Grindr is hoping a new series of videos will help make the hook-up app a nicer, more tolerant place to visit.
The company called on the likes of Jai Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster, Malcolm Robinson, Rakeem Cunningham and others for its “kindr” campaign. The people featured in the videos speak out about their experiences with racism on and offline.
“If you don’t put ‘no Asians’ in your profile, it doesn’t mean you have to fuck Asians now,” explains Booster. “It just means I don’t have to see it….For you to say ‘I know what every Asian guy looks like and I know for a fact that I would not be attracted to any of them?’ That comes from a racist place. Because you don’t know what we all look like. That’s ugly.”
“You don’t know what the person on the other side of the phone is going through,” adds Rodriguez. “You have no idea what their experience is, or what else they have going on, or what that comment might do to them.”
Grindr is hoping the campaign will remind users to simply treat each other with respect.
"We’re not into racism, bullying, or other forms of toxic behavior," the site said in a statement. "These are our preferences, and we’ve updated our Community Guidelines to better reflect them. Same app. New rules. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Their type. Their tastes. But nobody is entitled to tear someone else down because of their race, size, gender, HIV status, age, or -- quite simply -- being who they are."