Christopher Dietzel
Christopher Dietzel, Ph.D. (he/him) conducts research at the intersections of technology, safety, health, gender, and sexuality.听His projects broadly explore the benefits, risks, and possibilities associated with everyday digital platforms,听with a focus on LGBTQ+ people and dating apps. Dr. Dietzel was recently awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant to research .听
Dr. Dietzel is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the at . He holds a postdoctoral fellowship with and teaches at the . Dr. Dietzel听is a听Co-Investigator on 听and is a Research Associate in the at . He also works with听the听, the听, the , and听the iMPACTS Project.
Dr. Dietzel's work has been published in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Indonesian. Dr. Dietzel est francophone et il sera content de vous parler en fran莽ais.听christopher.dietzel [at] concordia.ca (subject: Interview%20request) (Click here to contact Dr. Dietzel / cliquez ici pour contacter Dr. Dietzel.)
Research Experience 触听Professional Experience
Media & Interviews | Consultations & Community Work | Workshops & Panels
Academic Publications | Public Reports 触听Editorial Work听触听Scholarly Presentations
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Research Experience
Dr. Dietzel is a member of the听, which conducts research听on gender, equity, media, and society. He is also part of the , which explores how digital media, digital technologies, and digital cultures are shaping intimate relationships, gender, and sexuality. Dr. Dietzel conducts research with the , which examines health issues among people of diverse genders and sexualities. He also听works with听iMPACTS: Collaborations to Address Sexual Violence on Campus, which听aims to address sexual violence on university campuses across Canada and internationally. Dr. Dietzel is a co-investigator on , which investigates young people's experiences with technology-facilitated sexual violence and aims to develop resources that promote digital safety among youth.
Dr. Dietzel earned his PhD from听成人VR视频. His dissertation, , investigated听sexual violence that gay and queer men experience via dating apps.听
Dr. Dietzel was selected as the in the at .听In 2020鈥�2021, Dr. Dietzel worked on a collaborative project that investigated听.听In 2019, Dr. Dietzel was awarded听a 听to work as a visiting scholar at 听and conduct听research听on a grant about听.
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Professional Experience
Dr. Dietzel has taught undergraduate and graduate students, including in the 听at Dalhousie University in Canada, the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at 成人VR视频 in Canada, and the 听at l'Universit茅 de Montpellier in France.
Dr. Dietzel also worked in student affairs/student services, including听at 成人VR视频's听Campus Life & Engagement (CL&E)听and in the 听at the University of Michigan. While in Singapore, Dr. Dietzel facilitated the听, an international, cross-cultural leadership development program for students from 听and .
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Media & Interviews
Dr. Dietzel's research revolves around technology, safety, and health, and he is an expert in social media and dating apps. Dr. Dietzel's research focuses on LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized populations, and he can speak about a range of topics, including online dating, consent, sexual violence, physical safety, and mental health.
Dr. Dietzel has done live and recorded interviews for TV, radio, and podcasts, and his work has been published in English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Indonesian. Dr. Dietzel est francophone et il sera content de passer une entrevue en fran莽ais.
Here are some news/media organizations that have interviewed Dr. Dietzel:
- The Atlantic
- CBC Radio
- CTV News
- Radio Canada
- CityNews
- Metro World News
- The Canadian Press
- TVA
- Le Devoir
- Future of Good
christopher.dietzel [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Interview%20request) (Click here to contact Dr. Dietzel / cliquez ici pour contacter Dr. Dietzel.)
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Consultations & Community Work
Dr. Dietzel has developed policies and consulted organizations about apps, safety, consent, and other topics. Dr. Dietzel enjoys partnering with businesses and community groups to provide tailored information that fits the needs of local and international populations.
Here are some organizations that Dr. Dietzel has worked with:
- AIDS Community Care Montr茅al (ACCM)
- Centre communautaire LGBTQ+ de Montr茅al
- Meta and Facebook Canada
- Office of Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education at 成人VR视频
- Public Safety Canada
- R脡ZO, sant茅 et mieux-锚tre des hommes gais et bisexuels, cis et trans
- Sexual Assault Resource Centre at Concordia University
- Toronto Triggerfish Water Polo Club
- United States Consulate General Montreal
christopher.dietzel [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Interview%20request) (Click here to contact Dr. Dietzel / cliquez ici pour contacter Dr. Dietzel.)
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Workshops & Panels
Dr. Dietzel has a background in education, and he enjoys sharing his expertise with diverse populations. Dr. Dietzel has designed curricula and facilitated workshops in both French and English for people of all ages. Dr. Dietzel has also spoken on panels about a variety of topics, including safety, consent, mental health, discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and online dating.
Here are some organizations that Dr. Dietzel has worked with:
- Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
- Brain Canada
- Centennial College
- Centre PHI
- Club Sexu
- Concordia University
- Halifax Support Group for 2SLGBTQ+ Immigrants
- La Barak : Maison des jeunes de Granby
- Lanark County Interval House
- Les 3 sex*
- 成人VR视频
- Meridan ACT
- Mohawk College
- New Zealand Classification Office
- Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
- Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network (ODLAN)
- Pride at Work Canada
- Portail VIH/sida du Qu茅bec
- R脡ZO, sant茅 et mieux-锚tre des hommes gais et bisexuels, cis et trans
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
- Simon Fraser University
- University of King's College
- University of Ottawa
- Village Montr茅al
- York University
- 2U Inc.
christopher.dietzel [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Interview%20request) (Click here to contact Dr. Dietzel / cliquez ici pour contacter Dr. Dietzel.)
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Select Publications
Dietzel, C., Duguay, S., Matharu, A., Parry, D., & Johnson, C. (2026). Individualized responsibility, policing, and surveillance: Examining the carceral logic in dating app companies鈥� approaches to safety. Platforms & Society, 1鈥�13.
Vipond, E., & Dietzel, C. (2026). In the name of protection? A discourse analysis of anti-trans language in Canada. Australian Feminist Studies, 1鈥�20.
Dodge, A., Mendes, K., Dietzel, C., & Dunn, S. (2026). Desperately seeking non-judgemental supports: Young people鈥檚 perceptions of adult responses to technology-facilitated harms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1鈥�26.
Dietzel, C., Blair, C., O鈥橲hea, B., Bello, B., & Numer, M. (2026). Digital platforms as equivocal health promotion: Examining the mental health of 2SLGBTQ+ people related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Homosexuality,听73(2), 299鈥�326.
Dietzel, C., Dodge, A., Kalwani, N., Pallottini, A., & Mendes, K. (2025). Reflections on intersectional feminist approaches: Promoting an ethics of care in research on technology-facilitated sexual violence and youth. Feminism & Psychology, 1鈥�14.
Kalwani, N., Dietzel, C., & Dunn, S. (2025). Systems-level problems require systems-level responses: An intersectional analysis of Canadian secondary schools鈥� responses to technology-facilitated sexual violence. Canadian Journal of Communication, 50(2), 178鈥�194.
Myles, D., & Dietzel, C. (2024). Beyond rainbows and unicorns: Revisiting the promises and challenges of digital media for LGBTQ+ communities. Canadian Journal of Communication, 49(3), 363鈥�369.
Dietzel, C. (2024). Les applications de rencontres et leurs affordances : Comment la violence sexuelle facilit茅e par la technologie est att茅nu茅e et perp茅tu茅e chez les hommes ayant des relations sexuelles avec des hommes. Canadian Journal of Communication, 49(3), 428鈥�455.
Webber, V., McCready, S., Yurkovich, C., Dietzel, C., Feicht, B., Joy, P., Holmes, D., & Numer, M. (2024). Are queer men queering consent? A scoping review of sexual consent literature among gay, bisexual, trans, and queer men. International Journal of Sexual Health, 36(3), 359鈥�383.
Dietzel, C. (2024). Clickable consent: How men who have sex with men understand and practice sexual consent on dating apps and in person. The Journal of Sex Research, 61(3), 481鈥�494.
Duguay, S., Dietzel, C., & Myles, D. (2024). The year of the 鈥渧irtual date鈥�: Reimagining dating app affordances during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Media & Society, 26(3), 1384鈥�1402.
Dietzel, C., Bello, B., O鈥橲hea, B., Cullum, J., & Numer, M. (2024). Mental health of LGBTQ+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review. Advances in Mental Health, 22(2), 122鈥�152.
Sanabria, S., & Dietzel, C. (2023). 鈥淚 can be sued for that?鈥�: When university community members are sued for defamation in response to allegations of sexual violence. Education & Law Journal, 32(2), 151鈥�184.
Dietzel, C.听(2022). 鈥淚'm not your fantasy鈥�: Sexual racism, racial fetishization, and the exploitation of racialized men who have sex with men. In J. J. Fellows & L. Smith (Eds.), Gender, sex, and tech! An intersectional feminist guide (pp. 101鈥�120). Canadian Scholars/Women鈥檚 Press.
Dietzel, C. (2022). The three dimensions of unsolicited dick pics: Sexual minority men鈥檚 experiences of sending and receiving unsolicited dick pics on dating apps. Sexuality & Culture, 26, 834鈥�852.
Myles, D., Duguay, S., & Dietzel, C. (2021). #DatingWhileDistancing: Dating apps as digital health technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. In D. Lupton & K. Willis (Eds.), The COVID-19 crisis: Social perspectives听(pp. 79-89). Routledge.
Dietzel, C. (2021). 鈥淭hat鈥檚 straight-up rape culture鈥�: Manifestations of rape culture on Grindr. In J. Bailey, A. Flynn, & N. Henry (Eds.), The Emerald international handbook of technology-facilitated violence and abuse (pp. 351-368). Emerald.
Albury, K., Dietzel, C., Pym, T., Vivienne, S., & Cook, T. (2021). Not your unicorn: Trans dating app users鈥� negotiations of personal safety and sexual health. Health Sociology Review, 30(1), 72鈥�86.
Namaste, V., Gaspar, M., Lavoie, S., McClelland, A., Sims, E., Tigchelaar, A., Dietzel, C., & Drummond, J. D. (2021). Willed ambiguity: An exploratory study of sexual misconduct affecting sexual minority male university students in Canada. Sexualities, 24(8), 1041鈥�1060.
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Select Public Reports
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Select Editorial Work
Myles, D., & Dietzel, C. (Eds.). (2024). Au-del脿 des arcs-en-ciel et des licornes: Revisiter les promesses et les d茅fis des m茅dias num茅riques pour les communaut茅s LGBTQ+ / Beyond rainbows and unicorns: Revisiting the promises and the challenges of digital media for LGBTQ+ communities [Special issue]. Canadian Journal of Communication, 49(3).
Dietzel, C., & Towfigh, K. (Eds.) (2024). Pandemic injustice: Navigating legal and policy lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peter Lang.
Shariff, S. & Dietzel, C. (Eds.) (2023). Interrupting sexual violence: The power of law, education, and media. Peter Lang.
Shariff, S., Dietzel, C., & Towfigh, K. (Eds.). (2020). Sexual violence: Impacts on and implications for the intersections of law and education. [Special Issue.] Education & Law Journal, 29(2).
Shariff, S., Dietzel, C., & Jaswal, N. (Eds.). (2017). Navigating the minefield: Responding to legal and educational dilemmas in addressing sexual violence in universities. [Special Issue.] Education & Law Journal, 27(1).
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Select Presentations
Mendes, K., Dietzel, C., Dodge, A., & Dunn, S. (2026, June 28 鈥� July 2). Canadian youths鈥� experiences of tech-facilitated violence. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Galway, Ireland.
Ward-Kimola, S., & Dietzel, C. (2026, June 2鈥�4). Optimizing intimacy: AI, dating apps, and the future of digital connections. Canadian Communication Association (CCA), Windsor, ON, Canada.
Mendes, K., Dodge, A., Dunn, S., & Dietzel, C. (2026, May 19鈥�21). DIY: Digital Safety 鈥� Exploring youth experiences, policy gaps, and responses to technology-facilitated sexual violence in Canada. Tech Abuse Conference, London, UK.
Dietzel, C. (2025, December 3鈥�5). Does AI mean artificial intimacy? Dating apps鈥� AI features and impacts on marginalized users. Digital Intimacies 11, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Dietzel, C. (2025, November 6鈥�7). Intimate inequities: Examining the benefits and risks of AI in online dating for marginalized populations. Equity and Artificial Intelligence Symposium: 鈥婸ossibilities for Justice and Liberation, York University, ON, Canada.
Matharu, A., Parry, D., Dietzel, C., Filice, E., Duguay, S., & Johnson, C. W. (2025, June 18鈥�20). Conducting interviews with survivors of technology-based sexual violence: The impact of current global issues and topics. The Qualitatives, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Dietzel, C. (2025, May 7). Flirter avec l鈥橧A : Comment les nouvelles fonctionnalit茅s de l鈥檌ntelligence artificielle reconfigurent les relations intimes queers sur les applications de rencontre. Le Congr猫s de l鈥橝CFAS, Montr茅al, QC, Canada.
Duguay, S., Dietzel, C., Filice, E., Parry, D. C., & Johnson, C. W. (2024, October 30 鈥� November 2). 鈥淧rove to other users that you鈥檙e a real person鈥�: Tracing dating apps鈥� carceral logics. Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Dietzel, C., & Mendes, K. (2024, June 30鈥揓uly 4). 鈥淚鈥檝e seen animals get hit by cars and fly鈥�: Technology-facilitated violence and algorithms. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Christchurch, New Zealand.
Nau, C., Dietzel, C., Dodge, A., Dunn, S., & Mendes, K. (2024, June 20鈥�24). Technology-facilitated sexual violence: The struggle to define. International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
Dietzel, C., Duguay, S., Filice, E., Parry, D., & Johnson, C. (2024, June 18鈥�21). Beyond the swipe: Interrogating dating app approaches for sustaining user safety. Canadian Communication Association (CCA), Montreal, QC, Canada.
