The perfect person for you could be living just a few miles away, but if you don’t run in the same circles or have some rom-com-style chance interaction at the post office, you might never meet.Online dating opens up your dating world to more than just the same fifty people you see at work and at the gym and presents you with a whole world of other possibilities -- at least in theory.
Yes, there are apps for gay men, like Grindr and Scruff, and one for queer women called Her. Enter Thurst, a dating app for queer, trans and gender non-conforming people.
“Thurst pretty much came out of a frustrated conversation with friends, joking about how horrible OKCupid was, for queer folks in general but especially for women and trans folks,” Thurst Co-Founder Morgen Bromell told me.
While this freedom is endearing, a few simple prompts a la Ok Cupid might be helpful.
Then again, HER’s minimalist profile reflects the modern trend in online dating towards less chatty profiles that encourage users to interact rather than creep.
Hinge, another popular dating app, also only offers “woman” and “man” as gender options.
I’ve reached out to both Tinder and Hinge about safeguards for trans people using their apps and why they don’t offer other ways for people to express their genders.Trevor Space is a monitored youth-friendly site where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth ages 13 to 24 can connect with other young people throughout the world, and can get involved in their local LGBT communities.Finding love using online dating apps and services can be tough, and even dangerous for anyone who’s not straight and cisgender (those who don’t identify as transgender).Getting started is free and easy, as is finding like-minded singles in and around any zip code.No need to waste time on long surveys either: just a couple questions and the app will start working its magic for you.“Everyone is welcome on Tinder,” a Tinder spokesperson told Business Insider in June. If we find that a user has been wrongfully banned, then we unban their account.