Safe on Blued? A Qualitative Exploration of Sex, Risk, and Stigma on a Gay Social Application in China

AbstractIntroduction: Mobile dating apps emerged with the development of technology, for example, Blued in China, becoming a new risk field for gay men in the AIDS era. Users use social apps to chat online and date offline to achieve the satisfaction of lust or sexual practice, but the risk of AID looms over the whole process of using apps. Methods: Nineteen interviewees were invited to participate in this study, which included gay men who were using or had used Blued. The content of the semi-structured interviews focused on the relationship between gay social apps and HIV risk. Results: The study finds Blued interweaved with sex, risk, and stigma. Blued is sexualized due to sexual intentions and practices. There is also a sexual stratification of risk with Blued and its users based on socioeconomic factors. Users experience a dilemma between pursuing sex while being concerned about latent risk within a context of stigmatization. Conclusions: Blued is sexualized in terms of the process of stimulating sexual gratification and facilitating sexual practices. The experience of Blued is an example of sexual stratification, and a structure of desire based on app users and app uses. Furthermore, the social stigma against men who have sex with men is transferred to Blued, which bears the stigma of “AIDS-Blued” with a dual stigma—HIV-related and homosexual stigma. However, with the authorized approval of Blued in public health, Blued could play an essential role in HIV/AIDS prevention and control.Keywords: BluedsexHIV/AIDSriskstigma NotesAcknowledgmentsThe author would like to thank all participants for their contributions to the study and thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive comments on the article.Notes1 This report can be found at: https://weekly.caixin.com/2019-01-04/101366501.html.2 Retrived from: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Global-Acceptance-Index-LGBTI-Nov-2021.pdf3 Users usually receive a message from Blued, saying “healthy dating, HIV prevention, keeping privacy, and avoiding property damage” triggered by sensitive words and pictures.4 In fact, I followed the ethical standards, and they were not real family names of my interviewees to avoid any disclosure.5 Retrived from: https://weekly.caixin.com/2019-01-04/101366501.html.Additional informationFundingThe author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.