6 days ago
Sniffies article from The New Yorker causes online uproar—here's why
The New Yorker published a story about the popular cruising site Sniffies on Thursday, and the comments left under the Instagram post revealed that most people reacted in one of two ways.
The story, titled "Sniffies Translates Cruising for the Digital Age," was written by Emily Witt, a staff writer at the publication who covers culture, sexuality, and nightlife. One intense response came from gay people who negatively reacted to the story, noting that they'd prefer if The New Yorker stayed "out of gay people's business."
Witt not only traces Sniffies' journey has over the last few years since the platform was launched, but it also serves as the history of cruising within the gay community.
It should be noted that the site is marketed mainly toward gay men, as well as the trans and nonbinary community — which was one of the reasons that people took issue with this story being solely written by Witt. The general gripe here involves concerns over such a revealing story being publishedThe conceit of the article felt voyeuristic, and in a far-reaching publication after being written by someone who
"This 'reporting' is making a spectacle of the queer community for straight upper west siders to talk about at a dinner party," one person wrote in the comments section of the publication's Instagram post promoting the article. "Something within the queer community doesn't need to be blasted in an article just to get criticized by people outside of our community, FYI," another person wrote.
The comments about Witt's story are less about the thoroughness in her reporting and research — focusing, instead, more on the fact that someone from outside of the community of regular Sniffies users wrote that she made a new social media account for the story and was poking around in a space that is meant for the queer community, leaving some people to feel "exposed."
A queer writer named Ty Mitchell shared an X post that read, "The CEO of Sniffies happily provided comment to The New Yorker. It is not, and never will be, the DL sanctuary that it brands itself as, and we, as a community, must accept that Sniffies is first and foremost a novelty apparel company."
Many people invoked the words of the late great George Michael, who was followed by paparazzi to a popular cruising spot in London and said, "Are you gay? No? Then fuck off! This is my culture!"
There were also plenty of responses that injected some sense of humor, like an X user (below) writing, "You're telling me my 70 year old parents are going to open their New Yorker subscription this week and learn about SNIFFIES!??!!"
"CULTURAL WARNING: The New Yorker has written about Sniffies," @zzdoublezz shared via X.
A similar reaction read:
"Anxiously awaiting my mother, an avid New Yorker reader, to ask me about Sniffies."
Last but certainly not least, the article did reach out — and referenced — authors who have published works on the topic. One of them, Leo Herrera, was thrilled about the inclusion after and celebrated his two books that pulled from an anthology of poems and social media work — 2023's POST and 2024's Analog Cruising — over the course of his life.
This article originally appeared on Out: Sniffies article from The New Yorker causes online uproar—here's why
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