As an African American, I believe that any effort to dismantle racism, that is well intentioned, is effort well spent. While the removal of the ethnicity filter offers new opportunities to see and be seen by those outside of our ethnic preference, I’m afraid the change— for African Americans, does more harm than good.
For example, I am a NYC native. The removal of the ethnicity filter brings a constant reminder of the effects of gentrification and how different my once “ethnic” community has changed— and how many of us have sadly been pushed out.
Statistically speaking, it is much more difficult for African Americans to connect in LGBTQI safe spaces within their communities simply because they do not exist. (Yes even in NYC, Manhattan is merely a fraction of the city yet a feigned perception of the entire city).
Last, and in light of Grindr’s allegiance with the Black Lives Matter movement: Blacks were economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionate to whites. This means that blacks will be less likely to afford premium browsing features and will be even more limited in finding compatible connections on the app. The idea here should be to celebrate the healthy union of two (or more ?) people, especially black couples as there are less successful black LGBTQI relationships that exist and even fewer in the public eye.
Anonymous
As an African American, I believe that any effort to dismantle racism, that is well intentioned, is effort well spent. While the removal of the ethnicity filter offers new opportunities to see and be seen by those outside of our ethnic preference, I’m afraid the change— for African Americans, does more harm than good.
For example, I am a NYC native. The removal of the ethnicity filter brings a constant reminder of the effects of gentrification and how different my once “ethnic” community has changed— and how many of us have sadly been pushed out.
Statistically speaking, it is much more difficult for African Americans to connect in LGBTQI safe spaces within their communities simply because they do not exist. (Yes even in NYC, Manhattan is merely a fraction of the city yet a feigned perception of the entire city).
Last, and in light of Grindr’s allegiance with the Black Lives Matter movement: Blacks were economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionate to whites. This means that blacks will be less likely to afford premium browsing features and will be even more limited in finding compatible connections on the app. The idea here should be to celebrate the healthy union of two (or more ?) people, especially black couples as there are less successful black LGBTQI relationships that exist and even fewer in the public eye.