It’s 2024 and there are still countries that punish homosexuality with death or where being a member of the LGBTQ+ community is a cause for harassment and social disruption. 64 countries worldwide criminalize homosexuality, and this could pose a serious safety and integrity issue for some athletes on the eve of the Olympic Games. There are already precedents for malpractice and lack of journalistic ethics using Grindr as a tool, so the famous dating app has decided to take action to prevent potential abuse.

The dangers of Grindr. If an athlete comes from a country where being LGBTQ+ is illegal/persecuted in some way (or from a country where being openly LGBTQ+ is accepted but may be an issue for whatever reason), coming out in the Olympic Village can be dangerous if the environment is so crowded with people from all walks of life. According to OutSports, there are 175 openly LGBTQ+ athletes participating in these games, which is up from the previous edition but not quite representative when you consider the total number of athletes (over 10,000). That’s just 1.75%.

Grindr disables some features. Grindr is disabling geolocation-based features in and around the Olympic Village, as well as other competition-related locations, as it did during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Functions that will stop working include “Explore,” “Roam,” and “Show Distance,” which will be disabled by default but can be enabled if users choose.

Grindr says: “Our goal is to help athletes connect without worrying about accidentally revealing their location or being identified.” They will also send targeted information and safety resources, remove third-party ads, and enable paid-for features like sending unlimited disappearing messages. They will also disable the sending of screenshots of profile photos and files in chats within the Olympic Village, as well as private videos.

Image | Grinder

Precedents. Grindr has a compelling reason for making this decision, beyond preventing potential accidents stemming from the homophobia that still exists today: the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

During those games, a straight journalist from The Daily Beast used Grindr to reach out to LGBTQ+ Olympic athletes and out them in an article (soon deleted). While the editor didn’t name names, he mocked the messages the athletes were sending and gave explicit descriptions that anyone could find with a simple Google search.

A malpractice, lack of ethics and violation of the right to privacy, made worse by the recognition in the text itself that an athlete comes from a “country notorious for homophobia”. The consequences were known and yet it was published. Not to mention that no one, absolutely no one, has the right to reveal the sexual orientation of a person who, for whatever reason, has decided not to do so. motu proprio.

Eiffel Tower with Olympic Rings | Image: Xataka

Controversies at the Olympic GamesIOC President Tony Estanguet promises Paris will be a friendlier experience for LGBTQ+ athletes, as athletes will be “free to speak up and share their messages when they’re not competing.” The IOC has relaxed regulations in 2021 that prevent athletes from displaying their religious, political or religious beliefs and identities during the Games, allowing rainbow colors to be used at the Tokyo 2021 competition, for example.

But it hasn’t always been this way. Going further, at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics (Russia), an activist was arrested for holding a banner that read “Homosexuality is good.” In 2013, Russia passed a law banning “homosexual propaganda,” but Putin said LGBT athletes would be welcome. The mayor of Sochi said, “Our hospitality will be shown to everyone who respects the laws of the Russian Federation and does not impose their habits on others.”

Another not without controversy was the recent World Cup in Qatar, where being gay is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Those convicted face a prison sentence if they are Muslim, as well as flogging if they are single. The death penalty is also being considered for same-sex relationships outside of marriage.

In short, there is still a long way to go when it comes to rights.

Image | Pexels, Xataka

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