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In its first three years, Grindr reached over 4 million users in 192 countries. Grindr is the most popular gay mobile SNS on the market. Where queer digital spaces were forged for safe expression of identity, more often than not SNSs like Grindr establish a gatekeeping of what is desirable and mimics the toxic spaces and ideologies they were trying to avoid in the first place. On explicitly queer SNSs like Grindr, there is a phenomenon known as “Masc4Masc,” which deems the hypermasculine or straight-passing user the most desirable and often reflects hegemonic and heterosexual ideals of masculinity. In the digital era, this underground space exists in the form of social networking sites, or SNSs.
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MASCULINE GAY MEN IN TH EMEDIA CODE
Before World War II, where anti-gay sentiment was the mainstream ideology, the underground space existed in “subcultural codes,” as defined by George Chauncey in his book “Gay New York.” Queer men would wear colored handkerchiefs in their jean pockets, leather, or acted in an understood code of speech and style to be recognized by fellow gay men and avoid harassment in public spaces. A place that can change with time where one can express themselves authentically without judgement for their sexual or romantic desires or the risk of violence. For the queer community, nothing has been more sacred than the underground space. YouTube and Flickr built community around wanting to share digital media, LinkedIn built community around business and professional relationships, BlackPlanet built community around similar ethnic and racial backgrounds, and Match and Chemistry pioneered what would be an ever evolving culture of online dating.įor queer men, social networking sites (SNSs) provided the underground space to find gay friends, sexual partners and experiment with sexuality in ways they could not do publically in the real world. In the new millenium and the rise of digital spaces, social networking sites became a way to form specific subcultures on the web. Construction of identity, sexual gatekeeping and the rise of Masc4Masc in queer digital spaces