In 2018, OkCupid rolled out a feature for users(opens in a new tab) who identified as any gender other than a man or woman to choose their pronouns.
Now, the dating app is opening that feature up to every user regardless of their gender. They're doing this in the hopes that it will normalize listing pronouns in your profile and create a safer environment for OkCupid's trans and nonbinary users. The move comes shortly after the dating app added a Black Lives Matter badge, along with profile questions surrounding racial inequality.
"For many people, especially non-binary and transgender daters, there's nothing more personal than our names and pronouns," said Michael Kaye, global communications manager at OkCupid.
This past June, for Pride Month, the app added new matching questions for non-binary and LGBTQ users around the world. When asked "Would you correct someone who calls you by the incorrect pronouns?," 100 percent of respondents answered yes, according to a press release. Additionally, more than one million users have opted to add pronouns to their profile already.
Kaye added, "At OkCupid we've spent years helping LGBTQ+ daters express themselves more accurately on our platform, by adding questions focused on dating as a queer person to expanding gender and orientation options, and introducing the pronouns feature for our LGBTQ+ users." In 2014, OkCupid expanded its gender and orientation(opens in a new tab) options to include 22 and 13 choices, respectively.
"By encouraging all our users to share their pronouns," said Kaye, "we're hoping to create an even more inclusive space for everyone who lives outside of traditional expectations of gender expression and identity."
