Examining gay male discursive practices in hook-up apps

Abstract

Abstract Whilst there is a growing body of literature on the normalisation of abuse in youth digital sexual image exchange (Ringrose, Regehr & Whitehead 2021), mediated intimacies and sexual harms among men who have sex with men (MSM) in online contexts still remain largely neglected (Dietzel 2021). The present study builds on Russell’s (2021) study on male discursive practices and investigates sexual and gendered ideologies in 600 online dating profiles gathered from Grindr and Wapo. The discourse analysis of these profiles, on the one hand, sheds light on the existing violent nature of gay Alpha imaginaries in the short-term sexual encounters that these dating apps facilitate and, on the other hand, gives evidence of how discourses of hegemonic heteronormativity, and rape culture, seem to inform MSMs dating app profiles.