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Syjueco, Steffen Karl Li

Villanueva, Miguel Angelo

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Ms. Carin Alejandria

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December 10, 2017

INTRODUCTION

In today’s technology driven era, applications and websites that cater to dating have become an avenue for finding and building relationships for a significant amount of time. With the advent of smartphones came the emergence of Skout in 2007 and Grindr in 2009. These applications have since grown in number, with several encompassing a variety of preferences and diverse functions that specialize in serving the LGBTQ community.

Growlr (launched in late 2010) is an online dating social network for gay men; specifically, “bears”. A bear is a term for homosexual men who embody robust and traditionally-coded masculinity. Growlr has been around for almost seven years with its focus on hookups and socializing. Unsurprisingly, the app has fewer users than Grindr since Growlr caters to a specific clientele.

Although some of its users join the application to meet their personal preference, hookups and socialization is just a mere reason for being in the community. These individuals join the community to be in an environment that help them build relationships, may it be friendly or romantic. More often than not, the bear community in its entirety are individuals who are matured and established individuals in a way that is not just defined by their physical attributes but by their successes in different fields.

RESEARCH METHOD

Interview

The group gathered data through direct interaction with the Growlr community through continuous use of the application by Miguel Villanueva. Mr. Villanueva joined the community under a fake identity, using the pseudonym Victor Ortega. Through this account, he made inquiries and interacted with interested, willing parties.

Mr. Villanueva initially created a profile, stating basic information such as location, body type, and what “Victor Ortega” was searching for through the use of this app. Normal strategy was to await for other bears to do initial contact, and continue the conversations in order to allow the people to be more open when questions were asked, especially what the group’s objectives in engaging with them were stated.

In addition to this, the group studied outside resources- blog entries written by Growlr users and online articles about the history of the bear lifestyle- to develop more well rounded views on the alternative sub-culture.

The app interface / visual

Upon entering Growlr, Grindr users will find the layout of the application familiar. It has a standard profile browser, and a messaging feature for starting with conversations with the profiles of choice

.Additionally, the app includes check-ins, meets, events, bars, and notes. Profiles can be filed into different categories are checked upon according to “super hot, new members, most viewed, singles, bears, cubs, muscle bears, daddies” and the like.

Having said, the free application does not go to waste when it is being explored by its users because of the entertainment it provides while catering to its chosen clientele.

Although Growlr is a free application, it also has a Pro version that provides additional services- viewing full-sized unlocked private pictures, availability of watching unlocked private videos, anonymous viewing, Touch/Face ID security, and Ad free browsing, among others. The payment terms for Growlr pro is available for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year with corresponding prices.

Participant observation

The prevalent users are usually big/husky hairy bearded men that is associated with the archetypal “bear” look. Though there are individuals who fit the “dad-bod” physique, and it is rare to find users whose profiles are physically fit, aesthetically fit, or athletic build in any way while scrolling to the many users in the application. More so for some reason when looking for users that are within the Philippines.

During the initial use of the application, when no profile picture has been used yet, users would immediately comment “do you like fat guys?” and engage further when conversation has started between users. After a week of use of the app, there were as little as 2-3 users who made initial contact and were pretty much uninterested to pursue and form of conversation. As soon as a profile picture has been posted, users would starts receiving multiple messages because of the physical features that is presented in the pictures. It is rare to see a fully bearded profile picture especially in the local community.

The main focus of the app is mostly for hookups or online dating but unlike other gay dating apps such as “Manhunt & Mr.Scuff,” Growlr has more sociable community. Normally, when using the application, most of the users are somewhat timid using the usual “hi” or “hello”greeting when initiating, sometimes a “woof!” greeting which typically means “I would tap that” or “Hey, you are sexy”.

PREVALENT CULTURE IN THE ONLINE COMMUNITY

Behavioral trends- civil behavior between Growlr users

Based from the profiles of a majority of uses in the Growlr community, people are seeking friendship and dating opportunities within their own respective communities. Users typically aim to learn more and more about the individuals they want to chat in with the app. Occasionally, some individuals immediately request for a face pic so that they have a better look into who they are communicating with. No experience yet of receiving any pics of the sexual nature, but there are instances where they would send a pic of their face if their profile does not have one. Many of the users truly search to build a connection and try to learn more about you as you use the chat in longer periods. Growlr users, such as any other dating app, really hope to meet as many people as possible and date as much as possible. There is still a predominant search of being in a community and finding partners that meet their physical preferences and what their physical features dictate as their identity.

But let’s face it, sex is still something most people still search for when using any or all forms of dating apps. As soon as any there is any indication that any of the users is looking for a sexual partner or “fuck buddy”, the users will revert and pursue their carnal desires and immediately set what they want from a one night stand.

Jargons- catcalls, slang for sex positions

‘Woof’ – a catcall utilized when one finds another person attractive. The screenshot above shows a man saying this said term.

Bears – big guys with a lot of hair

Cubs – stocky guys with lots of hair. Upon further research, we’ve learned that a cub is a younger looking version of a bear

Otters – hairy but normal build

Chub – chubby, fat

T or b – top or bottom (sexual preference)

Though the application focuses on bears, there are other terms included in the community such as cub, muscle bear, chaser, chub, polar bear, otter, daddy, silver daddy, sugar daddy, transgender and transsexual.

Group concept – From what we can gather, it is shown that the people on Growlr have hair or are attracted to men with an abundance of it. Users of the app are said to be kinder than the other gay dating apps as well.

Individual Negotiations- Many users upon reply from the other party would request immediately for face pics, since looks are a big deal and will state if there will be a chance to meet up with each other. Aside from this, there were instances where sex preferences would be established with the simple “t or b” which just basically means top or bottom.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

Factors that May Have Made This Culture Exist

Bear subculture came into being during the 1980’s, in the city of San Francisco. It’s people are hairy, bearded, and bulky. Members came from city biker clubs (a “masculine” activity) and rural areas, where country values were instilled and urban life was seen as shallow. The subculture was created in a response to the prevailing idea of the archetypal male homosexual- effeminate, young, slender and trend driven.

Bear’s during the time found worth in conventional manliness, in themselves and in others. Due to possessing a certain body type or having hobbies associated with society’s idea of masculinity, the majority of the Growlr demographic might not have been subject to the homophobic stigma people with stereotypically “gaÿ” attributes (thin builds, good manners, speech patterns, traditionally feminine interests) would face otherwise.

In short, the bear community conforms to and subverts traditional gender roles. Growlr’s demographic isn’t centered on trends. It’s users are typically older, with a more developed sense of self. Growlr’s reputed propriety (at least, when compared to it’s peers) could possibly stem from the maturity and experience of the base. The bear subculture itself was born from people who shared mutual values and ideas about how to behave and what it means to be a man that go beyond a sharing body “type”, which could be a defining factor of the culture’s behavior and Growlr’s civility.

Though Growlr is a popular dating app utilized by millions worldwide, it’s a smaller community than Grindr, Growlr’s more famous contemporary. Grindr is an application made to cater to the masses; it’s vast and diverse. Growlr’s community is “bear” centric- it’s users are (and are interested in) people who share common ground. This comparatively smaller pool of applicants with similar interests probably leads to a greater sense of camaraderie. This can be seen when one more than one respondent says that people are nicer on Growlr. See screenshots below.

However, there was still one unhappy respondent who says Victor was nicer and not ‘bitchy’ like the other bears he meets on the app. See screenshots below.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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D. (2017, August 12). GROWLr Dating App Review. Retrieved November 25, 2017, from https://www.dating-apps.com/datingapplications/growlr-dating-app-review/

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Bear Culture 101 (no prerequisite). (2015, September 01). Retrieved November 25, 2017, from http://www.glreview.org/article/bear-culture-101-no-prerequisite/

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Hollywood, J. (2017, November 21). Gay Men: Are You a Jock, Otter, Bear or Wolf? Retrieved November 25, 2017, from https://pairedlife.com/dating/Gay-Men-Are-you-a-Jock-Otter-Bear-or-Wolf

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N. (2017, July 15). Study of Grindr as an Online Sex Boutique Shop. Retrieved November 25, 2017, from https://netnographybyenderunblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/15/study-of-grindr-as-an-online-sex-boutique-shop/