Being Anal About the Rules
How digital media and gamification redefined the sexual practices and culture of the MSM community
Keywords:
game studies; queer studies; MSM community; gamification; ludification of culture; grindr;Abstract
Developing technologies, digital media and mobile internet access have allowed members of the MSM community the opportunity to integrate their lives more fully into a world once dominated by exclusively straight places and communities - the change fostered by hook-up apps and services has taken the socio-sexual interaction of men who have sex with men (MSM) from the old physical community spaces into digital sexual oases.
This paper will discuss from a theoretical standpoint the changing sexual behaviours and new opportunities to create a sense of space for MSM individuals made possible by geolocation-based apps and the emergent playstyles that are born from the app developers’, and players’, gamification of sexual expression.
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