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Intimacy Mobilized: Hook-Up Practices in the Location-Based Social Network Grindr

Mobilisierte Intimität: Hook-up-Praktiken im standortbezogenen sozialen Netzwerk Grindr

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Abstract

In this paper we present an ethnographic exploration of the situated use of the smartphone app Grindr, a mobile hook-up device that is usually used for location-based real-time dating. It allows its users to search the geographic vicinity for men who are potentially willing to engage in intimate encounters. The study of Grindr allows us to observe the way in which technology-induced shifts in the notions of “nearby”, “close”, or “intimate” make a difference in the very nature of contemporary intimacy.

Zusammenfassung

Dieser Artikel stellt eine ethnographische Studie des situierten Gebrauchs der Smartphone-Dating-App Grindr vor, die es ihren Nutzern erlaubt, die räumliche Umgebung nach gleichgesinnten Männern zu durchsuchen. Eine Untersuchung von Grindr ermöglicht die soziologische Beobachtung des durch technologische Innovationen herbeigeführten Wandels von Konzepten und Praktiken der „Nähe“ und des „Intimen“ in situ. Unsere Studie legt ein besonderes Augenmerk darauf, wie mit Hilfe von Grindr (Im)Mobilitäten hergestellt werden: (Im)Mobilitäten der Nutzer, der technischen Geräte, der Orte, der Landschaften und der Kategorien.

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Notes

  1. For an elaboration of this point and a discussion of Knorr Cetina’s “synthetic situation” (2009) see Liegl and Stempfhuber 2014.

  2. Allgäu is a rural region in southwestern Germany.

  3. Flaucher is a beach area at Munich’s river Isar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Fachbereich Sozialökonomie, Universität Hamburg, Welckerstr. 8, 20354, Hamburg, Germany

    Martin Stempfhuber

  2. Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften, Institut für Soziologie, Universität Hamburg, Allende-Platz 1, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Michael Liegl

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  1. Martin Stempfhuber
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  2. Michael Liegl
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Correspondence to Martin Stempfhuber.

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Stempfhuber, M., Liegl, M. Intimacy Mobilized: Hook-Up Practices in the Location-Based Social Network Grindr. Österreich Z Soziol 41, 51–70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11614-016-0189-7

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