Rise of the sides: how Grindr finally recognized gay men who aren’t tops or bottoms

‘A lot of people feel stigmatized’ as sides, says one New Yorker. Photograph: Vanessa Nunes/Alamy

Every month, nearly 11 million gay men around the world go on the Grindr app to look for sex with other men. Once there, they can scroll through an endless stream of guys, from handsome to homely, bear to twink. Yet when it comes to choosing positions for sex – a crucial criterion for most gay men – the possibilities have long been simply top and bottom. The only other choice available toggles between those roles: verse (for versatile).

“Not fitting those roles has made it really tough to find someone,” said Jeremiah Hein, 38, of Long Beach, California. “There’s no category to choose from.”