Just a moment later his swear On Monday, President Donald Trump launched declaration to those attending his inauguration: “From now on, it is the policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” Trump later signed one executive order decrying what the White House calls “gender ideology” and arguing that a person's gender “cannot be changed and (is) grounded in fundamental and inescapable reality.”
Trump's order, considered by many to be one not scientific attempts to roll back the rights of transgender and gender-expansive people, and instructs federal agencies to “require government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflects the owner's gender” rather than their gender identity. It was one of 78 orders signed Monday, some of which were part of Trump's effort to end Biden-era policies aimed at “racial and gender bias in every aspect of life.” public and private”.
Although the executive order only affects federal policy, the broader implications are significant. It has only been a decade since “real name” policy makes it difficult for people to hold accounts under a name other than the one on their identification documents. Facebook has since revised these guidelines, but when companies like Meta clear the way for users to affirm transgender people have “mental illness”, a digital safe space for LGBTQ+ people seems to be decreasing. Except for one area: dating apps.
Following Trump's executive order, Match Group and Feeld both told WIRED that they have no intention of reversing course when it comes to gender identity options offered on their respective platforms.
“We are not making any changes to our app,” said a spokesperson for Match Group, which owns OkCupid, Tinder, Hinge and several other dating platforms.
It remains to be seen how other tech companies will react to the executive order. Some, like Meta, appear to be making overtures to the incoming Trump administration ahead of this week. Earlier this month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would end of third-party fact-checking program and switched to the Community Notes model, à la X.
Zuckerberg sold the sudden reversal as an effort to scale up free speech on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, while allowing more political content. “We will simplify our content policies and remove a series of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are no longer relevant to our forums,” Zuckerberg said in a video accompanying the announcement. official language”.
If online life becomes even less inclusive for LGBTQ+ people during Trump's term, apps like OkCupid, Feeld and Hinge could become digital havens, places to connect. “In a time when many of our civil rights are under threat, dating apps have the potential to serve as a important spaces for gender, racial, and sexual inclusivity.” .
More than a decade ago, in 2014, OkCupid expanded gender options for users to include identities such as transgender, pangender, intersex, agender, and SEX. It was one of the first dating apps to capture an accurate picture of online identity and the different ways it's evolving. Currently, Tinder offers the option for “beyond binary” and Hinge allows users to choose “non-binary” on their profile.