Tinder gets transgender-friendly with a massive update
The dating app used to only have two choices for genders. Its update now gives users more than 35 options.
Tinder's update arrives just as National Transgender Awareness Week kicks off.
Tinder is about to become much more inclusive.
As the US works to come to terms with transgender rights, Tinder is hoping to make it easier for the community to find love.
The dating app introduced a new update Tuesday that expands the genders users can select on their profiles. Now, along with "Man" and "Woman," Tinder users can choose among options such as "Trans Man," "Trans Woman" or "Transgender" on their profiles.
There will be more than 35 suggested genders from Tinder in the new update, including "Gender Fluid," "Two-Spirit," "Pangender" and "Neither." If users can't find the gender term that fits them, they can type in any term that best fits their gender identity, the company said.
"Our goal is to provide a product that gives our transgender and gender non-conforming users a better experience on Tinder," CEO Sean Rad said in a statement.
All Tinder users will also be able to choose whether they want their gender shown on their profile.
Tinder's update will allow users to select more than 35 different options for their gender. The app used to only have two.
Tinder, which lets users swipe left or right on a profile depending on whether they want to match with dates, proved to be problematic for the transgender community when it only let users identify as men or women. At a conference in June, Rad admitted the service hasn't done enough to help the transgender community. Several transgender users had their accounts flagged because people were reporting the accounts for being "fake" in the past, Rad said.
The update comes as National Transgender Awareness Week kicked off Monday. Debates over transgender rights have raged throughout the country during the last year. North Carolina passed a law in March ordering people to use bathrooms based on their gender from birth rather than the gender they identify with. Last month, the Supreme Court said it will take up a Virginia case on transgender rights.
North Carolina's controversial bathroom measure sparked support for the transgender community. The tech community quickly banded together to speak out against North Carolina's law, with CEOs of companies like Apple, Facebook and Twitter pushing for the state to repeal its anti-transgender policy.
Even as the transgender community receives reassuring support from the tech world, many fear the situation will get worse. Trans Lifeline, a suicide hotline for transgender people, received a spike in calls shortly after Donald Trump was elected president November 8.
Tinder worked on its update closely with media watchdog GLAAD, along with other advocates who had been pushing for the company to make it easier for transgender people to date using the app.
"For many trans people, opening up to a new romantic prospect about being trans can be a really nerve-racking experience," trans advocate Andrea James said in a statement. "I know this update will help trans and gender non-conforming users feel more comfortable while forging new relationships."
GLAAD hopes Tinder's update will help "accelerate acceptance for transgender and gender non-conforming people."
Here is the full list of auto-filled genders users can now select on Tinder:
Agender
Androgyne
Androgynous
Bigender
Female to Male
FTM
Gender Fluid
Gender Nonconforming
Gender Questioning
Gender Variant
Genderqueer
Male to Female
MTF
Neither
Neutrois
Non-binary
Other
Pangender
Trans
Trans Man
Trans Person
Trans Woman
Transfeminine
Transgender
Transgender Female
Transgender Male
Transgender Man
Transgender Person
Transgender Woman
Transmasculine
Transsexual
Transsexual Female
Transsexual Male
Transsexual Man
Transsexual Person
Transsexual Woman
Two-Spirit