Overview 

Sprint:

1 week 

(this project is a work in progress)

Team: 

Just me   

Software: 

Figma

Role: 

Researcher 

Objective: 

Initial Research Study on the relationship between queer online experiences.

Background

The entire queer community in the palm of your hand

More and more individuals are turning online looking for romantic and sexual partners.The lack of public spaces have caused many queer individuals to look for alternative methods to find connection. As a result of stigma and general intolerance, queer individuals often turn to platforms like dating apps to find their community instead of in person.

Research

Hearing directly from the users

To better understand the community I conducted:

• Interviews 

  • 5 cis queer men 

  • 2 cis queer women 

  • 1 trans masc person 

• Contextual Inquiry 

  • 1 contextual inquiry with the app tinder with a cis gay man 

App Comparison

Results 

Each community has a very different experience.

Cis Gay men and Grindr

It’s important to acknowledge that Grindr is used by a multitude of people of different sexualities and gender expression.

Interview Findings:

• Users were in general conflicting and frustrated

• It was a tool to meet friends, dates, and sexual partners

• Users faced harassment from anonymous strangers which made them feel sad or unsafe

• Some of the harassment was racist, body shaming, or femme shaming in tone

• Many users had been cat fished by profiles pretending to be other people

• Felt as if there was no alternative to having the app

• People went through cycles of downloading, deleting, and then downloading again

• A negative tone associated with app

Cis Queer Women and Apps

Interview Findings:

• Queer women found the apps to be a positive constructive space

• enjoyed the conversations

• experienced little harassment

• did not see the apps as a necessity

Trans folx and Apps

Interview Findings:

• Mixed reactions depending on apps

• found general intolerance at times with people misunderstanding trans identity

• experience was very different depending on individual

Universal Themes

• The need for a safe space free of harassment

• Sex positive oriented apps are need for all segments of the community, not just cis gay men

• Convenience and ease make apps like Grindr and Tinder more popular

• A way to reduce ghosting and cat fishing is necessary

• There needs to be new conventions to allow consistent engagement instead of cycles of binging and purging (delete and download)