sapiosexual revolution

Big changes might be coming to Grindr. How will users react?

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Grindr –– can’t live with it, can’t hookup without it.

For better or worse, the popular dating app has had a chokehold on the queer community since its 2009 launch.

But that doesn’t mean we know what we’re doing on it. Or how to explain it to our parents.

Perhaps that’s why Gay Twitter X user @elliotconk recently went viral for an adorable text from his mom suggesting a pic for his “grinder profile.”

“[The pic] sends the right message about you,” his mom wrote in a screenshotted text message. “Intellectual and handsome, serious but fun.” Aww! 🥰

The photo in question –– a selfie of Elliot holding up a laptop with a planet slideshow –– was not quite the headless thirst trap you’d expect on the orange-demon app.

(For the record, he graciously declined her advice: “I can’t reveal my astronomy side,” he wrote.)

Nevertheless, the post –– which has been viewed over 1.7 million times –– spoke to other gays, who showered his ally mom with adoration.

However, judging by the number of interested suitors in the comments, his mom may have the right idea about his “intellectual and handsome” vibe.

And Grindr may be attracting more sapiosexuals –– those who are sexually attracted to intelligence –– if chief executive George Arison’s plans pay off.

According to Financial Times, Arison (who founded taxi app Curb) is hoping to move from casual encounters by adding features “focused on long-term dating, travel, and professional networking.”

Related:

Are you obligated to respond on Grindr? The gays are divided

“No response is indeed a response.”

The “Looking for: Networking” tag has always been there, but we wish him luck!

One new feature the app is testing, Teleport, allows users to “place their profile in a new location for an hour to connect with others ahead of a trip.”

(We’re sure gays will only use the tool to ask for restaurant and sightseeing recommendations.)

Nevertheless, the app’s leaders must know what they’re doing. After all, the community –– and our fave LGBTQ+ celebs –– keep coming back.

Case-in-point, Gus Kenworthy seems to have benefited from the app’s travel features. The skier famously revealed to Vanity Fair that “Grindr crashed” during his 2014 stay in the Olympic Village.

“Everybody was hooking up and it was like all these testosterone- and hormone-filled people that had been training so intensely and they were in this small village with all these other people that were fit and active and competitive and had been training super seriously,” he said.

Furthermore, while promoting 2022’s Bros in Australia, Billy Eichner admitted that “the second I got here, I immediately went on Grindr.”

(Although he wasn’t left with much choice after getting banned from Tinder twice. “You’re laughing, but I am going to die alone,” he told Jimmy Kimmel.)

And of course, Joel Kim Booster joked that his tribe was “Discreet” during an interview for Grindr’s 69 Questions. (And to anyone who sees him on the grid: “It’s like the cops –– if you know who I am, you’re legally required to tell me.”)

At the end of the day, you deserve to find what you’re looking for on Grindr. Regardless of who you are or your profile pic.

As Arison told Financial Times, a recent survey found that while 88% of users are on the app for “casual encounters,” roughly half “also used it for dating and long-term relationships.”

So perhaps there’s hope for all the gays –– from Elliot to Eichner!

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