The freighting of intimacy: dating applications and speculative pragmatism in queer Nigerian intimacies

Studies on ‘sex delivery systems’ in Nigeria have largely focused on hegemonic heteronormative intimacies, thereby excluding the possibility of queer intimacies and obscuring how these systems operate beyond normative sexual frameworks. Despite the systemic rejection of queerness in Nigeria, rooted in religious, cultural, legal, and societal structures that sustain the policing of sexuality, queer landscapes, both online and offline, persist inerasably. This study examines the freighting of intimacy among queer Nigerians in relation to their configurations of intimate networks. Drawing on the experiences of queer Nigerian men, the paper examines the nuanced dynamics of queer intimacy and highlights the resilience and adaptability of individuals and communities navigating sociocultural constraints. Grounded in Kane Race (2015) framework of speculative pragmatism, it advances three core premises. First, that the sociotechnical affordances available to LGBTQ+ individuals on dating applications, particularly Grindr and Tinder, function as a critical lifeline for queer sex delivery systems in Nigeria. Second, that these platforms simultaneously enable queer intimacy while exposing users to risk, including police entrapment and blackmail, thereby producing a persistent tension between visibility and vulnerability. Finally, these applications provide spaces through which queer Nigerians negotiate desire, safety, and identity within restrictive environments.