Love in the time of right swipe: Tinder introduces more gender options on user bios

Tinder, the new-age go-to way for finding partners, is making its platform more inclusive. Apart from the usual options, users who do not identify with either of the genders can now express their gender identity. While liberating in many fronts, the app was restrictive when it came to gender binary. As mentioned by the company, they formed an advisory panel comprising India's oldest LGBTQ organisation, The Humsafar Trust, as well as LGBTQ author Pramesh Shahani to help Tinder develop a more inclusive platform.

The latest update now reflects more ways to express gender identity, giving users the ability to add information about their identity beyond the binary.

All they have to do is go to the 'Edit Info' tab and type in whatever describes their gender identity. The company said that users can also choose to display their gender on their profile as well.

Ashok Row Kavi, Chairperson of The Humsafar Trust, said, "Tinder's new initiative celebrates the diversity and pluralism and truly represents the idea of India. For numerous Indians who identify as trans and non-binary, this will be their chance to be their true selves online and in person. It gives us great pleasure to be associated with Tinder on this bold move."

Pramesh Shahani added that he believes that the ripple effect of this will be tremendous. "I hope it enables Tinder users to express their authentic selves or to express themselves more freely, but beyond that the hope is that this act will empower other institutions, whether government or private to widen the framework with which they approach gender and offer their employees as well as customers a range of gender possibilities," he added.

Taru Kapoor, GM of Tinder India said the move is reflective of the current times and it has been a good year for India in terms of gender, sexuality and personal autonomy. "Everyone is welcome on Tinder," Kapoor said.

Launched in 2012, the dating app has its presence across 190 countries in the world. As per the company, 26 million matches are made on Tinder every day, and 20 billion matches have been made so far. Currently, Tinder has more than 3 million subscribers.