A study of profiles composed by middle-aged gay and bi-sexual men in Spain who used the hook-up app Scruff reveals that those who characterize themselves in feminine terms use rhetoric implying passivity and openness to degrading or even violent treatment. It correspondingly found that dominant partners express a desire to treat other men this way. While much of this is a matter of fantasy and role-playing, it does reveal a troubling tendency on the part of both types to associate femininity with wanting to be raped and abused. This both feeds upon and perpetuates acceptance of rape myths, and suggests a dark undercurrent of misogyny with the community of men who have sex with men.
This parallels controversial research on autogynephilic transsexuals and cross-dressers, observing that their wish to appear as women is associated with a strong element of masochism.
