Famous dating app Tinder on Tuesday rolled out more genders for users outside the gender binary in India. As the name suggests, this new feature adds 23 new gender options on Tinder. Until now, Tinder had only two gender options – man and woman.
Users will be able to edit their profiles in order to choose a different option for their gender identity, instead of just “Man” or “Woman,” as well as toggle a setting that will display their gender on their profile in the app.
These same options have been live in the U.S. since November 2016, when the dating app added options for transgender and gender non-conforming people.
Tinder has not fared well with the trans community in particular, as some users in the past have been banned from the app even when using the identifiers for trans people and displaying this on their profile. For the U.S. launch of the expanded gender options, Tinder had worked with organisations like GLAAD, activists and others.
In India, it worked with users and consultants, including an LGBTQ organisation working for the health and human rights of the LGBTQ community since 1994, The Humsafar Trust, as well as LGBTQ author and inclusion advocate, Parmesh Shahani.
On announcing the new feature, Taru Kapoor, GM, Tinder India said, “Inclusivity, acceptance and individuality are core values of Tinder. Users are best to assert their own identity, and our latest update gives them the opportunity to decide how to express themselves authentically. I think it is vital to be reflective of our time, and it has been a good year in India for gender, sexuality and personal autonomy.”
Gender can be added on Tinder from the ‘Edit Info’ section. Here, users can tap on ‘More’ to select their preferred gender. For example Trans users have options like Trans man, Trans woman and transgender. The selected gender will be shown on the profile of the user. Tinder also lets you choose to show or hide the gender.
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