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OkCupid Introduces Feature That Supports Abortion Rights


Dating service OkCupid has introduced a way for users to make it clear that they support abortion rights: a “pro-option” badge that appears prominently on a dating profile.

Melissa Hobley, OkCupid’s chief marketing officer, said the feature was created in response to the transition. Senate Bill 8made abortion essentially illegal in Texas. (OkCupid’s parent company, Match Group, is headquartered in Dallas.)

The badge, which looks like a virtual bumper sticker, will appear on profiles just below biographical details such as name, age and location, and will be immediately visible to anyone who swipes it. For each profile that adds the badge, OkCupid will donate $1 to Planned Parenthood.

In recent years, OkCupid has offered users different badges to indicate their stance on various political issues, including the “Black Lives Matter” badge and the “Elector” badge. In May, the company added a “I’ve Been Vaccinated” badge to its identifier list.

OkCupid’s abortion rights badge was developed after the Supreme Court decided in early September not to block Texas law, which bans most abortions after six weeks and allows citizens to sue anyone who helps a patient get an abortion. Signal support for abortion rights was already being bought by OkCupid users: Between September 2020 and September 2021, the number of users typing “pro-choice” in their bios in the United States increased by nearly 18 percent, the company said.

Sarah Lynn Robinson, 30, a dating coach, was one such user. After Senate Bill 8 became law, OkCupid added a line to his bio: “Pro-women, pro-choice, dissenters can see themselves.”

“I am friends with some people who are a little more conservative than I am or are religious and on the fence about abortion, and that’s okay,” Ms Robinson said over the phone. “But I think your spouse is the only person in your life who needs to maintain the same standards and morals. I’d rather be single for the rest of my life than be with a man who doesn’t support my right to bodily autonomy.”

Dating apps like OkCupid are increasingly allowing users to include their political views in their profiles. Bumble offers a filter that ranks people based on their politics, for example, whether they consider themselves conservative or liberal. In a survey, the company found that politics is in the top 10 of 50 factors women consider in a potential match.

Before such features came along, people in the apps were already creating their own slogans and visual shorthands to express their political beliefs. NS red rose emojifor example, while it can be used to indicate one’s affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America, Red Hat Having it in a profile photo could signal your support for former president Donald Trump.

Young generation Y and members of Generation Z has been particularly supportive The idea that a woman should be able to have an abortion, according to a Gallup poll. They are also generations most likely using dating apps.

According to OkCupid, clarifying one’s views can increase the likelihood of making a connection. People who use the word “pro-option” on their OkCupid profile are almost twice as likely to get a response. (Profiles with voter badges are also more likely to get a response.)

Beyond the badge, Match Group announced In early September, it announced that it had created a fund to help employees and their dependents affected by the abortion law. Austin, Texas-based Bumble has made a similar move. saying He said the company is creating “a relief fund that supports the reproductive rights of women and gender-spectrum people seeking abortions in Texas.”





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