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Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses

Taylor Le Cui Orcid Logo, Runze Ding Orcid Logo

Deviant Behavior, Pages: 1 - 17

Swansea University Author: Runze Ding Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/01639625.2026.2665125

Abstract

This study explores gay male academics’ experiences using proximity-based gay dating apps on Chinese university campuses. Drawing on interviews with 41 participants, it examines how “context collapse” – the merging of distinct audiences on social media – shapes queer visibility and student engagemen...

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Published in: Deviant Behavior
ISSN: 0163-9625 1521-0456
Published: Informa UK Limited 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71816
first_indexed 2026-04-28T08:52:31Z
last_indexed 2026-05-16T05:22:53Z
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spelling 2026-05-15T14:46:29.5884135 v2 71816 2026-04-28 Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses e91044d4c2380a85b8861c7d0179e124 0000-0003-2284-5736 Runze Ding Runze Ding true false 2026-04-28 CACS This study explores gay male academics’ experiences using proximity-based gay dating apps on Chinese university campuses. Drawing on interviews with 41 participants, it examines how “context collapse” – the merging of distinct audiences on social media – shapes queer visibility and student engagement in culturally and politically constrained environments. Participants manage their identity by deliberately avoiding app use on campus, curating profiles, and avoiding student interactions, positioning proximity-based gay apps as precarious terrains. Simultaneously, these platforms enable “context collusions,” in which users intentionally integrate distinct audiences or facets of identity for strategic purposes, fostering mentorship, sexual health advocacy, and queer activism. By extending the study of gay dating apps into professional and educational contexts, and framing these platforms as both digital closets and support tools enabled by proximity-based technology, this research advances understanding of context collapse and digital queer agency. Journal Article Deviant Behavior 0 1 17 Informa UK Limited 0163-9625 1521-0456 30 4 2026 2026-04-30 10.1080/01639625.2026.2665125 COLLEGE NANME Culture and Communications School COLLEGE CODE CACS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) 2026-05-15T14:46:29.5884135 2026-04-28T09:51:13.1162524 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR Taylor Le Cui 0000-0002-3010-0139 1 Runze Ding 0000-0003-2284-5736 2 71816__36752__b6a53859629c4ad4b1ed896489b3dde5.pdf 71816.VoR.pdf 2026-05-15T14:42:28.4538948 Output 1009880 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
spellingShingle Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
Runze Ding
title_short Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
title_full Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
title_fullStr Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
title_full_unstemmed Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
title_sort Proximity-Based Gay Apps, Context Collapse, and Queer Identity Negotiation: Ambivalent Experiences of Gay Male Academics on Chinese Campuses
author_id_str_mv e91044d4c2380a85b8861c7d0179e124
author_id_fullname_str_mv e91044d4c2380a85b8861c7d0179e124_***_Runze Ding
author Runze Ding
author2 Taylor Le Cui
Runze Ding
format Journal article
container_title Deviant Behavior
container_volume 0
container_start_page 1
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0163-9625
1521-0456
doi_str_mv 10.1080/01639625.2026.2665125
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This study explores gay male academics’ experiences using proximity-based gay dating apps on Chinese university campuses. Drawing on interviews with 41 participants, it examines how “context collapse” – the merging of distinct audiences on social media – shapes queer visibility and student engagement in culturally and politically constrained environments. Participants manage their identity by deliberately avoiding app use on campus, curating profiles, and avoiding student interactions, positioning proximity-based gay apps as precarious terrains. Simultaneously, these platforms enable “context collusions,” in which users intentionally integrate distinct audiences or facets of identity for strategic purposes, fostering mentorship, sexual health advocacy, and queer activism. By extending the study of gay dating apps into professional and educational contexts, and framing these platforms as both digital closets and support tools enabled by proximity-based technology, this research advances understanding of context collapse and digital queer agency.
published_date 2026-04-30T12:57:55Z
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score 11.106347

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