In the world of Gay online dating there is an expectation to share photos with one another not just of your face but of a more intimate nature. If you have no picture at all on a dating site you're usually dismissed entirely which is quite strange from a community that deals with coming out on an almost daily basis. More intimate than this however most guys ask for body shots, not just a selfie but a full frontal nude picture. Depending on the site you use or app you're also asked for cock shots, even if you use a site that has less of a reputation for this kind of thing the request usually comes quite quickly after chatting to someone.
I hate this. For one I hate cameras and taking photos in general but the whole process is quite degrading when you stop and think about it. The person making the request is basically saying they can't decide whether they like you until they see you naked. In how many other social situations is that actually acceptable? If you met someone in a club or at work or school, you don't ask to see them naked before you decide if you like them.
The online dating world seems to have sacrificed the chivalry and romance of dating and reduced it to something akin to online shopping, where they want to order a boyfriend by entering values they have to match, literally ordering by size and weight, colour, etc. When did we give up on developing emotional and intellectual connections first? When did we become so superficial?
Beyond judging ourselves for what we reduced it to, what does this say about our community?
I'm not being entirely fair to single out the Gay community but it's the only one I have personal experience dealing with. According to straight mates their dating sites usually lead to the same thing so they are just as guilty.
What does it say about the judgement you place on people that refuse? The immediate assumptions are usually that you're either too old or young, too out of shape or too thin, or some other condition that lies outside your "ideal", among other things that people accuse you of if you refuse.
When did finding someone stop being a case of showing each other your heart and become a case of show me your cock?
