Grindr has added a new position called ‘side’ that users can display on their profile instead of top, bottom or versatile.
It refers to those who do not enjoy anal sex, with the term first being made popular by psychotherapist Joe Kort in the 2010s.
“This is one of my proudest professional moments,” he wrote on Twitter after learning of the update, which is available to users as of 15 May. “I contributed a term to the gay male community. Gay men are always defining themselves as top and bottom or verse for intercourse. What about gay men who don’t engage in intercourse? I call them sides.”
Dr Kort explained that people can also be “side-verse”, meaning you are someone that does not generally have anal sex but chooses to at times.
He added that although what sides enjoy varies from person to person, most tend to enjoy other sexual activites such as kissing and oral sex more.
I am a side. I am not a virgin. I have found the right guy and don't need one to top or bottom for me. I did not have anything happen to me to make me this way. I just don't like nor want anal sex.
— DrJoeKort (@drjoekort) May 10, 2022
Grindr’s decision to include the position was met with praise online, with some users saying they now “feel validated.”
One person wrote: “Grindr has added a new ‘role’ on the app: Side. Finally I feel validated. Let’s see if I can find a match. Hehe.”
“Yes @grindr for being more inclusive with the positions, now I can express that I am a Side,” said another.
A third added: “Personally I’m not crazy about the term ‘side’ (sounds to me like someone lying there, doing not much) but it’s good that Grindr acknowledges that there’s more to gay sex than anal. Always has been.”
In December 2021, the average time people spent on Grindr reached 61 minutes per day.
Users who are 35-years-old or younger make up 80% of profiles, with 723,000 users paying for the app in the same month.
It has an average of 10.8 million active monthly users.
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