Cyber Dating and Sexual Fantasies in Men Who Have Sex with Men from Spain: Analyzing the Intersection of Technology, Intimate Relationships, and Violence on Scruff

Feminized self-presentations on Scruff profiles commodified femininity and aligned passivity with desirability.

• This pattern was identified as one of three recurring clusters across the 300 profiles analyzed.
• These presentations staged femininity in ways that linked passive sexual roles to attractiveness and availability.
• The authors describe this as a form of femmephobia that 'reworks heteronormative gender hierarchies within MSM spaces.'
• Profiles drew on broader cultural scripts that associate femininity with sexual accessibility.

Rape-themed sexual fantasies were present in profiles and framed male sexual entitlement as exciting and largely unproblematic.

• This constituted the second of three recurring script clusters identified in the discourse analysis.
• Such fantasies were described as normalizing sexual aggression by presenting it as desirable rather than harmful.
• The authors note these scripts contribute to the 'downplaying of harm' associated with sexual violence.
• The authors acknowledge that some profiles invite readings emphasizing 'consensual kink or playful exaggeration,' underscoring interpretive complexity.

Dominant 'top' identities in profiles assumed control and initiative while constructing feminized partners as available and violable.

• This was identified as the third recurring cluster of sexual scripts in the sample.
• These profiles positioned the dominant partner as having inherent entitlement to sexual initiative and control.
• Feminized partners were discursively constructed as 'available and violable' within these scripts.
• This pattern was linked to the broader authorization of sexual aggression documented across the three clusters.

The study used a mixed methods discourse analysis of 300 Scruff profiles from men aged 40 to 50 residing in the Madrid region of Spain.

• The sample was restricted to midlife users (ages 40–50), a group the authors note has been underexamined in prior research on MSM digital contexts.
• The platform studied was Scruff, a geosocial networking application used by MSM.
• The geographic scope was limited to the Madrid region of Spain.
• The methodological approach was mixed methods discourse analysis.
• The study was designed to address gaps in rape culture research, which has 'largely focused on heterosexual women and has underexamined men who have sex with men in digital contexts.'

Enactments of masculinity and femininity on Scruff profiles were found to be closely tied to the authorization of sexual aggression and the downplaying of harm.

• The three script clusters collectively demonstrated how gendered positioning operates to normalize sexual violence discursively.
• Femmephobia was identified as a mechanism through which heteronormative gender hierarchies are reproduced within MSM spaces.
• The patterns documented contribute to 'technology facilitated sexual violence' as a research area.
• The authors note that MSM sexual scripts 'reiterate gendered power asymmetries' identified in broader rape culture literature.

The study concludes there is a need for consent-focused sexual health education tailored specifically to MSM.

• This implication follows from the documentation of scripts normalizing sexual aggression and entitlement.
• The authors situate this recommendation within 'debates on masculinities, platform-mediated intimacies, and technology-facilitated sexual violence.'
• The finding extends rape culture scholarship beyond its traditional focus on heterosexual contexts.
• The recommendation addresses both the digital platform context and the specific cultural scripts identified.