The internet has become a major venue for many people to find sex and relationships, especially among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). For many, creating a profile on specialized internet websites is the first step in this process.
Using a qualitative approach, this paper focuses on the profiles MSM create to describe themselves online and meet sexual and relationship partners, analyzing their reasons to choose specific nicknames, images, and text. Results were drawn from two separate studies on MSM who use the internet for sexual purposes, conducted in Lisbon, Portugal, and New York, USA, using similar methodology of online recruitment followed by face-to-face interviews.
All participants were 18 or older and had been using the internet ranging from a few months to several years to meet sexual partners. Data was collected from face-to-face in-depth interviews that were recorded with the participants’ agreement and later transcribed for content analysis. Results show that participants consider their profiles to be generally accurate depictions of themselves. Nevertheless, particular physical or psychological features are usually underlined by them in order to either enhance their chances of meeting other men or to look for particular types of sexual partners or activities. Similarities and differences between both samples will be reported.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: Fundacao Para A Ciencia E Tecnologia, Portugal
Sydney, Australia, April 2007
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