a few moments later His swearing in On Monday, President Donald Trump… Announcement To attendees of his inauguration: “From now on it will be the policy of the United States Government that there are only two sexes: male and female.” After this Trump signed a executive Order Condemning what the White House has called “gender ideology”, claiming that a person's gender “is not changeable and [is] Based on fundamental and indisputable reality.”
Trump's order, which was widely viewed illiterate The effort to roll back the rights of transgender and gender-expansive people also directs federal agencies to “require government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, to accurately reflect the bearer's gender.” Do,” not their gender identity. It was one of 78 orders signed Monday, some of which were part of Trump's efforts to end Biden-era policies that “incarcerated race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.” “
While the executive order only affects federal policy, the broader implications are wide-ranging. It's only been a decade since Facebook was launched.real nameThe policy made it harder for people to have an account under a name different from the one on their ID. Facebook has since amended these guidelines, but as companies like Meta clear the way Digital safe space for LGBTQ+ people for users claiming that trans people have “mental illness” seems to be decreasingExcept in one area: dating apps.
Following Trump's executive order, both Match Group and Fields told WIRED they have no intention of reversing course when it comes to gender identity options offered on their respective platforms.
“We're not changing our apps,” says Kayla Whaling, a spokeswoman for Match Group, owner of OKCupid, Tinder, Hinge and several other dating platforms.
It remains to be seen how other tech companies will respond to the executive order. Some, like Meta, appeared to be making proposals to the incoming Trump administration before this week. Earlier this month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would End your third-party fact-checking programs And a change to the Community Notes model, à la X.
Zuckerberg made the sudden reversal as an effort to increase free speech and allow more political content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. “We're going to simplify our content policies and get rid of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are out of touch with mainstream discourse,” Zuckerberg said in a video accompanying the announcement.
Should online life become even less inclusive for LGBTQ+ people during Trump's term, apps like OkCupid, Feeld, and Hinge could become digital havens, places to connect. “At a time when many of our civil rights are at risk, dating apps have the potential to serve as important spaces for gender, racial and sexual inclusivity,” says April Williams, a professor of communication and digital studies at the University of Michigan. ,
A decade ago, in 2014, OkCupid expanded its gender options for users to include identities such as transgender, pangender, intersex, agender, and genderqueer. It was one of the first dating apps to paint an accurate picture of online identity and the different ways it has evolved. Currently, Tinder offers an option for “beyond the binary“and allows Hinge users to select “nonbinary“On their profile.