
years old)
I have heard friends who discriminate against people with Peruvian features, who
call them cholos, serranos, etc. [...] There is a lot of force in that type of
discrimination, or if you live in a district in the peripheries, like Los Olivos,
Comas, etc. (Subject F; San Borja, 30 years old)
However, the interviewees have emphasized that “I am not discriminating, it is just
a matter of taste”, since they say that they do not talk to someone when they are not
attracted to them, and that they also sometimes block people they do not like when
they become insistent or send explicit photographs. However, the interviewees
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
point out that, at the end of the day, there are tastes of all kinds, even for female or
trans users.
The interviewees pointed out that there is incongruence and hypocrisy in the
gay community in Lima, because there is too much discrimination against the
feminine and trans community. However, the gay community itself is already
discriminated against by heteronormative thinking groups:
There are studies [...] where LGBT communities try to find some way to
discriminate against a certain group in order to save themselves from being, let’s
say, the last stop. Let’s say, if you’re the first to bully, supposedly you wouldn’t
be bullied by everybody anymore. [...] There are kids who are suddenly more
Andean who try to be friends with some who are not so Andean. And if you are
friends with a blond, you are no longer so Andean. Or if, for example, you don’t
have money, but you mention your family name, and you start talking about it.
Since this is a population that has been discriminated against many times, they
will look for ways to discriminate in order not to feel the most discriminated
against. (Subject C; Surquillo, 35 years old)
3.6. Frustrations generated because of the use of the application
First, several of the interviewees report having been blocked at some point when
they have been using the application. This is usually because of not meeting the
beauty or attractiveness standards of the users who contact them. Being blocked134
generates discomfort and frustration for users, especially when they are trying to
set up a meeting:
Yes [I have felt sad or frustrated], when there are people who don’t respond to
you and you wish they would respond to you; it’s frustrating [...]. And in a way
it also makes you feel like “maybe I’m not good-looking enough, or good-bodied
enough”, etc., etc., etc., etc. Anyway, I think it detracts from people’s self-esteem.
(Subject A; Surquillo, 24 years old)
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
I’ve been blocked when I don't meet certain standards. [...] I remember a super
handsome guy who was really interested, we were talking, and when we got to a
hotter tone [...], he asked me intimate questions, like if I’m hairy, and I told him:
“Yes, I'm super hairy, I look like a werewolf”. He blocked me. (Subject F; San
Borja, 30 years old)
As to whether Grindr raises or lowers users’ self-esteem, opinions are balanced,
both by respondents and interviewees.
Yes [it has made me feel sad or frustrated]. Both feelings. Years ago, I was a little
chubby, and no one I liked responded to me. In the end you settled for the best
you could get. It's hard to understand that what you like, you're not attracted to.
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
But it's part of the game, I guess. [...] Now that I have a body that is attractive to
men, yes. It has made me feel better. I think I enjoy it. Since I have gone through
rejection from many, now that several people talk to me it makes me feel better.
(Subject G; Santiago de Surco, 29 years old)
4. Conclusions and discussion
Based on the findings of the fieldwork, we conclude that Grindr is an application
that works mostly for casual and fleeting sexual encounters. Its design and tools
serve this purpose. Users share their location in real time, in addition to making
video calls or sending videos, as strategies to corroborate the identity of the person
they are talking to.
Another of the tools used to set up meetings is the filter that discriminates
users who meet the predetermined stereotype. Another filter allows the user to
choose a point on the map anywhere in the world and the hundred users closest to
that point appear on the grid, allowing the user to “map” other users in different
areas of the city in case the user is going to move and approach these spaces.
The app interface also generates frustrations and tensions among its users
(Fitzpatrick and Birnholtz 2017), as we evidenced in the interviews. These feelings
can be triggered by the realization of being blocked by a user with whom they had
been interacting.135
4.1. “Let's go hunting”: motivations of Grindr users in Lima
The average Grindr user participating in this study uses the application for the
purpose of casual sexual encounters. They do not seek to establish lasting bonds or
develop affective relationships with other users they have met on the application.
Along the same lines as Goedel and Duncan (2015), we found that Lima users also
occasionally use the application to make friends and network, although to a lesser
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
extent compared to the sexual purpose.
The average user generates “direct” conversations, based on questions to
confirm if the other user is available for a casual sexual encounter, if they are
nearby, if they have a place where they can meet and what their sexual option is,
that is, if they fulfill the penetrative or receiving role in the sexual encounter. In
addition to this, users send each other explicit photographs showing body parts,
penis or torso, depending on their sexual role - the so-called naked selfies (Phillips,
2015). This coincides with Licoppe et al. (2015), who point out that on Grindr users
can go “straight to the point” and “hunt” their “prey,” without the need to elaborate
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
a friendly, cordial or interesting approach, as would happen in the offline world.
It should be noted that these interactions work because a communication code
is used—based on words, adjectives, jargons, photographs—created and validated
by users, replicated by them and thus learned by users entering this platform; this
was also reported by Maracci et al. (2019). Having little or no notion about the
dynamics of communication in the application, forces a new user to learn from
scratch in order to quickly be “successful”.
However, the average user in this study presents a contradiction. He says he
is tired of all the other users on the app looking only for casual sexual encounters,
but he also continues to use the app for the same thing. In fact, he says he is not
looking for a longer-term relationship, although he makes it clear that he is “not
closed to anything.” Why, what are they truly looking for when using the app?
Sherry Turkle (2011) says that social networks and their permanent
connectivity cause a greater demand for time and effort to connect with people. It
is preferred to have superficial and progressive interactions. It is now more
comfortable in the various social networks to communicate digitally, instead of
opting for physical encounters and long-term romantic or non-romantic
relationships. Virtual communication is preferred because it is intermittent. Along
these lines, the design of Grindr’s interface promotes answering messages136
whenever they want. They can disappear and not answer if they feel like it,
exercising a power contradictory to their discourse. This is appealing because we
are less and less willing to invest time and energy in developing relationships with
people and because algorithms, following Patino (2020), play on users’ urges and
desires by applying emotional hooking strategies. Grindr provides all this: an
immediacy in interactions that is preferred in modern society.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
Grindr offers the advantages of liquid love, a series of interactions and
encounters where the user is unattached and free of any affective responsibility.
Bauman (2003) points out that liquid love is a love that puts individualism and the
individual's own preferences above all else, in contrast to “traditional” or “solid”
love, which entails, according to the author, a greater commitment to unity between
two people, as well as greater consideration of the preferences and emotions of the
other individual.
Along the same lines, Licoppe et al. (2015) mention that users are not affected
emotionally, rationally or socially in relation to the interactions they have with other
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
people within the same application. The interviewees in this study partially
validated this statement when delving into their feelings, saying they also have felt
used or belittled. Nevertheless, they themselves continue to replicate these
objectifying attitudes, generating a pernicious loop.
For Turkle (2011) the increasing loneliness of social network users leads them
to demand companionship, but at the same time, they do not want too much
company. They want to control the pace of the conversation and the flow of their
own responses and keep them brief and casual-sex oriented. This phenomenon, as
we see in the interviews and the app description itself, extends to Grindr users in
Lima. Grindr offers them a sex dynamic without the effort or demands that come
with finding a partner.
In this sense, it should be noted that the use of Grindr affects the idea of
relationship and the idea of love that users reformulate in their heads, which
coincides with the arguments provided by authors such as Turkle (2011) and
Bauman (2003). The participation of individuals, in this case Grindr users in Lima,
is prioritizing individuality, immediacy and transience. This results in a type of
relationship that does not develop meaningful bonds, and is relatively short, as well
as in a dynamic where users are constantly moving from one partner to another,137
without significant emotional involvement. Such casual, transient relationships are
the paradigm among Grindr users in Lima today.
4.2. “I feel like an object”: objectification and discrimination
The interactions between Grindr users generate a problem of objectification and
segregation. According to the interviewees, they treat themselves as “pieces of
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
meat,” not as individuals. Bonner-Thompson (2017) uses precisely the concept of
meat market to define that app. For example, it is easy for a user to send an intimate
photo to another user whom they found attractive at first glance, but then ignore it
when realizing other features that are not pleasing to them.
As interviewees reported, there is no sense of guilt for blocking or ignoring.
There are no signs of empathy. This fits with Licoppe et al. (2015) and Maracci et
al. (2017) who state that behaviors and forms of communication among Grindr
users are normalized among people when they are replicated, no matter how
harmful they are.
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
By extension, thanks to the dynamics of selection-and-hunting and
reification, the app universe in Lima has developed a marked and aggressive
discrimination. This is linked to a very present toxic masculinity, which condemns
the feminine and exalts the masculine, as we can see in the results of the surveys
and interviews. Following Gómez (2019), the application functions as an ideal place
to replicate behaviors of feminiphobic masculinities.
By allowing Grindr to choose what they find attractive and block what they
find unpleasant, users have extended such thinking to their actions and ways of
communicating. Profiles read “no musculocas” (feminine bodybuilders), “no
fatties”, “only passive swallowers”; in other words, the use of pejorative adjectives
where the feminine –physical features or behaviors—is the object of mockery. In
Lima, Peru, as well as other latin countries, receptive sexual roles are often equated
to femininity, following the idea that fulfilling a penetrative role brings one closer
to the male, heterosexual image. It makes sense, then, that those who present
behaviors linked to toxic masculinity avoid fulfilling a receptive role.
This masculinity that condemns the feminine also extols the masculine and is
confirmed in the Lima profiles with requests such as “only males”, “only hotties”,
“refrain sissies”. Among users, the stereotypical masculine male who trains in the
gym and dresses well is more appreciated –which coincides with Bonner-138
Thompson (2017)—and the user with feminine traits, with an extroverted and
uninhibited attitude is condemned. Similarly, feminine users are more regularly
blocked when they cordially greet more markedly masculine-looking users. They
are also insulted.
This presents a contradiction, as one of the survey results indicates that most
participants do not feel discriminated against when they are using the application.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
However, interviewees reported being aware of the hegemony of discriminatory
discourses and attitudes within Grindr and seem to assume this as part of the
transaction cost.
4.3. How to stand out: building a successful stereotype
Discrimination impacts the self-esteem and self-perception of users by generating
frustrations for not meeting the standards of beauty or sexual attractiveness
regularly required in the application. However, few users admitted to having
changed something about their appearance because of comments from other users.
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
The dynamics described above force users to build their virtual identity based
on the parameters of the other, in order to attract attention and engage in
conversations. When building their profile, users select those aspects that match the
“ideal inventory”. They do this to optimize their goals within the application: Users
who consider themselves better looking show off their face. Those who have a fit
body choose a photo that highlights it. Those who seek to show themselves as more
masculine, work to attenuate any possible traits that could be perceived as feminine.
On the contrary, those users who choose to present themselves as feminine are
confronted with obstacles and rejection. Interaction between users demands the
development of ad hoc digital skills (Maracci et al. 2019), while legitimizing
feminiphobic discriminatory attitudes within the app (Shield 2018).
In sum, this contradictory loneliness developed by Turkle (2011) is present in
the Lima Grindr users interviewed. Seeking interactions with as little effort as
possible, in order to eventually lead to sexual encounters, affects the way in which
users communicate with each other. In addition, it impacts the way in which they
look at each other and the type of relationships they establish between them. This
creates disinterested relationships, where it is possible to easily replace the one you
have been talking to when another one comes along who is equally or more
attractive or accessible than the previous user.139
4.4. Limitations and proposals
The results presented here, on the interactions and motivations of Grindr users in
Lima, can be expanded from other disciplines perspectives. For instance, it would
be interesting to know the motivations and psychological impacts or to correlate
them with the design of the virtual experience by attending to concepts such as the
economy of attention.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
Another interesting point to research further is the finding that almost half of
the users also use Tinder at the same time. It would be beneficial for new studies to
explore the differences and gratifications of using Grindr compared to other dating-
apps such as Tinder, especially if both apps are being used simultaneously. If
different users find each other on both apps, what would be the dynamics or
interactions that would develop between them on each of the apps? What sets them
apart?
It would also be interesting to explore the psychological and emotional
consequences of the new type of fleeting relationships without meaningful bonds
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
that have been developing in the context of Grindr users in Lima. How does this
type of relationship affect users in the area of self-esteem and emotional well-being?
On another hand, this research was conducted in the context of restrictions
due to COVID-19 lockdown in the country. Therefore, it would be suitable to
convey a similar investigation without these restrictions, so that interviews and
questionnaires could reach a larger and more different audience.
Finally, this work leaves clues to be explored about the practices of
discrimination and racism, whether due to feminiphobic or socio-cultural factors,
within the community of non-heterosexual men. This is the case especially in
multiethnic societies, such as Peru.
References
Bauman, Zygmunt. 2003. Liquid Love: On the Frailty of Human Bonds.
Cambridge: Polity Press. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F009430610403300464
Bonner-Thompson, Carl. 2017. “The meat market: production and regulation of
masculinities on the Grindr grid in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.” Gender,140
Place & Culture 24, no. 11: 1611-1625.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2017.1356270
Chan, Lik Sam. 2017. “The Role of Gay Identity Confusion and Outness in Sex-
Seeking on Mobile Dating Apps Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: A
Conditional Process Analysis.” Journal of Homosexuality 64, no. 5: 622- 637.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1196990
Duguay, Stefanie, Christopher Dietzel, and David Myles. 2022. “The Year of the
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
‘Virtual Date’: Reimagining Dating App Affordances during the COVID-19
Pandemic.” New Media & Society.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211072257.
Filice, Eric, Amanda Raffoul, Samantha Meyer, and Elena Neiterman. 2019. “The
Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perceptions and Bodily Practices
among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Critical
Review of the Literature and Extension of Theory.’ Sex Roles 2, no. 2: 1-24.
doi: 10.1007/s11199-019-01063-7
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
Filice, Eric, Amanda Raffoul, Samantha B. Meyer, and Elena Neiterman. 2019.
“The Influence of Grindr, a Geosocial Networking Application, on Body
Image in Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: An
Exploratory Study.” Body Image 31 (December): 59–70.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.08.007.
Fitzpatrick, Colin, and Jeremy Birnholtz. 2017. “I Shut the Door’: Interactions,
tensions, and negotiations from a location-based social app.” New Media &
Society 20, no. 7 (August): 2469-2488.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444817725064
Frías, Gabriela. 2020. #Cifradeldía: With 27 Million Users Is Grindr A National
Security Threat? [online] CNN. Available at:
[Retrieved September 4, 2020].
Goedel, William, and Dustin Duncan. 2015. “Geosocial-Networking App Usage
Patterns of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: Survey
Among Users of Grindr, A Mobile Dating App.’ JMIR Public Health and
Surveillance 1, no. 1 (May): 1-13.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/publichealth.4353141
Gómez, Iván. 2019. “Grindr and hegemonic masculinity: comparative approach to
the rejection of femininity.” Sociological Studies 37, no. 109 (April): 39-68.
https://doi.org/10.24201/es.2019v37n109.1644
Hernandez-Sampieri, Roberto and Christian P. Mendoza. 2014. Metodología de la
investigación. México: McGraw-Hill/Interamericana Editores.
Illouz, Eva. 2007. Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism.
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jaspal, Rusi. 2017. “Gay Men's Construction and Management of Identity on
Grindr.” Sexuality & Culture 21, no. 1 (October): 187-204. doi:
10.1007/s12119-016-9389-3
Kapp, Matt. 2020. Grindr: Welcome to the World's Biggest, Scariest Gay Bar.
Vanity Fair [online]. 2020. Available at:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/grindr-201105. [Retrieved
September 4, 2020].
Lemke, Richard. 2020. “The association of the availability of offline gay scenes
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
and national tolerance of homosexuality with gay and bisexual men's sexual
online dating behavior.” Computers in Human Behavior 104: 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106172
Licoppe, Christian, Carole Anne Rivière, and Julien Morel. 2015. Grindr casual
hook-ups as interactional achievements. New Media & Society 18, no. 11:
2540-2558. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444815589702
Maracci, João, Bernard Martins, Kátia Bones, e Adolfo Pizzinato. 2019. “Image,
body, and language in the usage of Grindr.” Psicologia USP 30: 1-11.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6564e180160
Miller, Brandon. 2015. “’They're the modern-day gay bar:’ Exploring the uses and
gratifications of social networks for men who have sex with men.” Computers
in Human Behavior 51 (September): 476-482.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.05.023
Miller, Brandon, and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz. 2016. “’Masculine Guys Only’:
The effects of femmephobic mobile dating application profiles on partner
selection for men who have sex with men.” Computers in Human Behavior
62 (August): 176-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.088
Passaro, Colby, Angelica Castañeda-Huaripata, Williams Gonzales-Saavedra,
Susan Chavez-Gomez, Eddy Segura, Jordan Lake, Robinson Cabello, and142
Jesse Clark. 2019. “Contextualizing condoms: a cross-sectional study
mapping intersections of locations of sexual contact, partner type, and
substance use as contexts for sexual risk behavior among MSM in Peru”.
BMC Infectious Disease 19, no. 1 (November): 19-958.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-019-4517-y
Patino, Bruno. 2020. La civilización de la memoria de pez: Pequeño tratado sobre
10.34632/diffractions.2022.10193
el mercado de la atención. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Phillips, Christian. 2015. “Self-Pornographic Representations with Grindr.” Journal
of Visual and Media Anthropology 1, no. 1: 65-79.
Shield, Andrew. 2018. “Grindr culture: intersectional and socio-sexual.” Ephemera:
Theory & Politics in Organization 18, no. 1: 149-161.
http://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/grindr-culture-intersectional-
and-socio-sexual
TED, 2020, Connected, but alone? | Sherry Turkle [online]. [video]. 2020.
[Retrieved September 4, 2020]. Available at:
Diffractions // Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture // Nº 5 - 2nd Series // May 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4
TED, 2020, TEDxUIUC - Sherry Turkle - Alone Together [online]. [video]. 2020.
[Retrieved September 4, 2020]. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtLVCpZIiNs
Turkle, Sherry. 1997. Life on the screen: The construction of identity in the age of
the Internet. Barcelona: Paidós.
Article received on 06/09/2021 and approved on 14/01/2022.
Creative Commons Attribution License | This is an open-access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in
other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited
and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic
practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.You can also read
