In an effort to create a extra welcoming courting area — and to maintain up with courting apps which have already introduced stricter anti-discrimination insurance policies — Grindr launched a brand new initiative right this moment designed to curtail abuse and bullying on its platform.
After a cryptic announcement in July, Grindr lastly rolled out the small print surrounding the Kindr initiative. The initiative will entail a brand new zero-tolerance harassment coverage in its neighborhood tips, a ban on racist, transphobic, and body-shaming language on profiles, and a brand new video consciousness marketing campaign.
“Sexual racism, transphobia, fats and femme shaming and additional types of othering resembling stigmatization of HIV constructive people are pervasive issues within the LGBTQ neighborhood,” stated Landen Zumwalt, head of communications at Grindr. “These neighborhood points get introduced onto our platform, and as a pacesetter within the homosexual courting area, Grindr has a duty to not solely defend our customers, but in addition to set the usual for the broader neighborhood that we serve.”
Grindr’s new neighborhood tips put an emphasis on their zero-tolerance coverage for discrimination. Abusive, bullying, or in any other case threatening customers on the platform shall be banned indefinitely from the app. The Grindr group will even put an finish to statements that discriminate in direction of different customers primarily based on their “traits and traits,” although customers are nonetheless allowed to specific preferences on their profiles.
British mannequin and activist Munroe Bergdorf announced last month that she served as an advisor for Grindr’s anti-bias initiatives. Bergdorf met with Zumwalt and Grindr chief content material officer Zach Stafford to debate the protections that the app can create for QTPOC utilizing the app.
“Online discrimination has reached epidemic proportions affecting not only Grindr but other social networks. Our ‘Kindr’ initiative is a rallying call for Grindr and our community to take a stand against sexual racism and all forms of othering. Together, we will work to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment and end the need for people to include exclusionary statements on profiles,” added Zumwalt.
Grindr will even roll out a five-video sequence chronicling customers’ experiences with discrimination on the courting app. The first, out right this moment, options the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 10 alum The Vixen, OG Queer Eye man Jai Rodriguez, and comedian Joel Kim Booster. Watch it beneath:
