Whoever said that fashion is only for women? No. One. Ever. In fact, male fashion shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris are regular annual events. What’s also notable is that, in these shows, there is an increasing segment that is focused on gay male fashion. Why? Because gay males comprise a huge market segment, many of whom have plenty of money to spend. It’s all about capturing a market share of that buying power.
How male fashion is a reflection of individual relationship goals
Gay men come in all shapes and sizes. Their individual personas vary as much, if not more, than the general population. Those who prefer their feminine side dress and behave that way, often seeking others of their kind or those with a more “masculine” persona.
The opposite is true as well. Those who are more masculine in their persona (often called “butch”) may look for their same kinds or those with feminine personas.
It’s all just a very complex culture.
The other factor is the type of relationship each gay man is seeking. Again, these vary too. Gay males may seek friendships, very casual dating relationships, or long-term more permanent partnerships. And when they engage in online dating, their choice of dating apps reflects their preferences.
Why gay men are engaged in online dating
First of all, it’s not just gay men who are engaged in online dating. Over a third of the US population has accessed and used an online dating app. Why? There are many reasons.
First, online dating is a reflection of who we are as consumers today. We are impatient. We want all of our online experiences to be smooth, efficient, and fast. And this has spilled over into our dating experiences. We can go the traditional route, meet others in-person, spend time, energy, and money on a date, and, if it doesn’t go well, it’s back to the drawing board.
Online dating is more efficient. Singles can join a dating app, be matched up with others who meet their preferences and relationship goals, and get to know them in digital space before making a decision to move forward or not. It has become a great option for gay men of all ages, no matter what they are looking for in a relationship. And in terms of fashion, everyone a gay male meets online will have plenty of photos to look at.
What types of relationships do gay men seek?
There are three general categories of relationships – friendships, casual dating (that could become serious), and long-term partnerships. And there are online dating apps that best meet the needs of each of these. Here are five of them.
Gay apps for friendships
When most of us think of dating apps, we think of actual dating. Not so. Like all other humans, gay men seek friendships too. Here are a couple that should fit this bill.
Hornet
Hornet is a dating app with over 100 million users worldwide, but it is much more. It is considered one of the top gay dating apps that also serves as a social networking hub for members to connect and explore the community of other members. There are blogs, community posts, and chat groups, so that gay men can connect intellectually and emotionally. And that’s what friendship is really all about.
Users can browse and send texts, audio and video messages, and even engage in video chats. A geolocation feature allows members to locate events and others with the same interests nearby.
Scruff
Scruff is an app for a bit more mature gay men, about 30 million of them. It encourages very open profiles and lots of photos, so that members can express themselves openly.
One feature is the “check-in”, which allows members to locate compatible friends nearby as a type of networking tool for social engagement, not just dating. A passport feature allows users to find friends wherever they may travel.
The app also keeps up-to-date publication of festivals, events, and parties the world over.
For gay seeking casual dating
Casual dating might include everything from hook-ups to occasional dates; nothing serious, at least at first. There are a couple of relevant apps for this relationship goal.
Grindr
While Grindr states that it is for all types of gay relationships, it is best known as a hook-up app. This is because it is location-based, meaning that members can find fast dates nearby. And it is a massive platform with over 100 million gay users.
In brief, here is how this app works. Gay men provide their location and their relationship preference. As stated, most members want quick dates nearby. Grindr then matches them with other compatibles nearby, and they can then message each other to see if they want to meet up in person. While this used to be a bit risky, new identity verification protocols now ensure that everyone who joins is truly who they say they are.
It is possible that two gay men who begin very casual encounters become more connected than they first thought they would, and what begins as nothing serious could become so.
Taimi
Taimi is a bit different from the rest of the gay apps listed here. It is a huge dating app for the entire LGBTQ+ population, most of whom are in the US. Its dating pool of gay men is pretty massive, and, while it supports all kinds of relationship goals, as a gay dating app, it is popular and successful. Casual dating on Taimi is quite popular because it gives gay men the chance to engage in flirting in non-serious ways via messages, calls, and even video calls.
Taimi also has an optional geolocation feature, so that gays interested in casual dating can filter for only those who are nearby and, in that way, arrange for close encounters of a fun type.
For gay men seeking long-term serious relationships
While there are no gay-specific dating apps focused solely on long-term partnerships, there are a couple with a large enough dating pool that gay men can seek and find these types of connections.
OKCupid
OKCupid is known as a mainstream dating app, meaning that its members include people from all populations – heterosexual and all types of non-heterosexuals. Of course, this includes gay men. And given that the entire membership is quite large, there’s a pretty large contingent of gay males seeking serious partnerships.
To join OKCupid, new users must respond to a series of questions that reveal their personalities, passions, interests, values, and traits of others for which there is zero tolerance. All of the responses are plugged into the app’s matching system, and potentials are then presented, giving someone time to carefully review their profiles and determine whether the match is worth pursuing further.
All in all, OKCupid would be a pretty good choice.
Hinge
Hinge has a motto. It is the dating app “designed to be deleted”, meaning that its sole focus is on successful long-term partnerships that result in those pairs ending their app memberships.
Hinge is a mainstream dating app like OKCupid. But it, too, has a large gay male membership. It got a publicity boost when former US Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, publicly revealed that he met his husband on Hinge.
New members must complete very detailed profiles, providing as much information as necessary to give other members a clear picture of who they are. These should include education, type of work/profession, values, spiritual beliefs, political leanings, and more.
Users browse the profiles of others. When two members send a “like” to each other, they begin their conversations, and explore the relationship potential.
Gay men have options
Like all people, gay men come in a wide variety of colours and stripes. And like all people, when it comes to dating and relationships, they have their personal needs and preferences. These six apps give them a place to start in their exploration of online dating.
