Race Filters on Dating Apps Don’t Offend Me

But I struggle with guys who won’t examine their sexual biases.

Scruff’s most wanted (Photo: Scruff)

I’m normally not one to tattle, but even a non-snitch has limits. Over the years, I’ve reported a few incidents of racist abuse on Scruff and Grindr (usually being called the N-word by someone I’d just rejected). I’ve yet to receive a response to any of my complaints, and as far as I know, neither Scruff nor Grindr has ever taken any action on my behalf.

Now Scruff co-founder and CEO Eric Silverberg wants us to know they’ve been paying attention. After years of requiring gay men to select an “Ethnicity” in order for their profiles to be considered “complete,” Scruff no longer makes revealing one’s race mandatory in order to unlock the “extras” granted to guys with “complete” profiles.

The apparent reasoning is that by compelling users to disclose their race, they were aiding and abetting discrimination. They were making it easier for us to weed out entire races on our playing fields and banish them from our grids.

Excuse me while I hold my applause.

I’m not sure why Scruff ever made ticking an “Ethnicity” box a big deal in the first place. Isn’t race one of those things you can usually tell just by looking at someone? It’s not like guys can’t simply ignore all the…