Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Letters

Grindr’s ‘gaymoji’ play to stereotypes of promiscuity

One of Grindr’s ‘gaymoji’
One of Grindr’s ‘gaymoji’. Photograph: Grindr

Grindr’s “gaymoji” (Pass notes, G2, 22 March) serve as an unfortunate reminder of the widespread conflation of being gay and being promiscuous – one that causes thousands of gay people, particularly men, across the world to believe that their homosexuality forces them to constantly have sex with strangers. Grindr is free to create all the sexual emojis it wishes, but it is colluding in a societal deception that prevents gay people from forming real relationships; that makes thousands of teenage boys weep with fear and sadness because they believe they have no choice but to follow this form of living that masquerades as “gay culture”. As a 17-year-old gay boy, I hope to join those demonstrating that this is emphatically not the case, and I hope that others of whatever orientation can realise the same.
Adam Lawson
London

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.