Emmanuel Postgrad launches a unique social media app for LGBT+ users

This week we talked to Eric Cervini, founder and creator of ‘Q’ – a social media app designed especially for LGBT+ users.

The app’s basic features will be to message others, write statuses and find people within the LGBT community nearby. It is unique, however, in its attempt to create a non-sexual, non-gendered online space for queer people. In Eric’s words, it is “the world’s first gender-inclusive, community-driven queer app.”

Cervini wants his app to be “Inclusive, Elegant, and Queer”

He’s currently running a Kickstarter, which ends on Tuesday, and aims to beta test the app in Cambridge over the next few weeks, taking advantage of the sizeable LGBT population.

The Postgrad, currently studying the history of queer rights in America at Emmanuel, told The Tab how he was inspired by his experience of coming out, and realised how much easier it would have been had he been able to easily find other people like him.

The man himself

Though his time at Cambridge has been largely positive, he was disillusioned by existing apps aimed at queers groups, few as they are. They are often highly sexualised (he mentioned Grindr pretty quickly), and predominantly aimed at men: according to Eric, “when we log on we’re told to behave in a certain way, to have a perfect body, to be something other than what we are”.

Q, by contrast, will be open to people of any gender orientation, and won’t be actively sexualised: “everything will start platonic – you can send compliments to people, but there is no presumption you’re looking for anything romantic”. Keen straight people can also get hold of honorary memberships.

Grindr is too sexual – breaking news from The Tab

Ronan Marron, an active member of Cambridge’s LGBT community, told The Tab: “The app has a lot of promise. I have always found it strange that Grindr is an exclusively male platform, and while I would not condemn it, I think it is fair to say that it is a bit weird.

“I am curious to see whether this app takes off in the same way, and if it does I think it could constitute a more inclusive and less smutty platform- which would be an improvement”

If you are interested in finding out more or supporting Eric’s app, go to his Kickstarter page here.