Abstract
The current study examined the social networking profiles of men who have sex with men on the popular application Jack’d in order to survey how they self-present, as well as how they describe their partner preferences. Using online disinhibition as a theoretical framework, emphasis was on how men frame their own and others’ masculinity/femininity, age, race, and body type or fitness level. Results indicated that men tended to privilege masculinity, to visually present themselves semi-clothed, and to mention fitness or bodies in the text of their profile. Analysis also revealed that more than 1 in 5 men used a face-absent main profile photo. Significant differences were found based upon the race and weight of profile users.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, E. (2005). In the game: Gay athletes and the cult of masculinity. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Anonymous. (n.d.) Douchebags of Grindr. http://www.douchebagsofgrindr.com
Bailey, J. M., Kim, P. Y., Hills, A., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (1997). Butch, femme, or straight acting? Partner preferences of gay men and lesbians. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 960–973.
Bartholome, A., Tewksbury, R., & Bruzzone, A. (2000). “I Want a Man”: Patterns of attraction in all-male personal ads. Journal of Men’s Studies, 8(3), 309–321.
Beren, S. E., Hayden, H. A., Wilfley, D. E., & Grilo, C. M. (1995). The influence of sexual orientation on body dissatisfaction in adult men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20(2), 135–141.
Callander, D., Holt, M., & Newman, C. E. (2012). Just a preference: Racialised language in the sex-seeking profiles of gay and bisexual men. Culture, Health, and Sexuality, 14(9), 1049–1063.
Caluya, G. (2006). The (gay) scene of racism: Face, shame and gay Asian males. Australian Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Association e-Journal 2(2).
Campbell, J. E. (2004). Getting it on online: Cyberspace, gay male sexuality, and embodied identity. New York: Harrington Park Press.
Cassidy, E. M. (2013) Gay men, social media and self-presentation: Managing identities in Gaydar, Facebook and beyond. PhD thesis, Queensland University of Technology.
Clarkson, J. (2006). “Everyday Joe” versus “Pissy, Bitchy, Queens”: Gay masculinity on StraightActing.com. Journal of Men’s Studies, 14(2), 191–207.
Cochran, S. D., Scott, R. L., Mays, V. M., & Vellos, C. (2004). Don’t call me queer: Preferred self-identifiers for recruiting African American MSMs in HIV research. Paper presented at the International Conference on AIDS, Bangkok, Thailand, July, 2004.
Drummond, M. J. N. (2005). Men’s bodies: Listening to the voices of young Gay men. Men and Masculinities, 7(3), 270–290.
Duggan, S. J., & McCreary, D. R. (2004). Body image, eating disorders, and the drive for muscularity in gay and heterosexual men: The influence of media. Journal of Homosexuality, 47(3–4), 45–58.
Estrada, F., Rigali-Oiler, M., Arciniega, G. M., & Tracey, T. J. G. (2011). Machismo and Mexican American: An empirical understanding using a gay sample. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 358–367. doi:10.1037/a0023122.
Giles, P. (1997). Better dead than ugly. Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, 4(3), 11–13.
Giwa, S., & Greensmith, C. (2012). Race relations and racism in the LGBTQ community of Toronto: Perceptions of gay and queer social service providers of color. Journal of Homosexuality, 59(2), 149–185.
Gonzales, M. H., & Meyers, S. A. (1993). Your mother would like me: Self-presentation in the personal ads of heterosexual and homosexual men and women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 131–142.
Gough, B., & Flanders, G. (2009). Celebrating “obese” bodies: Gay “bears” talk about weight, body image and health. International Journal of Men’s Health, 8(3), 235–253. doi:10.3149/jmh.0803.235.
Grosskopf, N. A., LeVasseur, M. T., & Glaser, D. B. (2014). Use of the Internet and mobile-based “apps” for sex-seeking among men who have sex with men in New York City. American Journal of Men’s Health, 8(6), 510–520. doi:10.1177/1557988314527311.
Gudelunas, D. (2005). Online personal ads. Journal of Homosexuality, 49(1), 1–33. doi:10.1300/J082v49n01_01.
Gudelunas, D. (2012). There’s an app for that: The uses and gratifications of online social networks for gay men. Sexuality and Culture, 16, 347–365. doi:10.1007/s12119-012-9127-4.
Halkitis, P. N. (2001). An exploration of perceptions of masculinity among gay men living with HIV. Journal of Men’s Studies, 9(3), 413–429.
Halkitis, P. N., Green, K. A., & Wilton, L. (2004). Masculinity, body image, and sexual behavior in HIV-seropositive gay men: A two-phase formative behavioral investigation using the Internet. International Journal of Men’s Health, 3(1), 27–42.
Hamilton, C. J., & Mahalik, J. R. (2009). Minority stress, masculinity, and social norms predicting gay men’s health risk behaviors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(1), 132–141.
Han, C. (2008). No fats, femmes or Asians: The utility of critical race theory in examining the role of gay stock stories in the marginalization of gay Asian men. Contemporary Justice Review, 11(1), 11–22.
Han, C., Proctor, K., & Choi, K.-H. (2014a). I know a lot of gay Asian men who are actually tops: Managing and negotiating gay racial stigma. Sexuality and Culture, 18, 219–234. doi:10.1007/s12119-013-9183-4.
Han, C., Rutledge, S. E., Bond, L., Lauby, J., & LaPollo, A. B. (2014b). You’re better respected when you carry yourself as a man: Black men’s personal accounts of the down low “lifestyle”. Sexuality and Culture, 18, 89–102. doi:10.1007/s12119-013-9192-3.
Harris, D. (1997). The rise and fall of gay culture. New York: Hyperion.
Harris Interactive. (2010, July 17). Gay and lesbian adults are more likely and more frequent blog readers. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/PressReleases/tabid/446/mid/1506/articleId/435/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx
Hatala, M. N., Baack, D. W., & Parmenter, R. (1998). Dating with HIV: A content analysis of gay male HIV-positive and HIV-negative personal advertisements. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15(2), 268–276.
Hatala, M. N., & Prehodka, J. (1996). Content analysis of gay male and lesbian personal advertisements. Psychological Reports, 78, 371–374.
Hunter, M. A. (2010). All the gays are White and the Blacks are straight: Black gay men, identity, and community. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 7, 81–92. doi:10.1007/s13178-010-0011-4.
Hutson, D. (2010). Identity, appearance, and authenticity in gay and lesbian communities. Symbolic Interaction, 33(2), 213–233. doi:10.1525/si.2010.33.2.213.
Jackson, P. A. (2000). ‘That’s what rice queens study!’: White gay desire and representing Asian homosexualities. Journal of Australian Studies, 24(65), 181–188.
Joinson, A. N. (1998). Causes and implications of disinhibited behavior on the Internet. In J. Gachkenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal implications (pp. 43–60). San Diego: Academic Press.
Kendall, C. N., & Martino, W. (2006). Gendered outcasts and sexual outlaws: Sexual oppression and gender hierarchies in queer men’s lives. New York: Harrington Park Press.
Kimmel, M. (1996). Manhood in America: A cultural history. New York: Free Press.
Laner, M. R., & Kamel, G. W. L. (1977). Media mating: I newspaper ‘‘personals’’ ads of homosexual men. Journal of Homosexuality, 3, 149–162.
Lapidot-Lefler, N., & Barak, A. (2012). Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye-contact on toxic online disinhibition effect. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 434–443.
Lapinski, M. K., Barz, M. E., & Maloney, E. K. (2010). The down low, social stigma, and risky sexual behaviors: Insights from African-American men who have sex with men. Journal of Homosexuality, 57, 610–633.
LeBeau, R. T., & Jellison, W. A. (2009). Why get involved? Exploring gay and bisexual men’s experience of the gay community. Journal of Homosexuality, 56(1), 56–76. doi:10.1080/00918360802551522.
Lee, J. A. (1976). Forbidden colors of love: Pattern of gay love and gay liberation. Journal of Homosexuality, 1, 401–418.
Lehmiller, J. J., & Ioerger, M. (2014). Social networking smartphone applications and sexual health outcomes among men who have sex with men. PLoS One, 9(1), 1–6. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086603.
Levesque, M. J., & Vichesky, D. R. (2006). Raising the bar on body beautiful: An analysis of the body image concerns of homosexual men. Body Image, 3, 45–55. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.10.007.
Levine, M. (1998). Gay macho: The life and death of the homosexual clone. New York: NYU Press.
Liau, A., Millett, G., & Marks, G. (2006). Meta-analytic examination of online sex-seeking and sexual behavior among men who have sex with men. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 33, 576–584.
Lumby, M. E. (1978). Men who advertise for sex. Journal of Homosexuality, 4, 63–72.
Lynn, M., & Bolig, R. (1985). Personal advertisements: Sources of data about relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2, 377–383.
Martinez, D. G., & Sullivan, S. C. (1998). African American gay men and lesbians: Examining the complexity of gay identity development. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1, 243–264.
Messner, M. (2000). Barbie girls versus sea monsters: Children constructing gender. Gender and Society, 14(6), 765–784.
Mirande, A. (1997). Hombres y machos: Masculinity and Latino culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Mowlabocus, S. (2010). Look at me! Images, validation, and cultural currency on Gaydar. In C. Pullen & M. Cooper (Eds.), LGBT identity and online new media (pp. 201–214). New York: Routledge.
Mustanski, B., Lyons, T., & Garcia, S. C. (2011). Internet use and sexual health of young men who have sex with men: A mixed-methods study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 289–300. doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9596-1.
Ocampo, A. C. (2012). Making masculinity: Negotiations of gender presentation among Latino gay men. Latino Studies, 10(4), 448–472.
PR Newswire (2014, April 2). Jack’d surpasses two million android users leading to a community of over five million. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/02/ma-jackd-app-usersidUSnPn92FxlD+89+PRN20140402
Pascoe, C. J. (2007). Dude, you’re a fag: Masculinity and sexuality in high school. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Payne, R. (2007). Gay scene, queer grid. Queer space: Centres and peripheries conference proceedings. http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/conferences/queer_space/proceedings/
Phua, V. C. (2007). Contesting and maintaining hegemonic masculinities: Gay Asian American men in mate selection. Sex Roles, 57, 909–918. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9318-x.
Phua, V., & Kaufman, G. (2003). The crossroads of race and sexuality. Journal of Family Issues, 24(8), 981–994.
Plummer, M. (2008). Sexual racism in gay communities: Negotiating the ethnosexual marketplace. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest Information & Learning.
Raj, S. (2011). Grindring bodies: Racial and affective economies of online queer desire. Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, 7, 55–67.
Reilly, A., & Rudd, N. A. (2007). Stress and dress: Investigating the relationship between social anxiety and appearance management among gay and straight men. Journal of Homosexuality, 52(3–4), 151–166.
Ridge, D., Hee, A., & Minichiello, V. (1999). ‘Asian’ men on the scene. Journal of Homosexuality, 36(3–4), 43–68.
Riggs, D. W. (2013). Anti-Asian sentiments amongst a sample of White Australian men on Gaydar. Sex Roles, 68, 768–778. doi:10.1007/s11199-012-0119-5.
Rosser, B. R., Wilkerson, J. M., Smolenski, D. J., Oakes, J. M., Konstan, J., Horvath, K. J., et al. (2011). The future of Internet-based HIV prevention: A report on key findings from the men’s Internet (MINTS-I, II) sex studies. AIDS and Behavior, 15(Suppl. 1), S91–S100.
Rothblum, E. D., Brand, P. A., & Solomon, L. J. (1992). A comparison of lesbians, gay men, and heterosexuals on weight and restrained eating. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11, 253–259.
Sánchez, F. J., Greenberg, S. T., Liu, W. M., & Vilain, E. (2009). Reported effects of masculine ideals on gay men. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 10(1), 73–87. doi:10.1037/a0013513.
Sergios, P., & Cody, J. (1986). Importance of physical attractiveness and social assertiveness skills in male homosexual dating behavior and partner selection. Journal of Homosexuality, 12, 71–84.
Shaw, D. F. (1997). Gay men and computer communication: A discourse of sex and identity in cyberspace. In S. Jones (Ed.), Virtual culture (pp. 133–145). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Siever, M. (1994). Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 252–260.
Signorile, M. (1997). Life outside—The Signorile report on gay men: Sex, drugs, muscles, and the passages of life. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Skidmore, W. C., Linsenmeier, J. A. W., & Bailey, J. M. (2006). Gender nonconformity and psychological distress in lesbian and gay men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 685–697.
Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 7(3), 321–326.
Swami, V., & Tovee, M. J. (2008). The muscular male: A comparison of the physical attractiveness preferences of gay and heterosexual men. International Journal of Men’s Health, 7(1), 59–71.
Szymanski, D. M., & Carr, E. R. (2008). The roles of gender role conflict and internalized heterosexism in gay men’s psychological distress: Testing two mediation models. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 9, 40–54. doi:10.1037/1524-9220.9.1.40.
Teunis, N. (2007). Sexual objectification and the construction of Whiteness in the gay male community. Culture, Healthy, and Sexuality, 9(3), 263–275.
Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Boys and girls at school. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
West, C., & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–151.
Wood, M. (2004). The gay male gaze: Body image disturbance and gender oppression among gay men. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 17(2), 43–62.
Yelland, C., & Tiggemann, M. (2003). Muscularity and the gay body ideal: Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in homosexual men. Eating Behaviors, 4, 107–116. doi:10.1016/S1471-0153(03)00014-X.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, B. “Dude, Where’s Your Face?” Self-Presentation, Self-Description, and Partner Preferences on a Social Networking Application for Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Content Analysis. Sexuality & Culture 19, 637–658 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9283-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9283-4