East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2018 Eggplants and Peaches: Understanding Emoji Usage on Grindr Emeka E. Moses East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, and the Social Media Commons Recommended Citation Moses, Emeka E., "Eggplants and Peaches: Understanding Emoji Usage on Grindr" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3379. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3379 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Eggplants and Peaches: Understanding Emoji Usage on Grindr _____________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Sociology _____________________ by Emeka E. Moses May 2018 _____________________ Dr. Martha Copp, Chair Dr. Lindsey King Dr. Melissa Schrift Keywords: coded language, Grindr, masculinity, identity, gender assumptions, online- interaction, homosexual ABSTRACT Eggplants and Peaches: Understanding Emoji Usage on Grindr by Emeka E. Moses This study focuses on how gay men communicate on the Grindr dating app. Prior research has been conducted on how gay men construct their online identities, however, few studies explore how gay men experience interactions online, negotiate their relationships with other men online, and perceive other users.