While online dating is now a well-established way of finding partners, heterosexual men are struggling with the gamified nature of apps and the narrow vision of masculinity they perpetuate. Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Treena Orchard about how brands can champion more beneficial dating experiences for men.
Dr. Treena Orchard is a leading sexual wellness expert and award-winning researcher who explores the intersections between sex, gender, health, and technology. She's an associate professor and faculty scholar at Western University's School of Health Studies in Canada. A creative feminist at heart, her book Sticky, Sexy, Sad: Swipe Culture and the Darker Side of Dating Apps is a critique of the dating app industry and a coming-of-age story as a newly sober, sex-positive midlife woman. She has written two other books (sex work, arts-based research), 60 articles, and is widely featured in local and international media.
Tom Novak is a senior behavioral analyst at Canvas8. After completing his second master's degree in cultural sociology at LSE, he was drawn to cultural insight. Tom has conducted qualitative and ethnographic research from the plazas of Santiago to Coventry's suburbs. In his spare time, he can be seen rowing down the Thames or world-building around feminist science fiction.