TECH CRUNCH – Nov 21 – Grindr said changes will include new profile fields for gender identity and the use of gender-neutral language throughout its app and website. Grindr's new identity section lets users fill out their own gender identity or pick from a list that includes "trans man," "woman," "cis man," "non-binary," "non-conforming" and "queer." Users can also select or write in what pronouns they prefer to use.
Category: All Gay
The Co-Founder Of Gaydar Has Died Aged 51
BUZZFEED – Nov 12 – Henry Badenhorst, the co-founder of Gaydar dating website, has died after falling from a tower block in South Africa. It is understood he killed himself. Along with Gary Frisch, his business and romantic partner, Badenhorst founded Gaydar in Nov 1999. Frisch died in 2007 – he also fell to his death from the balcony of a building. Badenhorst described the loss of Frisch as the worst day of his life and according to friends he never fully recovered from it. The couple dreamed up the website after a single gay friend of theirs had been complaining about how hard it was to find a boyfriend on existing online dating sites. At the peak of Gaydar's success, it had ~5M subscribers.
New Gay Dating App Chappy Is Helping All Gay Men Find A Match
TOWLEROAD – Nov 7 – New gay dating app Chappy allows users to specify whether they're looking for "Mr. Right" or "Mr. Right Now." The app reports 3x more users are looking for "Mr. Right". The app doesn't tolerate discrimination based on gender identity, disability, race, religion or age. In fact, users must agree to the "Chappy Pledge" before entering the app in which they consent to treat other users with respect and kindness. Chappy is the brainchild of three co-founders with diverse backgrounds. Ollie Locke is a reality-TV personality who famously came out as bisexual while appearing on Made in Chelsea, and has since identified as gay. Co-Founder of Badoo Max Cheremkhin was inspired to work on Chappy as a means of breaking down the kind of stigmas about the gay community that fuel his native country Russia's hard stance against LGBT rights and safety. The third member of the founding team, Jack Rogers, brings a unique POV to his work – he's straight.
Jack’d Attacks Grindr For Racist Profiles
ADVOCATE – Oct 27 – Grindr is being accused by competitor Jack'd of doing too little to stop racism on its platform. Jack'd is pushing a new video on its social media and issued a news release calling out Grindr for including member profiles with messages like "No blacks, no Asians." Other profiles say they prefer white men. Jack'd called the problem "rampant."
by Lucas Grindley
See full article at Advocate
Gay Clubs Raided And Dating App Shut Down In Belarus
PINKNEWS – Oct 26 – LGBT people in yet another former Soviet state are facing an "alarming" crackdown. Two clubs popular with the LGBT community in Belarus were raided this weekend, with customers harassed and detained by police. A popular dating site for gay men has also reportedly been shut down by the government. The move was apparently taken on the direct orders of President Alexander Lukashenko, a dictator who is the country's only ever president. Lukashenko has previously responded to accusations that he was running a dictatorship by saying that it was "better to be a dictator than gay".
Grindr And Hornet Help LGBT Egyptians Stay Safe Amid Crackdown
Egypt Escalates LGBTI Crackdown With Fresh Wave Of Arrests
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – Oct 2 – The Egyptian authorities have arrested 22 people over the past three days, stepping up a campaign of persecution against LGBTI people in the country which began after a rainbow flag was displayed at a Mashrou' Leila concert in Cairo provoking a public outcry, Amnesty International said today. The scale of the latest arrests highlights how dangerously entrenched homophobia is within the country.
CEO Of Gay Dating App DaddyBear Apologizes For His Recent Statement
PRWEB – Sep 22 – In August, a new dating app DaddyBear published a press release to introduce itself as a platform for healthy and HIV negative gay men. Many big gay news sites strongly criticized the app. Justin, the CEO of DaddyBear, realized the real current situation of HIV and started to regret for what he had done and decided to make a sincere apology. "Justin wants to thank all the writers who have criticized his idea and all guys who have written us letters for making him realize that HIV is not so horrible and he highly suggests that all men should face up to it and receive treatment. Sorry, all guys."
Q&A With Chappy Founder Ollie Locke
OUT.COM – Sep 17 – Chappy is one of the latest dating apps to hit the gay scene. It allows users to filter out "Mr. Right" from "Mr. Right Now."
Q: How did you guys come up with the idea for Chappy?
A: I asked why is every platform only about hookups? Why is it not about dating? And we came together and made Chappy.
Q: How do you see Chappy fitting into this new era of online dating?
A: I think all of us generally want safer, more responsible choices about what we want in relationships, hookups, spontaneous weekends, whatever we're looking for.
Q: What else is in store for the app?
A: Chappy is different because we're trying to make it a lifestyle app as well. We want you to be on the app once you've found someone.
A Computer Can Tell If Someone Is Gay
