Queer people and tech? A relationship with glitches

I’ll never forget the first time I encountered Grindr. In 2009, I was enjoying happy hour at Cobalt, a since-shuttered gay bar in D.C.’s Dupont Circle. My friend, spying the mustard skull on an iPhone (first released in 2007!) from across the room, nudged me. “That’s the gay hookup app,” he whispered scandalously.

When I got over the stigma of downloading Grindr, I was astounded how easy it was to flirt with nearby queer men — and to network. During RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3, I changed my username to “Team Jujubee,” a nod to a frontrunner, which helped me find a viewing-party friend in my neighborhood. When I lived in New York, I would sometimes engage in friendly chats with the app’s gay founder, Joel Simkhai, who’d pop up on my grid from time to time.

For good and ill, tech and our relationship with it has changed a lot since the aughts. Gay apps are no longer a battery-draining novelty; for many, they’re as quotidian as texting, a digital town square where a Madonna takeover and catfishing are commonplace. Many, like Grindr, are also now owned by straight people. And no need to comb the upper reaches of Cablevision’s channels to find Drag Race anymore — there’s an app for that too (several, in fact, depending on the region and season).

This is Out’s Tech Issue, and we could think of no better cover stars that encapsulate this queer new media landscape than Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova. These queens went through the TV crucible of the House of Ru to emerge as stars of social media and the podcast world. (Their popular podcast, The Bald and the Beautiful, just signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM.) In their cover story on page 36, the media mavens discuss their dizzying rise through the digital spheres — and how their real-life friendship has kept them grounded.

Elsewhere in cyberspace, the advent of artificial intelligence has brought many miracles but also new terrors in how our data can be exploited. Learn how to protect yourself in the online dating world via Last Call (page 58). Technology does have its benefits; find ways it can improve your looks in our Beauty guide (page 26). But it’s also important to find ways to unplug. In Out Picks, our editors highlight products that help them blissfully disconnect (page 8).

There are many LGBTQ+ cultural happenings highlighted in this issue that can also distract from devices. Playwright Jon Robin Baitz is bringing his acclaimed Other Desert Cities back to Broadway, and he shares how the production resonates in today’s divided America (page 22). John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette are back in style, thanks in part to Love Story’s Emmy-nominated costume designer, Rudy Mance, who shares some secrets of his craft (page 12). After winning a Tony, Maleah Joi Moon talks going from Broadway to TV stardom in Netflix’s revival of A Different World (page 19). There’s a queer killer on the loose in the film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, and nonbinary actor Jack Haven unpacks the complexities of giving life to that role (page 16). Oh, and the iconic Chaka Khan has new music (page 24)!

In Health, revisit the body positivity movement, discover a new diet through the Gay Food Pyramid, and turn up the heat with a new ED medication (page 30). In Travel, find winter escapes in the Georgia mountains, the San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond (page 46). Additionally, discover the hottest trends from the runway (page 10) and how to better invest your stock to support LGBTQ+ causes (page 55).

Most importantly, there’s a midterm election coming up! Flip over this book for The Advocate, whose exit interview with Nancy Pelosi unpacks her LGBTQ+ legacy and what’s at stake in the future. That issue includes a voting guide, an essay on the queer impact of gerrymandering, and testimonials from LGBTQ+ students about what it means to go back to school in the Trump era.

The future is here, dear reader, whether we like it or not. But a reprieve is at your fingertips. Sit back, relax, turn off the smartphone, and join us for an old-fashioned ride through print media. And as always, thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Daniel Reynolds @dnlreynolds
Editor in Chief, Out and The Advocate

Out September/October 2026 cover with cover stars Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova Albert Sanchez and Pedro Zalba

This article is part of OUT’s Sept-Oct 2026 print issue, on newsstands September 1. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue now through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting August 20.