As the dust from Election Day settles and we welcome Joe Biden as our new President-elect, we wanted to share some highlights from our partnership with Headcount for their 2020 Vote With Pride initiative. The stakes for our community were higher than ever in this year’s election—with COVID-19 still ravaging the country, police brutality and racial justice taking a national spotlight, and a new Supreme Court appointee casting uncertainty on recent gains for LGBTQ+ rights, it was more important than ever to make sure our users had the resources they needed to register, vote safely, and make their voices heard.

We focused our efforts on several key phases in the lead-up to the election. For National Voter Registration Day on September 22, we launched a messaging campaign to our U.S. users connecting them with Headcount’s voter registration and verification portal. By early October, as some registration deadlines began to pass, we switched our focus to state-specific campaigns providing people with info on how to vote early and by mail in their state. In the final run-up to the election, we added voting reminders and links to Headcount’s LGBTQ+ Voting Resources to the profile menu for all of our U.S. users.

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By Election Day, we had connected tens of thousands of Grindr users with crucial early and mail-in voting info for their states. That’s a fraction of the more than 1 million people who log in to the app each day in the U.S., but enough to make us Headcount’s most successful Vote with Pride partner for the 2020 campaign.

And we weren’t the only ones getting out the vote on Grindr—our users also made headlines by using the app to conduct voter outreach of their own, in what some called operation #DateSaveAmerica. Several beloved LGBTQ+ personalities also lent their time and talent to Grindr’s get out the vote efforts, including Latrice Royale, who shared how she was voting for the first time in two decades due to a former felony conviction that stripped her voting rights. And our Voting Is Sexy PSA, featured below with cameos by Boomer Banks, Aquaria, Chase Icon and more, proved once and for all that democracy, when exercised properly, is the ultimate turn-on.

With so much on the line, it was inspiring to see our users and the LGTBQ+ community at large come together to make sure their voices—and their votes—were heard this election.

HackerOne helps organizations identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Over the past few years, Grindr has performed a series of third-party penetration tests as part of our cybersecurity strategy; and while regular penetration testing will continue to be a key part of our strategy, this partnership adds to our multi-layered approach for all of our cybersecurity functions.

We believe HackerOne will be an effective complement to traditional penetration testing. Traditional penetration tests typically rely on a small team of security experts with deep experience finding exploits in applications. They’re a mainstay, but there may be limits to what a small team can do. HackerOne approaches the goal from the opposite angle. They open up penetration testing to a wide range of hackers with varying levels of expertise and areas of focus. Given this, we’re carefully scoping our HackerOne program to maximize the value of the vulnerabilities it surfaces. And of course, our engineering team prioritizes fixing those vulnerabilities above all other priorities. If you’re a security researcher, you can head over to our vulnerability report page to participate in the bug bounty program.

As a further measure, we’ve created an improved process for security-related reports to escalate directly from our customer service department to our security team and engineers. An effective security program takes awareness and commitment from across an organization, and we’re making sure everyone on the Grindr team has the knowledge they need to do their part.

Grindr is a part of a vibrant community and we’re 100% committed to ensuring our users’ security. We’re taking a multi-layered approach to protecting our users by employing traditional pen testing, HackerOne, and improved security report escalation. The rapid identification of vulnerabilities is only one part of our cybersecurity strategy, and we look forward to sharing more with you in future posts.  

If you’re a security researcher with an interest in the Grindr HackerOne program, then check out the Grindr HackerOne directory page for more info.

-Tom Quisel, Chief Technology Officer | LinkedIn

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Welcome to a special edition of Whorescopes. This Scorpio szn, in honor of the Scorpi-Ho of the zodiac, we’re showing off each zodiac sign’s signature Grindr pick-up line. Oh it’s about to get down right cosmic in here.

Scorpio

Scorpio szn is all about being…direct.

Sagittarius

Playing hard to get is for chumps.

Capricorn

When a Capricorn tells you something, they mean it.

Aquarius

An artist always recognizes a great canvas.

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Pisces

In the game of love, Pisces trust their instincts.

Aries

Great taste sets the ram’s heart aflame.

Taurus

The fastest way to a man’s heart? The anus.

Gemini

The twins have two minds about everything, even their hookups.

Cancer

Deny the sensitive crab and they’ll fall even deeper for you.

Leo

Make sure you pay your respects to the regal lion…or else.

Virgo

Virgo’s turn-ons include: cash, check or credit card.

Libra

Libras love to show their gratitude.

New Free Features

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We recently reviewed our XTRA premium subscription and decided to make a few of our previously paid features available for free to all users. You can now favorite as many people as you’d like each day, send multiple photos at once, and use Do Not Disturb settings without a subscription. These features help make the core Grindr experience more convenient for everyone.

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SEND MULTIPLE PHOTOS

You can now send up to five photos at once, instead of one at time.

REMOVED DAILY FAVORITE LIMIT

No more hitting a limit and having to wait until tomorrow to add someone to your favorites. Fave as you see fit.

DO NOT DISTURB

This feature is found in Settings and allows you to set repeating Quiet Hours or temporarily Snooze Grindr notifications when you need a break, or don't want to broadcast your activity to those around you.

This feature is only available on Android, but may be added to iOS in the future depending on popularity.

As coronavirus cases began to spike around the world, the number of new OnlyFans creators rose significantly. During an era of furlough and record job insecurity, it’s safe to assume this wasn’t a mere coincidence. In the UK, for instance, the amount of new OnlyFans creators rose by a hefty 42% between March and July alone — whilst in the U.S., the website reported an enormous 75% increase in fresh sign-ups, with over 170,000 new users joining each day at one point, the Huffington Post reports.

For those unfamiliar with the online phenomenon, OnlyFans is a platform on which subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee to access creators’ photos, videos, live streams, and beyond. Despite common misconception, OnlyFans does not specifically exist to host sexual content. However, many creators chose to go down this route, and the results can be very profitable indeed.

But what about the people behind the profile? Well, to gain some behind-the-scenes insight, I spoke to three LGBT creators who signed up to OnlyFans during lockdown about making money, navigating backlash, sexual liberation, and more. These are their stories.

Kieron

After documenting my fitness journey online a couple of years ago, I noticed people on social media were interested in seeing more of me. So, I mulled it over for a while, and after requests to “start an OnlyFans” became more frequent, I just decided to give it a go.

I first began making OnlyFans content as a way to express my sexuality, and even though I had a partner during the early days of lockdown, we decided not to post anything as a couple. Instead, I began to cultivate my ‘boy next door’ brand, with light, playful, and erotic content — and I had a blast. My following has always stayed small, probably because I prefer to keep advertising minimal. And in terms of money, my OnlyFans profit started to cover the costs of my weekly grocery shop, as well as some daily expenses for my partner. I guess we could have switched our marketing heads on and began to think about world domination, but that isn’t essential for me. I’m happy with the balance as it is.

I do plan on continuing with OnlyFans for a while after lockdown. However, I don’t see myself going much further with it. The platform helped me garner income during the pandemic, and so I’m thankful for that. But, for me, it’s not a life goal. It’s just a part of this phase of my life.  

I’m definitely not alone in starting an OnlyFans during lockdown, either. I think part of the reason the platform has become so popular is because people enjoy the allure of being wanted. This is especially the case on social media, where vying for likes and follows is the norm. Of course, there’s always the risk of backlash when you sign up to a website like OnlyFans. However, I haven’t really had any. It’s something I’ll use as an ice-breaker, and a lot of my friends tell me they’re tempted to sign up too. I just think it boils down to expression. Sexual identity is such a large part of us, and we’re drilled into thinking that it’s taboo. Sure, you can see some videos I’ve made, but you can’t fuck me, so are my morals really compromised? In the age we live in now, how is expressing your sexuality anything other than empowering?

I feel like I’ve found out so much more about myself since I’ve started listening and communicating with my sexuality — I recommend it. But for anyone seriously thinking about starting on OnlyFans, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Don’t do it to get back at an ex or to make a bit of cash. I’d say do it because you’re passionate about it, or because you simply want to have fun. And remember to always be comfortable. It’s your body, not anybody else’s.

Anonymous

The feeling of dread I experienced during the early days of lockdown isn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy. Because of the pandemic, I lost the job I loved, and my decision to join OnlyFans for some emergency income was a quick one. I spend most of my days scrolling through Twitter, and was more than familiar with how profitable sexual content can be. After setting up my first account, I began making money almost immediately. Not a ton, but enough to cover rent costs and the occasional treat.

However, as any creator will tell you, publicly sharing nudes and jerk off videos online comes with great potential for backlash. Sadly for me, this was indeed the case, and when strangers began regularly mocking me online I made the decision to go anonymous. Surprisingly, my anonymous profile became more successful than the previous. Perhaps this was because I wasn’t worried about being too explicit anymore — and soon after I realized my OnlyFans would be longterm. I mean, the pay checks were nice and it was easy work.  

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After a couple of months, things seemed to be on the up. I was making regular income again and began pushing my creative boundaries whilst filming content. Sadly, my own worst case scenario became reality when a family member stumbled upon some of my older, less private videos. In a state of panic, I completely removed myself from the OnlyFans universe and haven’t looked back since. In the past couple of weeks I’ve thankfully managed to fall back into my preferred line of work, but I can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. I was really starting to take off with new subscribers and felt like I was on the cusp of building my very own online community. I’ve also never felt so liberated, and, although my time on OnlyFans was brief, I’ll always be appreciative of that. Unfortunately for me, the fear of being found out was too much to bare — and I advise anyone with similar reservations to keep this in mind before putting yourself out there.

Tyler Wu

I began posting NSFW content online a few years ago, mainly through live cam shows on platforms such as Chaturbate. While working abroad last year, I met someone who encouraged me to start an OnlyFans so I could reach a bigger audience and I decided to go for it at the beginning of lockdown. Overall, it has been a very positive experience, having found a new outlet in an otherwise difficult time, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities it has given me.

As with most things in life, you get out of it what you put in. I've seen some treat it as a get rich quick scheme and I think this could be what discourages some people from subscribing. There is a plethora of free porn out there, so paying subscribers rightly expect higher quality content.

Since starting, I've told a few friends about what I'm doing, and they’ve all been super supportive.

I do believe that stigma towards sex workers is decreasing nowadays, especially among the younger generation.

I have also noticed there is very little Asian representation on OnlyFans and the pornography industry in general — and I think the worry of judgement is magnified when you come from a culture where sex is a particularly taboo subject.

And to anyone who perhaps does take issue with OnlyFans should know that it’s real, and often very hard work. Creators are cameraman, producers, editors, marketers, social media managers, among other things. Working hours can quickly add up. My academic background is in business and languages, and these skills have undoubtedly helped, although I continue to learn every day. I would advise anyone wanting to start an OnlyFans to look at their own skillset and identify what can set them apart. I think the most important thing, however, is to take the time to build relationships with your followers and not to take them for granted, these are the people supporting you.

Summer is winding down and if it weren’t for the ever deepening imprint in your couch cushion, how would you even know? Time seems to be at a standstill but that doesn’t mean your grid has to be (COVID precautions first, of course)! Enjoy the latest edition of Grindr Chat, quarantine-style, curated by the hilarious @Zachnoetowers.

Jack Off All Trades

Is furniture slang for sex swing??

Adopt Don’t Shop

I’m into pup play but this is ridiculous.

Rip drag bingo

Ma’am you cannot touch the drag queen’s boobies.

Spill your seed

And let love grow…

The Quarantine 15

Y’all better not glow-up without me!!

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But before 2020—before pandemic and revolution and travel bans—this story starts with an app. Grindr, to be exact, in the fall of 2018.

OR: We lived in the same neighborhood, so we’d seen each other around on the app.
SHOEMAKER: But I was too nervous to say hi first.
OR: Yeah, so I did. And honestly, I led with, “I’m sorry, but your dog stole the show.”

And in dating-app fashion, a first date was immediately on the books.

SHOEMAKER: He had tickets to Disney on Ice because he designed the props in the show.
OR: And I gave him a boner during Aladdin’s scene.
SHOEMAKER: Are we allowed to say boner?
OR: You could say there was a magic lamp for rubbing.
SHOEMAKER: How about just, “It was a whole new world.”

One magic carpet ride later, the couple was engaged in March of 2020, just as the U.S. was preparing to read like a spec script of Contagion.

Prior to their first hellos and long before Miss Rona came knocking, Or and Shoemaker, both queer immigrants to the U.S., had each taken to Grindr during their time in New York to connect with what they both call “a safe community.” It was an easy way for them to make friends, get bar recommendations, and of course, the occasional hookup. “Grindr gave us spaces in which to be ourselves amongst like-minded folx,” says Or. “So then to find each other felt like being found. Being home.”

Little did they know, 2020 was about to put that notion of “home” to the test.

“It was twofold. First, we watched our friends and community in New York struggle day by day with how suffocating quarantine was,” says Shoemaker. “And then the travel bans and border closings happened, and we were suddenly cut-off from our families.” Or was born in Hong Kong, China and raised in Ontario, Canada; Shoemaker was born and raised in Chile, South America.

“With our wedding supposed to be around the corner, we didn’t know if this was even a time to be thinking about ourselves,” says Or. “So we made the decision, if we’re going digital, we’re going to use the platform to show the world something positive. Hope.”

Or and Shoemaker turned to TheHAU5, a Brooklyn production company for artistic collaboration, with a mission to create a backyard, virtual wedding free of prejudice, restrictions, and pandemic that absolutely anyone could attend. Between the grooms and TheHAU5’s Founder and Cultural Strategist, Alexander McMichael (whom Benny had also befriended on Grindr years prior), the three assembled a creative team of LGBTQ+/BIPOC New York artists just as intent on combating COVID-19’s stifling effects. The result: a publicly live-streamed, 3-camera setup dubbed a “Celebration of Love.”

“This live-stream experience was the marriage of collaboration and foundation,” says McMichael. “In the midst of everything that’s happening right now, when you have the capacity to create, you produce magic. We departed from the traditional plug-and-play, and TheHAU5 integrated innovative interactivity to share a story that helped people around the world feel courage, hope, and less alone.”

Sure enough, on August 8, 2020, the world watched. With just a wedding website and a few social media pushes, Or and Shoemaker’s wedding was witnessed by people on every continent, save Antarctica, in countries including Egypt, Kenya, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Honduras, Milan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and Peru, just to name a few. In all, strangers accounted for 30% of the wedding RSVPs.

“The fact that people around the world RSVP’d is confirmation that they needed examples of family and partnership and community,” says Shoemaker. “We showed the world that hate is based in fear and fear is based in the unknown. When you educate people, it reduces their fear and therefore their hate.”

On U.S. soil unfortunately, this is a lesson in civility and compassion that comes in the midst of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual “Year in Hate and Extremism” report. Released at the beginning of 2020, it states “the SPLC documented an increase in the number of [U.S.] white nationalist, anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant hate groups.” This, of course, does not take into account the countries in which it is illegal and even punishable by death to be a homosexual.

However, this did not stop attendees from sending messages of gratitude to the newlyweds. One anonymous message reads: “I’m from a country where people are sent to prison for being gay, so watching this gave me so much hope. Sometimes I feel so hopeless, like I’m running a marathon, but I’ll never get a chance to reach the end because there’s a wall I can’t get over, go around, or break. I feel like giving up. But you give me hope to hold on for as long as I can. Thank you.”

“This started with the simple fact that our family couldn’t be here,” says Or. “But with an open invitation, our story had the ability to educate and inspire and change the world. And it did just that. We took no concessions with it. It wasn’t about what we couldn’t do. It was about what we could do.”

In lieu of the traditional wedding registry, the grooms also started a fund to offset their wedding costs, 15% of which was donated to The Trevor Project. “We’ve both had periods in our lives where we didn’t think we would have the opportunity to get married, let alone find love,” says Shoemaker. “Through this ceremony, we hope that we reached out to those still searching for acceptance. The only way to live your life is to believe full-heartedly that the best is yet to come.”

The virtual wedding production was creative directed by Alexander McMichael, and featured a guest performance by Freakquencee and TheHAU5 band, wardrobe design by Patrick Church, ring design by Karen Piu, floral design by Brenton Wolf, makeup by Kevin Cheah, photography by Nir Arieli, and video editing by Stephen Hebert.

Or and Shoemaker still reside in Brooklyn with their two dogs, Logan and Rocko, happily rounding out what they call, “The new American nuclear family.”

Got your own #metongrindr story you’d like to share? TAG US @grindr on instagram.

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Freddy & Nicholas met on Grindr over three years ago. Here’s how Freddy describes their origin story:

I remember watching an episode on manifestation by Oprah and instantly writing down every quality that I’d like in my dream man... fast forward, Boom💥 I’m on Grindr.

“I honestly forgot about the list completely, Nicholas messaged me and it was always casual... although I wasn’t entirely interested at first because it seemed like we wanted different things. We continued talking and he seemed like a genuine human being with a big heart, you could feel his warmth through the phone. Talk about energy—something about Nicholas was just different and hard to pinpoint.

He invited me over for dinner. I was expecting steak and something fancy but walked into beef patties and a baked potato… totally threw me off. But his attention to detail was immaculate— everything tasted so flavorful. After dinner, I was serenaded by the beautiful-sounds of him playing his piano. He was talented and I learned that he’s a classically trained pianist. I was a professional ballet dancer at the time and so his skillset, artistry, and precision blew me away. I later learned that he was autistic, high functioning. I had a cousin with autism but I’ve never been intimately involved with anyone with autism before. Also I worried about what people would think about our age difference (update: it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks). We spoke for hours that night. In that instant, I knew my heart was his.

Everything moved rather quickly after that. About a month later, I moved in.”

We both had so much learning about each other to do—toxic cycles to unpack and unlearn, love languages to understand. However three and half years later I couldn’t be more sure that he’s my guy. He’s literally everything I could have asked for and more.

Got your own #metongrindr story you’d like to share? Send your story to @grindr on instagram.

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There’s nothing quite like summertime: beach days, speedos, hot dogs, popsicles, and plenty of afternoon delight. Or, in the case of this particular summer: buying stamps, wearing a variety of masks, sweating in 108 degree heat, and navigating your sex life in the middle of a pandemic. Godspeed, babes.

Thanks to @Zachnoetowers for curating these thrilling conversations from queer quarantined life.

Can’t teach a dog new tricks

Pavlov definitely didn’t have this in mind.

Winnie the top

Looking for: 🍯

My “so-called” life

I haven’t had basement sex in years…

Rumor has it

The gossip mill is at it again!

Handy man

I can’t even put together my life, let alone a shelf.

Herd immunity

Ménage-à-covid?

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If you’re a regular cannabis user, there’s a good chance you’ve had stoned sex. And if you’re anything like me, you think it’s pretty damn great.

When I consume cannabis, I’m typically confronted by the three H’s. I get happy, I get hungry, and I get horny. My reasoning is simple: I love mac and cheese when I’m sober, it just tastes exceptionally better when I’m stoned. As it turns out, so does ass.

While cannabis is not necessary for a rewarding sexual encounter (at least not for me personally), I’ve found it enhances the experience. My extremities tingle, I become deeply intimate and insatiable.

But, I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that cannabis affects all people differently. Unfortunately, research on the subject is limited. In order to study cannabis, researchers must jump through a series of government-mandated hoops to acquire a specific drug license that is historically difficult to acquire.

Due to these hurdles, researchers generally rely on self-reported surveys which have already found troves of benefits regarding sex. One survey of mention comes from online cannabis delivery marketplace, Eaze, who recently partnered with Lioness, a sex toy company who specializes in smart technology, to survey 432 individuals on cannabis’s effects on sex. Using this information, we can make better-informed decisions when using cannabis in the bedroom.  

Believe the boner-ific benefits

Eaze’s research found four key benefits regarding cannabis and sex. First, respondents noticed that their sexual sessions tended to last longer, both when they were solo (64%) and with a partner (73%).

The second benefit was that, even though sexual sessions lasted longer, respondents reached orgasm quicker when solo (63%) and with a partner (71%). This could be influenced by longer foreplay sessions, or, it could be that cannabis encourages more orgasms both when solo (43%) and with a partner (48%).

Since orgasm is not an indicator of a satisfactory sexual experience, Eaze’s survey found “pleasure sessions” were more satisfying when solo (85%) and partnered (79%).

Try different products

There are many wonderful ways to consume cannabis and you undoubtedly have your faves. But when it comes to sex, Eaze’s survey insists that THC-infused edibles and vapes are the most effective products  for enhancing sex.

Proper dosing can take a while to figure out, especially with edibles. You’re best advised to start low, slow, and solo. Consider microdosing to start.

Since edibles take longer to onset  (because they must first pass through the digestive system), people often take too much because they don’t see instant results. Start with doses 5mg or lower, because over-consumption can cause erectile dysfunction, paranoia and sedation.

A fantastic and lesser-known product on the market are CBD suppositories, which help relax the area and treat potential inflammation when engaging in anal and vaginal sex. THC-infused lubricants are a similarly effective option. But, like edibles and suppositories, you can’t expect instant results.

Before you experience its effects, the THC must be absorbed into the body, and therefore should be applied roughly 10 to 30 minutes prior to sexual activity

Seek out properties that suit your needs

Since everybody experiences cannabis differently, recommending a universal strain for better sex is impossible. But there are fan favorites and certain properties within cannabis that are generally agreed on.  

If you’ve noticed your sex drive has taken a hit since the pandemic (you are not alone), aim for strains with high levels of the terpene limonene, and other indica-dominant, high-THC hybrids.

Eaze’s survey found respondents reported cannabis helped them find sex toys more pleasurable. If you’re isolated alone, strains containing the terpene linalool, known for its calming effects and euphoria, are favored for solo sex.

If you experience anxiety before or during sex, research has found these strains are most effective: Bubba Kush, Skywalker OG Kush, Blueberry Lamsbread and Kosher Kush.

Though more research is required, past studies have found that indicas are the preferred strain for pain relief. So if you experience sexual pain from time to time, your safest bet are indica strains containing terpenes such as beta-caryophyllene, humulene, myrcene, and caryophyllene.

If you don’t have the time or patience to examine the individual properties in each strain, you can choose from the many strains formulated specifically for sexual purposes, like arouse thc-plus by Dosist.

See what the buzz is about

There are a great number of ways that cannabis can enhance sex, just as there are many different ways to consume. Whether used as an aphrodisiac (married folks were the most likely to report increased duration of partner sessions with cannabis), to treat sexual pain or discomfort, to connect more deeply with your partner, or to treat sex-related anxieties, the cannabis plant has proven itself a wonderful sexual aid. Now, it’s just up to you to find out how you can use it to best suit your needs.

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Since their introduction in Season 2 of Rupaul’s Drag Race, The Pit Crew has presented an idealized version of what a gay man’s body should look like: masculine, muscular, toned and well endowed. Insert Mina Gerges, the first plus-size member of the Pit Crew on the show's spin off, Canada’s Drag Race. Having Gerges in the Pit Crew is a huge step forward in correcting the show’s inaccurate portrayal of what the LGBTQ+ community looks like.

“Because guys actually look like us, and we deserve to be seen,”  Gerges responded when asked why they wanted to be in the Pit Crew. “I’m fighting for people to see the value in different versions of beauty and I think it’s important, especially when talking about body image that we don’t go ignored.”

And that is exactly what Makes Gerges a star; they continue to show up as their true authentic self, in spite of their struggles. “As a kid, I was often misunderstood and growing up in the Middle East, I felt like I couldn’t be my real self,” they explained. For Gerges, being visible wasn’t an option–it was their destiny.

“Growing up in a place where you can be killed for who you are, I had to make a decision that might have cost me my life. But, I decided to fight.”

That fighting spirit is what has continued to make them a success in the mainstream. From deals with Calvin Klein and Sephora to now being a member of Drag Race’s Pit Crew, Gerges says that none of it has been easy. “I’ve always fought for people to see my value in different versions of beauty,” they shared, noting that like many men of color, their voice was largely ignored prior to getting on the show. “No one listened to us...hence why so many of us feel so small. But I feel like the most beautiful thing I can do is to show the world that me and my body, our body, we deserve to be seen and heard.”

For Gerges, being on the show was their first step in showing the world that beauty comes in various shapes and sizes and has a multitude of colors. “When I heard that the show was happening, I thought, ‘well I’ve been doing all this work for inclusivity so why not?’” For them, being on the show was a step towards proving to themselves how much they had grown since the days of struggling with their body image and overcoming an eating disorder. “I had always been hard on myself in terms of how I look, so imagine walking into an audition room on a cold, rainy November day where there are 30 guys who look like the typical Pit Crew. They were taller than me, they were thinner than me. So it was very intimidating when they called my name.”

While Gerges shared that the hardest part of the process was being in the room, they also said that going for the opportunity is what helped them grow their confidence more than anything else they have ever done. “So, I’m thinking to myself that no one is going to find me attractive, something that very many gay men feel,” Gerges pointed out. “I kept looking at myself in the mirror and saying that I don’t look like these men, until I realized in that moment that I have something to offer too. I told myself to focus on my smile and how great my personality is. You know, that I am a good person. That me being there was not just about my looks.”

In this moment, it would have been very easy for Gerges to grab their things and leave, however it was a moment with a producer that really elevated their tenacity.

“A producer asked me why I wanted to audition and I told them plainly that in Drag Race, the Pit Crew is seen as the epitome of beauty, as something that all gay men should aspire to be. I said that my body is no less beautiful just because I have fat and stretch marks on my body...I deserve to be seen like everyone else.”

Though Gerges still struggles with the notoriety that the show has brought them (and all of the backlash that has come with it), they noted that they would do it all over again in a heartbeat. “Some folks say that I was a token hire and others have tried to knock me for being a bigger model,” they detailed when talking about the aftermath of the experience. “However, like I said before, I do what I do because though it has been hard to break through many of these glass ceilings, I want to use my platform to bring others confidence. I want to give and help open doors for other people.”

Gerges says that being so visible was hard, but it taught them the greatest lesson. “Doing the show taught me the importance of not comparing myself to other people,” they explained. “You have to be comfortable with owning the beauty you exude. I think a lot of queer people share the journey of being torn down and bullied our entire lives. We’ve been invisible and it is very easy to internalize all of that and feel like we are not worthy and feel like we are not beautiful. But I am here to tell you that you are.”

More, Gerges highlighted how important it is to never shrink yourself to make others comfortable. “For me, my entire life, I was told how to dress, how to act, and how I should behave,’ they shared. “People want to put you into a box because that is how the world operates. But remember that people want to force you into the idea of who they think of you are and who you should be. I’ve fought against that my entire life and plan to keep doing that in my career.”

When asking them what the greatest one should take away from their story, Gerges reminds us that liberation is about fighting to unlearn all of the negative things that society has put on to us. “We have to remember that the filth that we have internalized is not about us,” they noted.

“It’s about knowing that you are not alone. It’s about knowing that there is beauty in fighting to be seen because our super power is resilience.”  

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If you’re a fan of Rupaul’s Drag Race (RPDR), then you know the show is never without its fair share of drama. From moments of calculated eliminations (Shangela was ROBBED) to queens being ready to throw down (did someone say they were from Chicago?), RPDR always provides a good cup of tea when you’re parched on a late Friday evening.

But while the show’s juicier moments get dissected endlessly online, not enough attention has been given to how toxic and racist the RPDR fandom can be—and the impact this has on the queens. From The Vixen/Eureka fiasco to the multiple cases of Black queens being called the N-word and receiving death threats online, it’s often hard to find the “love” that Rupaul so often speaks about in said community.

For this month’s “You Better Werk” Bloop celebrates some of the queens who have stepped up to speak out about the racism and discrimination that lives within the fandom and has been perpetuated on the popular show.

Bob the Drag Queen

Hilarious RPDR Season 8 winner and host of HBO’s hit show We’re Here, Bob continues to amass a huge following on social media. But the fame and glory hasn’t come without its fair share of racism. Addressing issues ranging from the microaggressions the queens face online to the ways in which they are stifled on a professional level, Bob is here to remind us that in order for us to dismantle white supremacy, we have to reckon with the issues we have in our own community first.

Bob also reminds us that in order for there to be any progress, we have to remember that everyone in the queer community is on the chopping block when it comes to systemic oppression. “In America, this idea that racism doesn’t affect all of us is not true,” she noted. “We have to accept that racism is an American problem. The arch of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice and I’d like to see more of that.”

Peppermint

If you follow Peppermint online, you’ll quickly learn that she doesn’t mince her words. As a frontrunner for RPDR Season 10, Peppermint has been using her platform to not only speak up about the injustice that Black trans people face, but also to call out queer artists who are not speaking up.

“It bothers me the lack of public acknowledgement about what’s going on here & right now,” she posted to her Twitter feed. Considering that both she and Bob now host a weekly Instagram Live to talk about the issues that affect the Black queer community, there are plenty of reasons to continue stanning Peppermint her and her work.

Shea Coulée      

Fans of RPDR Season 9 know that simply calling Shea Coulee “fashionable and talented” would be an understatement. Now back on All Stars Season 5, Coulee is using her platform to spotlight why we need to give more attention to the racism that takes place in the RPDR fandom.

“We need to hold the fandom to a higher standard”, she told the A.V. Club, after explaining that being a Black queen means knowing that racism comes with the package of success. However, Couleé also reminds us that there is so much power in being a Black queen. “If I give racism too much attention, it’s going to slow me down,” she states. It’s time we start giving Couleé her flowers (no pun intended) for being such an outspoken advocate for anti-racism.

The Vixen

If there is anything that we learned about RPDR Season 10, it’s that some of the queens don’t have time for white fragility. We saw this with The Vixen, who not only challenged many of her peers to address the ways they treat Black queens, but also called out the entire franchise for the ways in which Black queens are portrayed on the show.

In a piece that she wrote for Pride.com, The Vixen got personal about her experience and about the ways in which we continue to perpetuate racism in both the fandom and the community. “A Blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl can wear jeans and a t-shirt and look all American, but we do it and we look ghetto,” she states. But beyond that, The Vixen continues to call out the show’s double standards toward Black queens. “Black excellence needs to be celebrated,” she goes on to highlight, explaining that the show will continue to do more harm than good if we don’t acknowledge the problem. “You can’t call it a fair race if the challenges don’t acknowledge the double standard. The playing field isn’t level.”

Mayhem Miller

Since her appearance on Season 10 of RPDR, Mayhem Miller has made a name for herself not only as the life of the party, but also for speaking up about the racism she encounters both on and off the stage. During her time on All Stars 5, Miller opened up about her own experiences with the police and why Drag Race needs to have a reckoning with the racism found in the fan base.

“With responsibility, there needs to be accountability,” she shared in a recent interview with The Advocate. “I think more people need to speak out. It’s not just about saying that their behavior is unacceptable-we have to take our power back as well.” Like many other queens, Miller wants other drag performers to stand up and start telling their fans that they need to do better by Black drag queens and Black drag fans. “The fans want to stand up for their queen and tear down another for them,” she explains. For Miller, it’s about more than saying “Black Lives Matter”—it’s about taking a stance and telling fans that racism doesn’t have a place in the drag community.

Asia O'Hara

Among all of the conversations happening around race and racism in the RPDR fandom, Season 10 contestant and Werq the World (WTW): The Docu-Series Season 2 star Asia O’Hara has decided to get personal about her own experiences with racism and discrimination.

In 2018, O’hara opened up about her personal experiences with racism and how social media triggered her after receiving a racist death threat to burn her alive, similar to an experience she had in her youth. She would go on to talk about the racial bias in the show, alluding to the idea that RPDR fandom isn’t fair to many of the Black queens. In 2019, she noted on Twitter that the vast majority of RPDR fans are, in fact, racist.

Recently on her WTW episode, she got candid about the discrimination she faces on tour and the ways in which racism is often overlooked in society. “Fans ask me to step out of the picture so they have just a picture with the other girls, like Kameron and Aquaria,” she shared during an interview.

For these queens, it’s not just about acknowledging the racism, but giving attention to the ways in which Black queens on the show aren’t given their proper dues. If we’re going to celebrate RuPaul for working to give us the representation we’ve always wanted in media, we have to acknowledge the queens who are working to dismantle the racism and discrimination that also lives on—and off—the show.

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