ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with two different virtual spaces - PlanetRomeo and Grindr. It introduces a series of case studies and narratives to explore the notion of virtual intimacies. These case studies began as semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with research participants, followed by participant observation and lurking on PlanetRomeo and Grindr. The chapter describes the four main themes - intimacy, privacy, kinship and friendship - to interrogate the concept of virtual intimacy. These themes speak to each other and intersect one another in multiple ways on virtual sites. The chapter also discusses the literature around virtual space, intimacy and virtual intimacies with regard to the outlined main themes, to foreground author's sites (PlanetRomeo and Grindr) as a space through which a sense of intimacy is forged. The chapter argues that virtual intimacies play a crucial role in understanding queer male subjectivity in India, beyond the legal and national discourses within which queer politics currently situates them.
