US Government Spent $432,000 Researching Gay Hookup Apps

The government, courtesy of the US taxpayer, somehow finds the extra cash to spend on useless studies like how kids view fat characters in movies, voice therapy for transgender folk, why lesbians are hazardous drinkers and fat, and other bizarre and useless studies.  Frankly, who cares.  These studies have cost up to 99 million.  That was for a grant study in China!

Yes, I'm sure the National Institutes of Health (NIH) does conduct research studies on legitimate and worthwhile subjects, but do we really need (or want) to know whether GPS dating apps will encourage gay men to have risky sex, and how aroused they get using the app? Yep, that's the latest NIH waste.

Columbia University received $432,000 to study how gay "hookup apps" like Grindr, Scruff and GROWLr might increase risky sexual behavior.

“Smartphone technologies have provided a new venue for sexual partnering among men who have sex with men (MSM),” the grant for the project states. “Indeed, there are a rapidly growing number of smartphone applications designed to facilitate sexual partnering among MSM.”

The project argues that dating apps that use the Global Positioning System, or GPS, has “accelerated” the rate that gay men can find sexual partners, compared to online.

“Furthermore, given the expediency with which men are able to arrange sexual encounters using these applications, there is cause to question if, when, and how sexual negotiation and serostatus disclosure occurs,” the grant said. “The overall study goal is to understand how sexual risk behaviors among MSM may be facilitated by the nature of GPS-enabled smartphone applications, the way they are used, and the process by which sexual partnering occurs via smartphone applications.”

60 gay men were interviewed for the study.

Who cares about the dating habits of gays or straights.

I'd like them to conduct a study: find out why the government spends money on stupid research projects.

More on the Washington Free Beacon.

Taxpayers To Pay $400,000 To Find Out How Kids View Fat Characters In Movies

Someone wants to know how kids view fat characters in movies, so the National Institute of Health (NIH) is spending over $400,000 to find out.

Children's perceptions of "obesogenic" culture in films, or the promotion of excessive weight gain, is the subject of the $433,577 study being conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The researchers have concluded that children's movies are confusing because they make fun of fat characters, while also promoting unhealthy behaviors like drinking soda and watching television.

"Children receive cultural messages about appropriate eating, exercise, and attitudes from a variety of influences, likely including family, friends, schools, religious institutions, and electronic culture (television, movies, and video games)," the grant explains. "One important source of culture in the world for children is children's movies."

Your tax dollars at work.

The rest here.

Government Waste: Grant To Study Voice Therapy For Transgenders

More wasteful government spending:

$152,500 federal government grant to study "voice therapy" for transgenders.

The National Institutes of Health grant goes to George Washington University.

The story.

Why Are Lesbians Hazardous Drinkers? Feds Spend 2.7M To Find Out

This country is on the financial brink, and the government is wasting money on research studies like: how to improve the taste of beef jerky, or why lesbians are vulnerable to hazardous drinking?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has handed over $2.7 million for the latter.

The University of Illinois has received grants since 2009 for its project, "Cumulative Stress and Hazardous Drinking in a Community of Adult Lesbians," which aims to develop “culturally sensitive” strategies to prevent lesbians from being drunks.

“Studies using both probability and nonprobability samples provide ample evidence of lesbians' vulnerability to hazardous drinking,” the grant’s description reads. “However, very little is known about the factors that increase lesbians' risk for hazardous drinking.”

“We propose to build on and extend our study of sexual identity and drinking… to model effects of cumulative stress on hazardous drinking among lesbians.”

The researchers theorize that lesbians report higher rates of traumatic events, making them more likely to engage in hazardous drinking, which has been defined by NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as “more than 7 drinks per week or more than 3 drinks per occasion for women.”

Furthermore, the problem may be worse for “lesbians of color,” the researchers say.

The grant states that there are “chronic stressors unique to sexual minorities, creating cumulative stress that may be compounded in lesbians of color.”

The study is being led by Tonda Hughes, professor at the Department of Health Systems Science at the University of Illinois, an “internationally recognized expert in the area of alcohol use among lesbians,” according to the University.

Why?!

Thank you Feds for wasting taxpayer money.