One of New Zealand's busiest dating websites has taken steps to recognise its trangendered users. “We have taken onboard feedback from members of the transgender/transsexual community and have added the option in male and female profiles to optionally specify if the member is transsexual or transgendered,” the NZDating website said in an email sent to its members this morning. “Only members seriously considering a gender change or lifestyle are permitted to use this option and misuse will be taken seriously,” warns the email. The site has also updated its ‘sexuality' classifications. “The current system where you can only select the gender of the people you are seeking has been limiting, and we have introduced an optional setting to specify your sexuality. There are options for Straight, Gay, Bisexual and Undisclosed,” continues the email. Here at GayNZ.com, our dating section has always included sexuality options including Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Bi-curious, Transgender, Transexual and Straight. There's even a ‘Mannerism' option, where you can chose from many options including ‘A bit butch', ‘Very feminine', ‘Normal male dude' and ‘lipstick lesbian'. According to the HIV support group Body Positive, 45% of gay men now use the internet to initiate contact for casual sex. The NZDating website has been criticised for not including safe sex advertising on the site, as local HIV rates continue to rise. New Zealand AIDS Foundation researchers say that the increasing use of the internet has also meant fewer men go to gay bars and cruise clubs to meet, making it more difficult to spread health promotion messages. There have been changes in the way gay men meet each other with the advent of the internet,” says an NZAF spokesperson. “What that does for infectious disease is increase the sexual network and the more interactions in the network the more the disease can spread about.” Ref: GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 10th November 2006 - 12:00pm