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Grindr moves to combat discrimination with 'Kindr'

Discriminatory language will no longer be allowed in dating bios.

Young man

“Profile language that is used to openly discriminate against other users’ traits and characteristics will not be tolerated.” Source: Getty Images

Gay hookup app Grindr is aiming to tackle discrimination and racism, launching its new 'Kindr' initiative.

While the campaign includes a series of videos, the push also focuses on encouraging users to communicate what they like in a sexual partner, not what they don't like.

According to the new guidelines: “Profile language that is used to openly discriminate against other users’ traits and characteristics will not be tolerated.”

It's a welcome change for members of the LGBTIQ+ community who have experienced prejudice on the platform.

"If you don't put 'no Asians' in your profile that doesn't mean you have to f*** Asians now, it just means I don't have to see it," comedian Joel Kim Booster, who appears one of the campaign videos, explains.
"Sexual racism, transphobia, fat and femme shaming and further forms of othering such as stigmatisation of HIV positive individuals are pervasive problems in the LGBTQ community," Landen Zumwalt, head of communications at Grindr, added in a statement. 

"These community issues get brought onto our platform, and as a leader in the gay dating space, Grindr has a responsibility to not only protect our users, but also to set the standard for the broader community that we serve."
As well as revised community guidelines, the Kindr video series will address issues including body shaming, HIV stigma, transphobia, and femme shaming.

“It was so empowering to see people standing in their truth,” he told the .

“We know that visibility is one of the keys to civil rights moving forward.”

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2 min read
Published 20 September 2018 11:10am
Updated 20 September 2018 3:01pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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