The Politics of Dating Apps

An examination of dating app culture in China, across user demographics—straight women, straight men, queer women, and queer men. In this exploration of dating app culture in China, Lik Sam Chan argues that these popular mobile apps are not merely a platform for personal relationships but also an em...

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Autor principal: Chan, Lik Sam
Format: Online
Idioma:anglès
Publicat: The MIT Press 2022
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Accés en línia:ONIX_20220221_9780262363389_133
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author Chan, Lik Sam
author_browse Chan, Lik Sam
author_facet Chan, Lik Sam
author_sort Chan, Lik Sam
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description An examination of dating app culture in China, across user demographics—straight women, straight men, queer women, and queer men. In this exploration of dating app culture in China, Lik Sam Chan argues that these popular mobile apps are not merely a platform for personal relationships but also an emerging arena for gender and queer politics. Chan examines the opportunities dating apps present for women's empowerment and men's performances of masculinity, and he links experiences of queer dating app users with their vulnerable position as sexual minorities. He finds that dating apps are both portals to an exciting virtual world of relational possibilities and sites of power dynamics that reflect the heteronormativity and patriarchy of Chinese society. Drawing on in-depth interviews with urban users of such dating apps as Momo, Tantan, Blued, Aloha, Rela, and Lesdo, Chan proposes “networked sexual publics” as a unifying concept to capture the dynamics of dating app culture. Devoting a chapter to each of four publics—straight women, straight men, queer men, and queer women—Chan documents how relationships are shaped and transfigured by this emerging technology. He considers whether dating apps can be a feminist tool; explores straight men's self-presentation on the apps and their interactions with women they meet there; discusses the constant cycle of deleting and installing the same apps seen among queer men; and examines how popular lesbian dating apps may connect queer women to their communities. Finally, Chan maps possible paths for future intersectional, queer, and feminist scholarship on emerging communication technologies.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-786132024-03-29T04:24:50Z The Politics of Dating Apps Chan, Lik Sam dating apps hookup apps gender politics gender relations queer LGBTQ interpretive flexibility affordance networked publics sexual publics sex apps social apps hook-up apps location-aware location-based networking apps Grindr Tinder Blued Momo Rela feminism technofeminism leftover women gender performance gender performativity hegemonic masculinity sexual harassment sexual minorities affects heteronormativity social construction of technology interpretation publics digital media digital cultures mobile cultures China Chinese East Asia Global South thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF3 Gender studies: ‘trans’, transgender people and gender variance thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies::JBCT3 Media studies: advertising and society thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society An examination of dating app culture in China, across user demographics—straight women, straight men, queer women, and queer men. In this exploration of dating app culture in China, Lik Sam Chan argues that these popular mobile apps are not merely a platform for personal relationships but also an emerging arena for gender and queer politics. Chan examines the opportunities dating apps present for women's empowerment and men's performances of masculinity, and he links experiences of queer dating app users with their vulnerable position as sexual minorities. He finds that dating apps are both portals to an exciting virtual world of relational possibilities and sites of power dynamics that reflect the heteronormativity and patriarchy of Chinese society. Drawing on in-depth interviews with urban users of such dating apps as Momo, Tantan, Blued, Aloha, Rela, and Lesdo, Chan proposes “networked sexual publics” as a unifying concept to capture the dynamics of dating app culture. Devoting a chapter to each of four publics—straight women, straight men, queer men, and queer women—Chan documents how relationships are shaped and transfigured by this emerging technology. He considers whether dating apps can be a feminist tool; explores straight men's self-presentation on the apps and their interactions with women they meet there; discusses the constant cycle of deleting and installing the same apps seen among queer men; and examines how popular lesbian dating apps may connect queer women to their communities. Finally, Chan maps possible paths for future intersectional, queer, and feminist scholarship on emerging communication technologies. 2022-02-21T15:13:28Z 2022-02-21T15:13:28Z 2021 book ONIX_20220221_9780262363389_133 9780262363389 9780262542340 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/78613 eng Information Society Series image/jpeg n/a https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12742.001.0001 The MIT Press The MIT Press ae0cf962-f685-4933-93d1-916defa5123d 9780262363389 9780262542340 The MIT Press 208 Cambridge open access
spellingShingle dating apps
hookup apps
gender politics
gender relations
queer
LGBTQ
interpretive flexibility
affordance
networked publics
sexual publics
sex apps
social apps
hook-up apps
location-aware
location-based
networking apps
Grindr
Tinder
Blued
Momo
Rela
feminism
technofeminism
leftover women
gender performance
gender performativity
hegemonic masculinity
sexual harassment
sexual minorities
affects
heteronormativity
social construction of technology
interpretation
publics
digital media
digital cultures
mobile cultures
China
Chinese
East Asia
Global South
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF3 Gender studies: ‘trans’, transgender people and gender variance
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies::JBCT3 Media studies: advertising and society
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society
Chan, Lik Sam
The Politics of Dating Apps
title The Politics of Dating Apps
title_full The Politics of Dating Apps
title_fullStr The Politics of Dating Apps
title_full_unstemmed The Politics of Dating Apps
title_short The Politics of Dating Apps
title_sort politics of dating apps
topic dating apps
hookup apps
gender politics
gender relations
queer
LGBTQ
interpretive flexibility
affordance
networked publics
sexual publics
sex apps
social apps
hook-up apps
location-aware
location-based
networking apps
Grindr
Tinder
Blued
Momo
Rela
feminism
technofeminism
leftover women
gender performance
gender performativity
hegemonic masculinity
sexual harassment
sexual minorities
affects
heteronormativity
social construction of technology
interpretation
publics
digital media
digital cultures
mobile cultures
China
Chinese
East Asia
Global South
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF3 Gender studies: ‘trans’, transgender people and gender variance
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies::JBCT3 Media studies: advertising and society
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society
topic_facet dating apps
hookup apps
gender politics
gender relations
queer
LGBTQ
interpretive flexibility
affordance
networked publics
sexual publics
sex apps
social apps
hook-up apps
location-aware
location-based
networking apps
Grindr
Tinder
Blued
Momo
Rela
feminism
technofeminism
leftover women
gender performance
gender performativity
hegemonic masculinity
sexual harassment
sexual minorities
affects
heteronormativity
social construction of technology
interpretation
publics
digital media
digital cultures
mobile cultures
China
Chinese
East Asia
Global South
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSF Gender studies, gender groups::JBSF3 Gender studies: ‘trans’, transgender people and gender variance
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies::JBCT3 Media studies: advertising and society
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society
url ONIX_20220221_9780262363389_133
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