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Indigenous student started sharing racist messages he receives on Grindr
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Dustin Mangatjay McGregor is regularly abused when dating online
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Started public-shaming to show that racism is prevalent in the gay scene
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He says there’s a hierarchy in the gay community, just as in wider society
An indigenous university student has begun sharing racist messages he commonly receives on popular gay dating app Grindr.
Dustin Mangatjay McGregor wants to show the wider community that racism is prevalent on dating platforms in Australia, especially in the gay scene, SBS reported.
Mr Mangatjay, a Yolngu man, grew up on Milingimbi Island, in North East Arnhem Land.
Mr Mangatjay, who now lives in Adelaide, started documenting the abuse he received on Grindr with some users immediately disclosing their racial preference, and others using racism as a way of saying that they weren’t interested.
He uploaded the examples onto Facebook to show non-Grindr users that racism is common in the gay community
Mr Mangatjay says that many people see the gay community as ‘one big happy family.’
‘When in reality that’s not necessarily the case. It’s disappointing, as you might think that an oppressed group would help lift other marginalised people, yet here we are beating each other down,’ he told SBS.
His experience with Grindr has taught him that there is a hierarchy in the gay community, just as in wider society.
‘The white, attractive male is at the top of this pyramid and they command the attention, the power, Asian and Aboriginal men are usually at, or come close to, the bottom,’ he says.
He says that he thinks its acceptable to be more attracted to people of a certain racial backgrounds but voicing preferences using offensive and racist language is not.
by Peter Devlin for Daily Mail Australia
Source – The Daily Mail
