Eu encontrei ele no Grindr: processos comunicacionais e sociais entre jovens gays em Belém BELÉM - PA 2020

Abstract

This study aims, based on anthropological inspiration, to understand the communications and social practices of young gay men in the relationship mobile app Grindr, used within Belém City and its metropolitan area. Apps are part of the context among subjects and technological devices that cover the dimensions of life and its social practices, such as relationships. It notices how the usability of the Grindr app becomes a mediator and facilitator of social bonds so much in body and aesthetic visibilities, as well as related to contents and interests. The analysis of this study is based on the interlocution among Communications Studies and the categories sociability, technology and gender. The field research consisted of 28-day participant observation, between July and August 2019, in which a profile created for this purpose was used on the Grindr app. Interviews were also carried out with a semistructured survey with young men who have ever used Grindr on their mobile devices and looked for experiences with other men. Thus, it was possible to identify how gender issues are present in the experiences of these users and in their social relationships manifested on the app, bringing thoughts about the power relations produced by homophobia and masculinities in a heteronormative society, in which negotiations and social codes cross the subjects' performances and identities.