Gay
Gay dating has been perhaps the most interesting segment in the online dating community to watch evolve over the years. This was particularly true as dating sites were in their infancy and gay dating was simply thrown in as an option. There was no focus on gay content, the gay lifestyle. It was a token throw-in, nothing more. But now, it has not only become a significant part of many “general” dating sites, but has its own major sites – led by Gay.com and GayFriendFinder.com – that are truly serving this significant demographic.
One thing that seems clear is the gap between the main gay lifestyle sites and everyone else, primarily with regard to membership. Gay.com contains more than 8 million profiles, though the site doesn’t provide its up-to-date membership totals. But the focus here is content, and Gay.com does a great job of catering to the lesbian sector of the gay audience (something many of these sites fail to do – too often “gay” means “gay men”). Active message boards, detailed profiles and channels on subjects ranging from business to social activities to movies. The site’s layout is busy, but with patience you’ll navigate it easily.
GayFriendFinder.com takes an arguably more general approach to gay dating, much as its parent site FriendFinder.com does to heterosexual dating. A major problem with many gay dating sites is the over-the-top focus on sex and physical attraction, as though there’s no real “gay relationship,” but rather gay people simply meet for sex. While admittedly an outsider, it comes across as insulting in many cases. But GayFriendFinder leaves everything up to you. If you want sex, it’s here (though the in your face naked pictures found on some other sites are not). If you want someone to hang out with, come on in. A relationship? There are plenty of people to seek here, with more than 5 million members. Added features such as an online magazine provided added touches.
Find love at GayFriendFinder.com
PerfectMatch.com arguably has the most established success of the 5-star sites (check our separate section on these) when it comes to serving the gay and lesbian community, having proactively gobbled up several smaller same-sex sites.
Of the scientific dating sites, Match.com offers separate gay and lesbian communities, drawing a solid line in the sand with rival EHarmony, which does not offer same-sex matching (on the grounds they haven’t tested their scientific methods on the gay community).