Squirt.org

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Squirt.org
Type of site
Online cruising and hookup service
Available inMultiple languages
OwnerPink Triangle Press
URLOfficial website
RegistrationRequired
Launched1999
Current statusOnline

Squirt.org, launched by Pink Triangle Press in 1999, is a Canadian website which describes itself as a place "where men meet other men for sex, cruising, hookups, dating, fun and friendship".[1]

The website is based in Toronto, Canada, but is available worldwide and includes user-generated listings for parks, saunas, public toilets and popular sex locations for men who have sex with men (MSM).[2][3] The site was described as "unique and ideal for cruising world-wide" by the 2006 Spartacus International Gay Guide.[4]

Website[]

Squirt.org is primarily a hookup website. Profiles are completely uncensored. The site has profiles to serve standard hookups, live cam chatrooms, gay cruising spots, videos and Cocktales, which are erotic stories generated by the users. It is available as a free service or can be upgraded for full service.[5][6][7]

In smaller cities the site usually lists public parks, truck stops and mall bathrooms. For larger cities it includes gyms, malls, hotel washrooms, city parks, libraries, sex clubs, bathhouses/saunas, fetish bars and strip clubs, beaches, public washrooms, video arcades, theaters, cinemas, booths and college and university campuses.[8][9]

The cruising listings on the site include a general description of the location and how to get there. There is a description on the type of people who go there and when the location is generally busy. There are cruising info and tips related to the location. Some listings include a section for pet peeves and warnings to inform users about police activity on the location or about security monitoring. Each location includes a comment section where everybody can share their personal experience about the location.[10]

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says that the listings and postings on the website make people "easy targets", and "brings the places to the attention of people who would be prepared to close them down".[11] Increased sexual activities in public toilets (cottaging) due to their listing on the website have caused facilities to close in the United Kingdom[12] and Australia.[13][14]

Squirt.org originally launched its mobile site in 2009 but due to the changes in the gay online dating market space caused by Grindr they released a new format in 2012, which followed adopting the GPS location based technology used by Grindr and Scruff. Squirt Mobile is available via the regular web browser format making it accessible with almost any mobile device. It is not available in the app stores due to the guidelines related to nudity, which is allowed on Squirt Mobile.  Squirt Mobile was released first to the UK and later to the rest of the world.[15][16]

Campaigns and controversy[]

The website has attracted controversy due to its supposed promotion of illegal activity, and municipal police branches in some jurisdictions have been known to have "vice units" monitor websites such as Squirt.org.[17]

Due to the ability to seek out others for unprotected sex on the website ("barebacking"), the site has been used in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV/AIDS research and outreach,[18][19] as well as research on "hookup" sites for MSM. The website itself has co-operated with HIV/AIDS outreach programs, which have provided sexual health information to its users.[20]

The site's 2015 "Non-Stop Cruising" campaign sparked a backlash in Dallas, Texas, after complaints were received over their billboard, which featured three ethnically diverse men embracing.[21] In September 2015, the Toronto Transit Commission decided to remove advertisements for the website from its subway trains after riders complained the website promoted illegal sexual activity.[22]

Its advertisements were removed from bus stops in Cardiff, Wales, in 2016, following claims they were inappropriate.[23] In 2016 the Dutch Advertising Standards Board received numerous complaints of indecency regarding large signs and posters featuring shirtless men appearing in Amsterdam and other large cities. The Board disagreed with the contention and pointed out that the men were not posed in a sexual manner or even suggesting sexual acts.[24]

In 2017 in the United States, a 60-year-old man who met a 13-year-old boy on the website was arrested for sexual assault.[25]

In 2018, the website came out in opposition to the Trump administration's view of LGBT rights, using the slogan "Make America Gay Again" (a parody of Make America Great Again, Trump's campaign slogan) on posters throughout Los Angeles and New York City to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump.[26]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Squirt.org stands for gay cruising, hookups, dating and more". Squirt.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. ^ Damron Travel Company (November 2005). Damron Men's Travel Guide. Damron. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-929435-55-8.
  3. ^ Fountain, Tim (2008). Rude Britannia: One Man's Journey Around the Highways and Bi-ways of British Sex. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-297-85262-9.
  4. ^ Spartacus International Gay Guide. Spartacus. 2006. p. 1060.
  5. ^ Team, QX (2013-08-30). "THE AGE OF THE DIGI-DATE". QX Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  6. ^ QX team (2014-01-31). "I Need A Man". QX Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  7. ^ QX team (2017-02-05). "The App generation - Gay Dating Apps". QX Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  8. ^ ras. "Squirt.org Survey Reveals Students' Sexploits". QXMen.com. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  9. ^ "Crusin' for goo". Xtra. 2001-06-13. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  10. ^ "Cruising isn't dead, it's just evolved". Xtra. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  11. ^ Knowles, Katherine (1 September 2006). "Cruising at the British Library". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  12. ^ McAteer, Oliver (25 February 2016). "Public loos close after bearded man in wedding dress asks for sex". Metro. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  13. ^ Pandaram, Jamie (30 October 2006). "Gay sex forces closure of store toilets". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  14. ^ Power, Shannon (25 July 2017). "Public toilets set to be demolished after too much 'beat activity'". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  15. ^ ras. "IF YOU WANNA GET LAID, GO TO SQUIRT MOBILE!". QXMen.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  16. ^ Dagostino, Scott (28 February 2012). "New Squirt Mobile launches globally". DailyXtra. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  17. ^ Johnson, Paul; Dalton, Derek (31 May 2012). Policing Sex. Routledge. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-136-32315-7.
  18. ^ Klein, Hugh (22 October 2014). "Generationing, Stealthing, and Gift Giving: The Intentional Transmission of HIV by HIV-Positive Men to their HIV-Negative Sex Partners". Health Psychology Research. 2 (3): 1582. doi:10.4081/hpr.2014.1582. ISSN 2420-8124. PMC 4768590. PMID 26973945.
  19. ^ Halse, Matthew (7 October 2013). "Biohazards and the Queer Sexual Imagination". The Word Hoard. 1 (2): 19. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  20. ^ Sandstra, Irvine Laurent; Gold, Fiona; Jones, Elaine; Harris, Paul; Taylor, Darlene (June 2008). "Cyber Outreach: STI/HIV education online". The Canadian Nurse. 104 (6): 24. ProQuest 232038270.
  21. ^ "Billboard Advertising Gay Hookup Site Squirt.org Sparks Controversy In Dallas: VIDEO - Towleroad". Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  22. ^ "Ads for gay dating service Squirt.org removed from the TTC". Metro News. Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  23. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (10 February 2016). "Gay cruising site in 'discrimination' claim over bus stop ads axe". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  24. ^ "Dutch Government Won't Bow to Complaints Against Hook-Up Ads". advocate.com. 1 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  25. ^ Hogan, John (5 September 2017). "60-year-old who met boy on 'hook-up site' gets prison for sexual assault". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  26. ^ "Trump, 'Let's Make America Gay Again'". The Vital Voice. 19 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 7 October 2018.

Further reading[]

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