The emerging sociology of the internet has found that, time and again, anonymity in online life brings out the worst human behaviors. However, on Grindr people are allowed to be anonymous and faceless, reduced to images of their torsos or, in some cases, no images at all. Scruff, another gay dating app, requires users to reveal more of who they are. Perhaps Grindr has become particularly fertile ground for cruelty because it allows anonymity in a way that other dating apps do not. This is true even for people of color who occupy some degree of celebrity within the LGBTQ world. As scholars such as Theo Green have unpacked elsewehere, people of color who identify as queer experience a great deal of marginalization. In practice, however, these technologies often only reproduce, if not heighten, the same problems and issues facing the LGBTQ community.
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Some scholars point to how these apps enable those living in rural areas to connect with one another, or how it gives those living in cities alternatives to LGBTQ spaces that are increasingly gentrified. While social media apps have dramatically altered the landscape of gay culture, the benefits from these technological tools can sometimes be difficult to see. Responses like these reinforce the idea of Grindr as a space where social niceties don’t matter and carnal desire reigns. Since Grindr has a reputation as a hookup app, bluntness should be expected, according to users like this one – even when it veers into racism. These users would say things like, “This isn’t e-harmony, this is Grindr, get over it or block me.” The other way that I observed some gay men justifying their discrimination was by framing it in a way that put the emphasis back on the app. “My preference may offend others … 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.)
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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. (In fact, Ras Baraka, Newark’s current mayor and son of famed poet Amiri Baraka, can be heard on the interludes of the magum opus I honor with this column, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.A Grindr profile used in the study specifies interest in certain races. You see, Lauryn was raised in the neighboring towns of Newark and South Orange, where she attended Columbia High, a rival to my alma mater. A few weeks later, The Score dropped, dashing our hopes of a visit with a fellow Jersey girl. Unfortunately, Lauryn’s visit never came to pass, as a nor’easter dropped about 4 feet of snow on the Mid-Atlantic the week of our scheduled meeting. She probably still had time in her schedule to deign to visit with a random group of high schoolers. While Lauryn was certainly a known hip-hop artist, The Fugees hadn’t released The Score, which would catapult her to global superstardom. The African American Awareness Club’s faculty advisor had a connection to Lauryn’s family, and had arranged for her to attend a meeting one afternoon. I was in the middle of my junior year of Montclair High. The first time Lauryn canceled on me, she had a legitimate excuse. I'm still one of the only ones who can do that,” he said.
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And I’m talking about headliners that can go to the comedy clubs and carry a show all weekend. Until recently, McCormick has been the only openly, gay Black male comedian, touring the country, performing at major comedy clubs, and headlining shows.
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“As a community, we need to place an emphasis on our joy, on our ability to embrace the experiences that we have and celebrate those with reflection through laughter,” he said. This time around, McCormick says he’s being intentional about centering Black joy. McCormick’s Atlanta fans will have the chance to experience him live during a special Black History Month appearance: “Black Joy: A Night of Laughter with Sampson,” on February 23 at MIXX Atlanta. The trailblazing gay comedian has delighted and challenged audiences with his spirited brand of Black queer comedy for over two decades. Any attempt to make it through a conversation with comedian Sampson McCormick without laughter will fail.