PR NEWSWIRE — Nov 21 — Following a finding by the New Jersey Attorney General that it had violated an anti-discrimination law and agreeing to a settlement, eHarmony is now required to cater to same-sex couples. "It's a shame that Dr. Neil Clark Warren's sudden acceptance came at the forced hand of the legal system," said Thomas Enraght-Moony, CEO of Match.com and Chemistry.com. "Since its inception, Chemistry.com has lived by the mantra of "Come as You Are." "I'm absolutely positive that romantic love is exactly the same whether you happen to be straight or gay," said renowned biological anthropologist and chief advisor to Chemistry.com, Dr. Helen Fisher.
The full article was originally published at MarketWatch, but is no longer available.
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It is a shame that in today’s society members of the LGBT population still fight for equal rights. Not only did the state of California pass laws this month to ban same-sex marriage, but so did other states (including a state banning gay families from adoption children).
As Dr. Helen Fischer stated in this article, “how you feel when you love is the same in every human being, regardless of sexual orientation,” is true, how one navigates the mine fields of partner selection is very different across sexual orientation boundaries.
While there are many similarities between same-sex and opposite-sex partner selection, there are also vast differences that relate to cultural traits, relationships histories, personal dynamics and lifestyle interests that cannot go unaddressed.
Our compatibility system was designed by gay men for gay men and would not work for heterosexuals, or lesbians for that matter, in the same way I don’t expect eHarmony’s current compatibility system to work for same-sex daters. I personally have taken on one MTF (male to female transgender) private matchmaking client in 5 years and the differences in navigating the path of partner selection for her immensely differs from that of her fellow gay daters – even though she seeks a gay male partner. Sexuality and partner selection is not black and white and a “one size fits all” matching application does not work for many populations of people.
While the LGBT community has historically been hostile towards eHarmony.com due to their unwillingness to match same-sex couples, I believe their matchmaking methodology to be sound, it just happens to cater to heterosexuals – the largest niche population. But gay clientele are going to expect to receive the same quality of services eHarmony has provided to their current customer base since their launch in 2000 and not feel as though they are being pandered to because of a lawsuit.
It is a shame that in today’s society members of the LGBT population still fight for equal rights. Not only did the state of California pass laws this month to ban same-sex marriage, but so did other states (including a state banning gay families from adoption children).
As Dr. Helen Fischer stated in this article, “how you feel when you love is the same in every human being, regardless of sexual orientation,” is true, how one navigates the mine fields of partner selection is very different across sexual orientation boundaries.
While there are many similarities between same-sex and opposite-sex partner selection, there are also vast differences that relate to cultural traits, relationships histories, personal dynamics and lifestyle interests that cannot go unaddressed.
Our compatibility system was designed by gay men for gay men and would not work for heterosexuals, or lesbians for that matter, in the same way I don’t expect eHarmony’s current compatibility system to work for same-sex daters. I personally have taken on one MTF (male to female transgender) private matchmaking client in 5 years and the differences in navigating the path of partner selection for her immensely differs from that of her fellow gay daters – even though she seeks a gay male partner. Sexuality and partner selection is not black and white and a “one size fits all” matching application does not work for many populations of people.
While the LGBT community has historically been hostile towards eHarmony.com due to their unwillingness to match same-sex couples, I believe their matchmaking methodology to be sound, it just happens to cater to heterosexuals – the largest niche population. But gay clientele are going to expect to receive the same quality of services eHarmony has provided to their current customer base since their launch in 2000 and not feel as though they are being pandered to because of a lawsuit.
This ruling is ludicrous. I am a straight man and yes, I am in favor of Gay marriage. (I gave money to defeat Prop 8.) And yes, Gays should absolutely have equal rights.
However, forcing a company to serve two distinctly different populations serves no one. The needs and wants of the the Gay population are different from the needs and wants of the straight population. Is the state now going to force “Big and Tall” Men’s shops to have product for people under 6 feet tall?
This is also not a case where the Gay population cannot get excellent services elsewhere. There are a number of quality dating services for Gays including MyPartner.com, which understands the needs of the Gay man looking for a long-term relationship. Is the state now going to tell these services they have to help straight people. Where would this stop?
Give Gays equal rights to marry and equal rights in the military and ignore these much smaller issues which the marketplace itself will solve by itself.
This ruling is ludicrous. I am a straight man and yes, I am in favor of Gay marriage. (I gave money to defeat Prop 8.) And yes, Gays should absolutely have equal rights.
However, forcing a company to serve two distinctly different populations serves no one. The needs and wants of the the Gay population are different from the needs and wants of the straight population. Is the state now going to force “Big and Tall” Men’s shops to have product for people under 6 feet tall?
This is also not a case where the Gay population cannot get excellent services elsewhere. There are a number of quality dating services for Gays including MyPartner.com, which understands the needs of the Gay man looking for a long-term relationship. Is the state now going to tell these services they have to help straight people. Where would this stop?
Give Gays equal rights to marry and equal rights in the military and ignore these much smaller issues which the marketplace itself will solve by itself.