More Fats, More Femmes, and No Whites: A Critical Examination of Fatphobia, Femmephobia and Racism on Grindr

This is a research project about the pervasive intersections of fatphobia, femmephobia and racism that exists within queer communities. Specifically, I examine the now-popularized expression: “No fats, no femmes, no Asians or Blacks”. I argue that this phrase is perpetuating homonormative ideologies that are furthering a marginalization of fat, femme and/or racialized queer identities and bodies within queer communities. This project aims to deconstruct what I call the “corporate queer man”—that is, the white, masculine and muscular queer man who is often represented as being the “right” kind of queer. This research project employs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Grindr, the first and largest online queer social networking application targeted specifically towards queer men. The research surrounding the politics of personal advertisements on online queer social networking applications is limited and therefore, this project contributes to the paucity of literature that is aiming to fill this gap.