Workshop queries

2. The obvious ones are male/female, age, race (what's interesting is that it's not called race, but is actually ethnic background. While 'white' doesn't seem to give you the same kind of differentiation as, say, 'Irish' or 'Italian,' cultural groups which do have significant differences in attitudes/beliefs/traditions/etc.), religion, smoking and drinking (again, interesting, because it doesn't have eating habits as a separate category. While 'vegetarian' doesn't have the same connotations as 'alcoholic' or 'smoker,' it's still interesting that it's not a descriptive category), location, interests (I'd guess that they're chosen from a pre-determined list of things that you can be interested in. I don't see people listing interests like 'music - post-rock.' It assumes that there are only so many things are interests). In terms of presumptions that the site displays, it's actually hard to say. The site, while it's free to join, is commercial. The more people visiting it, the more money the site makes from advertising. Thus, if it's assumed that the site is designed to maximise visitors, the categories that are provided are the ones that people regard as valid selections in mate choice. Of course, there is only one gender-queer option (also, there are little jokes included in the gay male options that can be construed as homophobic quite readily). And the relatively limited selection of options means that people with highly specific interest groups aren't being catered for. And the relative brevity of the available descriptions promotes a view of sexuality that is both commercialised and focussed on instant gratification.

3. I've dealt with this slightly above. Essentially, available identities are trammeled into a set of well-defined boundaries, and identities outside those are not signalled as being of sexual interest. However, I also think this is a property of those who most use the site. Other sites exist which cater to minority interests to a much greater degree (say, for instance, Gaydar). I think the variety of available ethnic backgrounds could be larger, but apart from that, any changes that could be made won't actually do anything if the people who are using the site aren't using those categories.