The Guysexual’s Brutally Honest Review Of Recon

The world will identify gay men as fashionistas. It will perceive us as tastemakers. As divas and drama queens; as artists and atheists. But when it comes to identifying us as beings with sexual desires, there is only radio silence. ‘What’s there to ask?’ the world would say with a nervous giggle, ‘…what people do in bed is strictly their business.’ I’d ask the casual reader to take a moment to step back and laugh at the irony of this sentence because of what it might have meant in a pre-377 era. The relationship between gay men and fetishes has been fetishised (for lack of a better word) as often as the relationship between straight men and contact sports. ‘But aren’t you obsessed with experimenting in bed?’ the most basic of bigots would ask. Well, funny you should ask. Say hello to Recon. What it is: As the biggest gay fetish app, Recon is exclusively for men looking to hook-up with a kinky twist. It’s bold, brash and bratty – sort of like the Samantha Jones (from Sex and the City) of gay dating apps. Recon doesn’t just talk about gay sex; it defines gay sex. In fact, it dives right into the deep end of the pool. Leather, rubber, bondage or kink, there’s no discrimination on the basis of desire or debauchery. Recon is here to deliver, and it’ll probably bring along a pair of nipple clamps too. How it works: After a quick profile set up that goads you for the tiniest of details from your personal stats to your preferences in bed, Recon does something that no app has done before. It says goodbye to the grid, as made famous by Grindr (and the crew of gay dating apps it belongs to). No more Sudoku-like squares of glistening six pack abs , no more screenshots of smiling faces . Instead, profiles pop up as listings, chronologically stacked in order of proximity (but not surprisingly, passivity in bed). But how much BDSM do you get for your bucks? Surprisingly, not a lot. Most of Recon’s ~fetishes~ features are only unlocked with a premium membership. While a standard membership lets you ~stalk~ scope other profiles and their fetishes, you get to go bold only when you get gold. Clearly, morals can only be loosened here by further loosening your wallets. Fetishes don’t come free, obviously. What I like about it: A lot of gay apps are very confused when it comes to finding their identity. They will forever toe the line between helping men discover their sexual identities and their sexual desires. There’s no middle. So some call themselves dating apps. Some call themselves matchmaking apps . Some even go to the extent of branding themselves as networking apps . Recon slaps them all in the faces (and I bet a few of them like it), and identifies itself as the biggest fetish app for men seeking kink with other men. It makes no qualms about its motive, and lays its purpose bare on the table, like the submissive men who love using the app. Have a dark, kinky side that you are too embarrassed to talk about? Open up to Recon. Love a bout of water sports on the side? The app is here to shower you with surprises. Looking to embrace the twisted world of role-play and S&M? Recon will welcome you with open arms (and if you like it, a leather harness too). And the icing on the cake (or you, if you are into food erotica)? It’s all from the safety of your smart phone. Recon is ‘fiercely protective’ of its user’s security, and given the judgment that still surrounds the kink community, this is most certainly a positive. What I don’t like about it: For an app that’s obsessed with kinks, there’s a lot of math involved. Am I 80 percent submissive or 20 percent dominant? If I say I am 50 percent active, does that make me 50 percent passive? What if I am 100 percent not interested? Unless I have a fetish for solving elementary level math problems, Recon is not an app I’d want to toy with. And speaking of toys, once you log in, the nearest toy boy is around 15 miles away. It’s one thing to fantasise about being tied up in bed, but being tied up in traffic? Sorry, I think I’ll pass. Who is it for: Unlike Bro , Recon is for men who prefer fisting to fist bumps. Guysexual’s Grade-o-meter: Hookability: 4/10 Compatibility: 5/10 Usability: 4/10 Downloadability: 4/10 Illustration by Amrai Dua