Dating App Hinge announces a new educational guide on LGBTQI dating, offering refreshing perspectives from within the queer community
BY AC CALLAHAN, IMAGE VIA PEXELS
It’s not uncommon for queer folk to feel isolated from dating apps and the language used surrounding them, with platforms often centring around the cishet dating experience.
LGBTQI dating app users experience unique struggles and disadvantages compared to their straight or cis counterparts, with 80% of Hinge users saying there aren’t enough resources out there to help them navigate the dating field.
Hinge has created a handy guide to address the dating barrier affecting the LGBTQI community on their app, titled NFAQ (Not-So-Frequently Asked Questions). The platform offers a range of perspectives from within the queer community, addressing questions that can help at any point in the dating journey.
“I’m hesitant to be someone’s first queer experience. Is that fair?”, is one of the many addressed topics, with 78% of LGBTQI Hinge users saying they’d feel hesitant to date someone not ready to come out yet. Former Magazine Editor Phillip Picardi (he/him), who met his fiancé on Hinge, discusses this NFAQ using his lived experience.
The guide also allows users to add their own questions to be answered at a later date. On creating the new platform, Hinge’s Love and Connection Expert, Moe Ari Brown LMFT (they/them), said that, “for LGBTQI people, our experiences are so unique that the typical answers to dating questions don’t meet our needs. NFAQ is a transformative resource that will support queer daters with creating and maintaining authentic relationships.”
With a wide array of topics, covering gender, sexuality and identity, the guide strives to be inclusive and make app-dating accessible for all. Hinge provides a platform for various LGBTQI voices, addressing pressing yet often unaddressed questions.
Writer, actor and filmmaker Tara Raani (they/she/he) tackles the topic “how can I start dating if I’m not ready to come out?”, whilst Be Not Afraid of Love author and artist Mimi Zhu (they/them) discusses the questions, “how can I feel better affirmed in my gender in the early stages of dating?” and “how do I recover from accidentally misgendering while trying to flirt?”
NFAQ launched today and is available for free in Hinge’s app globally. The platform can also be accessed for free via hinge.nfaq.co.
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