Lez takes time: designing lesbian contact in geosocial networking apps

ABSTRACT

As dating and hookup apps for gay men and hetero-identified users flourish, the slow growth of lesbian-identified apps is continually framed as a “problem” by developers, investors, and users. We observe this “problem” to be one of designing lesbian contact, a problem that materializes as a queer incommensurability at the intersection of app design, technology startup culture, and perceptions of lesbian sexuality. While locative media scholarship foregrounds the social dimensions of space, we consider temporal orienting devices that design contact among women seeking women using a case study of the lesbian dating app, Dattch (rebranded as Her in 2015). Dattch's development and eventual reconfiguration into Her exemplifies how lesbian contact is negotiated through an iterative design process that tries to manage the pressures of a rapidly moving, capital-driven “appified” market.

KEYWORDS:

• Geosocial networking
• lesbian contact
• design
• orientation
• queer temporality
• apps culture

Notes

1 Compare Grindr's reporting of over 7 million users in their app marketplace descriptions to the most popular lesbian dating app, Dattch, which reports no numbers other than women “joining in the thousands”; see https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grindr-gay-same-sex-bi-social/id308956623?mt=8; http://grindr.com/learn-more; https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dattch.dattch.app&hl=en; https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dattch-lesbian-dating/id573328837?mt=8.

2 Henceforth, unless otherwise indicated, all direct quotes from Exton are from this February 28, 2015 interview.

3 Although both encourage technological development, incubators and accelerators are often distinct business models with different financial structures. Incubators provide space and mentorship, but rarely capital investment, while accelerators offer capital for a small percentage of the business. We are more interested in the connotation of “incubating” as a protected, safe space wherein growth is healthy, focused, and lacking precarity.