HER, a dating app founded in 2015 by Robyn Exton, is taking a firm stand against transphobia. The app, which has 20 million users worldwide, is a global dating and network platform for lesbians and other queer people looking for love and friendship. In an effort to promote inclusivity, HER sent a mass notification to its users with the message, “A Message for Transphobes: Time to delete HER.”
Exton, who said the app has 12.5% of its 20 million users identifying as transgender or nonbinary, is determined to push back against the narrative that lesbian identity is “owned by cis[gender] lesbians.” HER believes that all lesbians are welcome and celebrated on the app including trans lesbians and nonbinary lesbians.
In honor of Lesbian Visibility Day, HER published a blog post titled, “This Lesbian Visibility Day, We Are Reclaiming ‘Lesbian.’” The post written by Exton, expresses support for trans and nonbinary lesbians and pushes back against those who don’t. Following the post, HER’s Twitter account received a tidal wave of backlash from those who disagreed with it, particularly TERFs (transgender-exclusionary radical feminists).
Exton said the 24-hour suspension, which occurred on Lesbian Visibility Day, was largely because of the interaction with the TERF audience who repeatedly reported their account. Twitter has recently removed language from its hateful conduct policy that protected transgender people from online harassment. The advocacy group GLAAD condemned the move, calling it the latest in a series of changes that have made the platform less safe for people and advertisers.
The HER app seeks to minimize transgender discrimination on the app by, among other things, suspending the accounts of those who publicly post preferences that exclude transgender users. When you are explicitly stating that you will not consider a whole identity group, that tosses discriminatory behavior. HER wants to make it clear that “lesbians exist in all different kinds and types; there is no one way to be a lesbian.”
HER’s message to transphobes is clear: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” With this stand, the dating app is sending a strong message of inclusivity to the LGBTQ+ community.