As homosexual pubs near down seriously to make method for fashionable delis, it is time for you to question just just what queer culture has sacrificed in the foot of profit-making dating apps

‘Whatever took place into the infamous alternative queer bars which used become packed towards the rafters each night regarding the week. Places where we utilized to help make the work to liven up?’ Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney 2015 Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP

‘Whatever occurred into the alternative that is infamous pubs which used become loaded into the rafters each night of this week. Places where we utilized to really make the work to liven up?’ Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney 2015 Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP

Last modified on Tue 21 Feb 2017 17.56 GMT

W alking home down Grey Street in St Kilda with my partner recently, we noticed a whole wall surface around a building web site had been bought out by billboards for a unique gay relationship application called “Squirt”. The image regarding the poster depicted three muscle-bound near-naked men searching provocatively at each and every other underneath the advertising “non-stop cruising”.

Partly away from fascination and partly away from a morbid want to evaluate where this crop that is new of apps is united statesing us, I downloaded it. Ends up Squirt is just a rehash of a classic online cruising website that is gay. The things I quickly realised had been US gay porn sites dressed up as a gay matchmaking site that it was little more than a gateway to. The primary difference that is discernible that one yet others of its ilk such as for instance Grindr, Hornet or Scruff, appeared to be that there have been no limitations on having uncensored profile pictures and also the advertising advertisements for intercourse web web web web sites were a whole lot more in-your-face. Lees verder →