Most people have at least one horror story about online dating. It’s a rite of passage that singles love to hate.
But horror stories look a little different for members of the LGBTQ community. On top of tales of the classic awkward hinge date and screenshots of a corny vibe oozing with vicarious awkwardness, gay singles handle all kinds of solitary interactions. The unfounded questioning of sexual histories, harassment, and fetishes — some of which come from cis straight people who shouldn’t have appeared on your feed in the first place — doesn’t exactly give one butterflies.
However, dating apps have become an important avenue for introducing gay people looking to settle down. Study at Stanford University for the year 2019(Opens in a new tab) and 2020 Pew Research Survey(Opens in a new tab) It found that meeting online has become the most popular way for American couples to connect—particularly for gay couples, with 28 percent of them having met their current partner online (versus 11 percent of straight couples).
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But the Pew survey also revealed those ugly experiences with harassment. This may be where options that block heterosexual users, such as HER and Grindr, come in. Their perfectly designed environments are so well known in the gay community that they’re basically in a league of their own.
Is Grindr the only option for gay dating apps?
Although Grindr and HER are big players, they are not alone in the queer dating app market. There are apps like Zoe, Taimi, and Scruff. But its plateauing popularity can be attributed to similar complaints: too many scam profiles and too few legitimate users (within a reasonable distance to plan a date, anyway). Chappy was a promising app for gay men that was shut down(Opens in a new tab) Just as it was gaining serious traction.
And at the end of the day, “everyone’s” apps are simply where the large numbers of gay users are. Keeping Tinder on the back burner just isn’t a straightforward thing for people, especially for those who live in less populated areas where Grindr and HER offer slim selections. Additionally, some mainstream apps deserve credit for the steps they’ve taken to create a more inclusive atmosphere. Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge now offer a lot more options for sexual orientation and gender identity. OkCupid got famous for making this change years ago, as well as making social justice an essential part of scoring compatibility — a kind of self-monitoring of the type of people on the app.
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If you are part of the LGBTQ community and hate leaving your home, you are not alone. Here are the best dating apps and sites that will increase your chances while minimizing human contact. Bless.