Colorado — I recently entered the world of flirting and real-life romance. Throughout most of my life, I never really saw myself represented in the world of dating as a queer woman. This is especially true of dating apps.
Sure, I knew that the online world of dating wasn’t perfect. But I wasn’t prepared for how many men I would scroll past who fetishized queer and trans women.
In a way, this made it harder to find people that I wanted to be with, because it made me want to spend less time on the app.
But honestly, I feel ready to start dating. And to me, there is something incredibly validating about being with someone who understands your experience as a queer person.
So despite these issues, it’s still worth it to keep trying. And I have met people that I like through the app. But I wish more dating apps would keep LGBTQ+ people's needs and safety in mind.
Emma Schulman, (she/they) is a political science major at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Edited by Shaylyn Martos and Amber Ly