What does cruising mean for trans people?
Written by Julien Lenaz, lead developer of cruush.
The word is the same
Cruising means looking for someone to meet, often for sex, often soon. That is true for trans people too. What differs is how much more you may have to think about while doing it.
Decide first
- How you want to be described, and which labels you want on your profile.
- Whether you want a face in your photos.
- Who should be able to see where you are, and how precisely.
- What you will say to someone whose messages make you uncomfortable.
What cruush gives you for that
On cruush the gender list includes trans woman, trans man, transmasc, transfemme, nonbinary and many more. Photos do not need a face. Your position is shown as an area unless you choose otherwise. Blocking is on every profile and takes effect at once.
Saying what you want
Clear messages save time. If you want to meet for sex, say so. If you want to talk first, say that. If someone cannot respect it, they are not who you want to meet.
Things people ask
Many trans people want to know whether others will be respectful about their body and identity. A profile that is clear about your labels and what you are looking for filters a lot of that out before a conversation starts, and blocking handles the rest.
Choosing who sees what
Photos, precise location and parts of your profile can all be limited. You can keep some of it for mutual cruushes only, so a stranger on the map sees less than someone who has cruushed you back.