“Queer Data” with Carl Bonner-Thompson (Meet the CTSG)

A PhD on Grindr? Yes, please! Dr Carl Bonner-Thompson (Brighton University) did just that and is an expert, not just on queer data, but also on queer geographies shaped by data and dating apps. Follow us into the gay matrix to learn about the everyday interactions of queer people with data, how data affects physical touch, in which ways tracking apps may reshape cruising spaces, and why Carl and I are into the same random dating dystopia TV series.

For more queer data awareness on your feed, follow @cbonnerthompson and @lena_mattheis on Twitter and if you want to go all out with your digital connections, find @queerlitpodcast on Instagram.

Texts and concepts mentioned:

Bonner-Thompson, Carl and Linda McDowell. “Digital geographies of austerity: Young men’s material, affective and everyday relationships with the digital.” Geoforum 120 (2021): 113-121.
Bonner‐Thompson, Carl. "Anticipating touch: Haptic geographies of Grindr encounters in Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne, UK." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 46.2 (2021): 449-463.
Grindr Data leak: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/12/15/grindr-fine/
Johnston, Lynda. "Sites of excess: The spatial politics of touch for drag queens in Aotearoa New Zealand." Emotion, Space and Society 5.1 (2012): 1-9.
Corporeal Feminist Theory
New Materialism
Feminist Materialism
Critical Data Studies
Tales of the City
Handmaid’s Tale
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
The Social Network (Indeed, the Mark Zuckerberg film)
The Social Dilemma (Possibly the docudrama Carl mentions)
Facebook and the Rohingya Genocide: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/06/rohingya-sue-facebook-myanmar-genocide-us-uk-legal-action-social-media-violence
The One
Brandon Taylor’s Real Life (2020)

Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:

1.In which ways might queer people have to be more conscious about their everyday data use? Which examples does Carl give? Can you think of others?
2.What are haptic geographies?
3.Why are intersections of class, gender and sexuality relevant to queer data?
4.We talk about the representation of queer people’s interaction with data and identify two popular tropes. Which ones are these? Can you think of other ones?
5.How careful are you with your data?