Grindr has become a legendary meeting spot for the headless torsos of the world in the five short years since its launch in 2009, but did you know that almost a quarter of those headless torsos are still hiding in the closet? Of that 18 percent, six percent say they never plan to come out at all.
The shocking (or not shocking at all?) statistics were released by Grindr this week. In the spirit of Pride season, the company polled a sample of its 1.4 million daily users to find out how many were out of the closet, why those who are out decided to come out, and who were the first people they shared the big news with.
Among some of the most noticeable trends in the report, millennials are coming out in their younger teen years, most initial âcoming outsâ happen among friends versus family, a large majority of workers are still hesitant about coming out in the workplace, and those folks in the closet refuse to come out mostly because they fear discrimination. Most disturbingly, 53 percent of respondents have had sex with females in their lives.
Echelon breaks it down beautifully:
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When asked the age Grindr users decided to come out of the closet, users in their thirties and forties came out in their twenties (44 percent and 32 percent, respectively). However, 50 percent of users in their twenties came out when they were still teenagers, showing the growing progression and acceptance of LGBT youth. With more than 5 million active monthly users worldwide, Grindr has become a resource for men even before they come out. The survey revealed that nearly a third of respondents were using Grindr before they came out.
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Grindrâs survey also put to test the saying that blood is thicker than water. Apparently not in regards to coming out â 72 percent of respondents said the first person they told was a friend, while only 22 percent told a family member first.
When it comes to how out Grindr users are, a large majority (96 percent) came out to friends and 81 percent have come out to family, but only 68 percent have come out at work.
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So, why did Grindr users decide to come out of the closet? Sixty-one percent said it was time for them to be true to themselves. This is refreshing, considering 12 percent of respondents were out-ed by someone. Grindr conducted the survey on June 16, 2014 and more than 3,000 users responded; other interesting findings from the survey include:
More than half of respondents â 53 percent â have had a sexual encounter with a woman.
Seventy-five percent had their first gay sexual experience when they were teenagers.
Over a third â 36 percent â have had less than 10 sexual partners.
Seems like Grindr may also be a great place for gay Christians.
Paco
“Most disturbingly, 53 percent of respondents have had sex with females in their lives.”
I don’t get how this is disturbing. Many gay men have tried it at least once, especially before coming out as gay. What is disturbing is that we expect everyone else to be sexually fluid, but not ourselves.
TerrenM
And 85% will contract any particular STD from use of said app.
Daniel-Reader
What is really delusional is people on Grindr thinking they are closeted. The app company, the credit card you used to purchase the app, the app marketplace you used, the phone manufacturer you are using, and the phony company you are using for minutes – they all know you are gay or bi, and they don’t have to keep it secret. It has already been collected and sold as consumer marketing info about you as a person. You can pretend the information has been collected about you and sold to others but it doesn’t change the reality of it.
Daniel-Reader
…pretend it has not been collected…
michael
@TerrenM:
Do the stds emanate from the touch screen and jump onto your pecker?
I thought they had to be sexually transmitted?
Is tapping on your screen a sexual act?
(Honestly, it doesn’t get me hard at all.)
DickieJohnson
When will “being gay” become a non-issue? Probably everyone in my life knows I’m gay, but I don’t see any reason to advertise the fact, or make anything of it whatsoever. It’s merely part of who I am, like green eyes.
mz.sam
At a time when gay acceptance is at an all time high, a low double digits statistic of the closeted is very encouraging news. And as for the the remainder of never coming out…they must have completed reparative therapy with flying colors. Namaste.
BrianD
@Paco: My thoughts exactly. Disturbing to who? When I read that, I could practically hear the author of this article say “ew” out loud. Not to mention the possibility of bisexual users of the app.
Paco
@BrianD: It would have been interesting to see a break down of how the respondents self identified with their sexuality. Since bisexual men can have a coming out as well, I suspect there were quite a few represented in that survey. Of course bisexual men seem to be the most misunderstood in the community since a certain group of gay men consider them to be straight (I guess to feed their fantasies of having a straight man in bed), and another group only considers them to be confused gay men. Still, the results were interesting, but far from “disturbing” IMO.
Sunit
Whatever, so far Grindr became blessing for guys who does not want to come out including, guy curious, bi married, professionals, scared of family, friends, society and work, and those who hate gay people. But unfortunately, these people are posting fake profile with fake pics and cheating gay people who are out and honest with their personal information. So this is frustrating and waste of time too.
michael mellor
What is Grindr proud about? Quickie sexual encounters with men you’ve never met before? STD’s?
tdx3fan
You really lost me one paragraph in. “Hiding in the closet.” REALLY! Maybe they have their own reasons for not coming out, and maybe part of those reasons is they feel that it is really not the business of anyone else how they live their life. When did the gay community develop this completely ugly attitude towards everyone that does not shout it from the rooftops.
For the record, I have always been out. I just feel wrong not being out. However, I grew up in a very small town in the Bible Belt and I completely understand what it is like to not want to go there (with the whole being out thing). You really can only explain who you are to so many idiots before it gets very tiring, and I don’t even have to worry about discrimination in my chosen profession.
unreligious
Since when did almost a fifth (20%) become almost a quarter (25%)?
vive
I had to laugh at the age-related statistics brought to us by the app on which everybody lies about their age. đ
vive
@michael mellor, there is no shame in having hookups. I am quite proud of a number of hookups I have had where the other person and I treated each other lovingly and with respect – but if you are the type of person who disrespects people you don’t know well, you should not be having hookups. And if you haven’t learned how to protect yourself from STDs, you should not be having any sex, casual or not.