Tinder Brings Transgender-Inclusive Update to France, Germany, and Spain
23 June 2017
Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, today announced that their More Genders feature is rolling out in France, Spain, and Germany. The localised release was worked on together with TGEU, as well as Inter-LGBT in France, dgti in Germany, and FELGTB in Spain.
The ‘More Genders’ update allows users of the platform to express their gender as they wish on Tinder. People can add their own gender or choose from a list of options.
Until now, Tinder users in France, Germany, and Spain were offered only two options when selecting their gender: man or woman. For users who identified as transgender, or somewhere between or outside the gender binary, that limitation posed an obvious challenge.
Now, Tinder empowers users in these countries to break beyond the boundaries of labels and just be themselves. From the settings screen, users can now add any term that best describes their gender identity. Users can also now choose to display their gender on their profile. However users can still only choose to show up in searches for either men or women, and the way they choose to name their gender will only show up on their profile.
Tinder Co-Founder and Chief Stratgey Officer Jonathan Badeen said “we hope this update provides our transgender and gender-non-conforming users with a better experience, and more meaningful matches, on our platform. Everyone is welcome on Tinder.”
TGEU‘s Communications Officer Mina Tolu said “Tinder’s update in France, Germany, and Spain which allows people to choose to identify their gender as they wish contributes to bringing us just a little bit closer to a Europe where everyone can freely express any gender without interference.”
In France Clemence Zamora-Cruz, spokesperson of Inter-LGBT said “when a platform like Tinder clearly says that there are more than two genders, this sends a strong message of acceptance. This update, at last, allows Tinder users, whatever their gender, to present themselves as they really are.”
In Germany, Tinder launched the video #AllTypesAllSwipes | Tinder launcht More Genders in Deutschland where Pari Roehi, Balian Buschbaum, and Benjamin Melzer talk about what the update means for them.
Andrea F. Ottmer, from dgti said “Visibility and representation of Transgender people are important steps in gaining more understanding and public acceptance. This is one step that can help change deeply held cliches about the gender binary.”
In Spain, the release was accompanied by the video #OrgulloTinder | Llega la actualización inclusiva a España and was launched to coincide with World Pride 2017 in Madrid.
Mané Fernández, trans spokesperson of FELGTB said “We thank Tinder for opening up to new realities, taking into account society and its needs where all gender identities and expressions are reflected.”
More genders on Tinder were first released in the U.S., U.K., and Canada in November 2016 when the company built this feature to help out transgender and gender non-conforming users and consultants. Tinder worked with GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program to take this step in their efforts to make the platform a more inclusive community.
Have you been wrongfully removed from Tinder?
On their website Tinder say;
No one will ever be banned from Tinder because of their gender. We haven’t had the right tools to serve our diverse community in the past, but that changes today. […]
We know that we haven’t been perfect in the past. If you believe you were ever wrongfully removed from Tinder because another user reported you unfairly due to your gender, we want to invite you back to our platform. Simply send an email to questions@gotinder.com with a link to your Facebook profile. Our team will review your request and work to grant you access to Tinder.
Press coverage – France
- Sur Tinder, on ne se définit désormais plus obligatoirement comme « homme » ou « femme » – Le Monde
- Tinder propose désormais 52 options pour définir son genre – BuzzFeed
Press coverage – Germany
- Tinder führt mehr Genderoptionen ein – Siegessäule
- Tinder kann jetzt auch Transgender – Berliner Zeitung