By Kristen Santer
After this past week of dim and depressing news, Tinder offers some good tidings in response — which is a sentence I never thought I would write. Due to National Transgender Awareness Week (which began on Monday), Tinder is now offering 37 options to choose from for your gender. This is a great progressive movement in a nation that seems to be sliding back into the archaic, degenerative institutions of racism and sexism. Although it may not seem like a major step forward, this change provides hope and helps to convince Americans that progress will come, even if we are still faced with oppression.
Some of the genders that users can choose now on Tinder include “transgender female” and “transgender male,” but also include less common options like “gender fluid,” “pangender” and “androgynous.” Users even have the option to write in their own term. Tinder worked closely with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to help create and execute this update.
In Recode’s Code Conference in June, Tinder CEO Sean Rad admitted that he has not done enough to help the transgender community. Several transgender users had their accounts flagged in the past because people were reporting them as “fake.” Dating can be a nerve-wracking and stressful experience even for those who identify as male or female, and it can be even more difficult for those who are transgender. Tinder realized that they owed more to the transgender community, and this update provides a safe space for these users to mingle and date.
The GLAAD Director of Transgender Affairs Nick Adams said in a press release, “We helped make sure the app had language that would send the message to trans people that Tinder was listening and would develop an app to meet their needs … [this is] an important step forward [and] a message to its tens of millions of users that transgender and gender non-conforming people are welcome.”
This is exactly what the country needs. Tinder has released this update at a turning point in the United States. Anti-Trump protests continue to occur all over the country, offering words of hope, solace and support to women, minorities, gay people and transgender people. According to Trans Lifeline, a suicide hotline for transgender people, there was a spike in calls after Donald Trump was elected president last Tuesday. Tinder made a bold transition by allowing users to change their gender to what accurately represents them, which shows that they will stand with the transgender community during an extremely difficult period.
Not only does this update provide hope to a grieving society, but it also provides access points for others to learn more about the transgender and gender non-conforming community. As we have seen this past week, this election has shown that there is a great divide in our country, especially concerning social justice issues. At times, some of this divide stems from misunderstanding. This new Tinder update could be the gateway to providing information to those unaware of the vast spectrum of gender possibilities. When I researched a couple of the options listed under Tinder’s new gender list, I learned that “neutrois,” according to its website, is a “non-binary gender identity that falls under the genderqueer or transgender umbrellas.”
Perhaps other users will also see these gender options and be inspired to better understand this subsect of America better. Hopefully, this update will encourage more citizens to stay optimistic about progressive movements within our country and promote others to educate themselves more about the transgender and gender non-conforming community.
Kristen Santer, FCRH ’17, is a communication and media studies major from Stamford, Connecticut.
