An ode to Omegle, the now-defunct (& occasionally naughty) anon video site gays loved
a statement on November 9.Omegle taught me what a queer safe space could look like– I talked to some absolutely wonderful strangers who talked a 15-year-old through their queerness, told me that it was normal, and even gave me a patient ear on the bullying.
The loss seems personal. https://t.co/FQDInlK98EAccording to NBC News, the closure comes after a 2021 lawsuit that alleged the site “[enabled] sex trafficking” after connecting a then-11-year-old girl to a man who “later sexually abused her.”While Brooks acknowledged “that some people misused” the site, he also highlighted the positive ways it allowed strangers to connect on the internet.“People have used Omegle to explore foreign cultures; to get advice about their lives from impartial third parties; and to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation,” he wrote.
OK, so more often than not, the website was filled with sausage strokes and blatant homophobia (especially in the section designated for gay users).
But we can’t deny that Omegle was an important tool for connection in the LGBTQ+ community. Holy fucking shit. This is massive.
