Discrimination in Internet Dating
Many internet dating websites have been accused of practicing discrimination. For instance, Gay Rights activist groups have lodged complaints against a variety of internet dating sites charging that they have restricted their features and services to couples that are heterosexual. Therefore, the claim has been made that these websites are practicing discrimination against homosexuals. This practice is most prevalent among the different Christian online dating websites.
However, many of the major internet dating sites typically cater to heterosexuals by design. Additionally, many of these sites require that you specify the gender that you are searching for, not allowing the use of “both”. This does have the tendency to make things more complicated for bisexual members of these internet dating sites.
In 2007, the internet dating site eHarmony was sued by a northern California lesbian who claimed that they practiced hurtful, outright discrimination and said that their behaviour was disappointing from a business standpoint. Additionally, where transgender individuals are concerned, having to specify whether you are female or male only makes matters more complicated for those individuals who wanted their page viewers know what they were all about.
Because of the above avenues of discriminating against certain individuals, numerous internet dating sites have been developed in order to accommodate those individuals that follow a transgender lifestyle. Certain international sites are considerably more liberal and tolerant compared to many others – specifically those in the US. There are numerous sites that cater to all types of sexual orientations including cross-dressing and transgender individuals.
