Although user profiles are presented to potential matches based on what binary sex the user chose as their search presentation, the requirement for photos allows for users to demonstrate their gender identity implicitly or explicitly. This structure also exemplifies how Tinder’s interface was built within binary perceptions of gender identity, as the concept of gender expression and presentation was assumed to align with cisgender norms, catering profile creation to cisgender male and female users.

– B. Adams

When regarding gender non-conforming users especially, selecting pictures is heavily influenced by the perception of potential matches. When asked if they were comfortable outwardly presenting their nonbinary identity on Tinder, Adams (personal communication, ) responded, “Tinder makes me feel like I have to put my own gender aside until I find someone who is willing to accept that I am not a woman. [. . .] I feel the need to present more feminine, to only post feminine photos because I get more matches that way.” This obligation to align with a binary gender while navigating Tinder is consistent with commentary from nonbinary-aligned participants who sought matches with men in a 2020 study conducted by MacKenzie Christensen, a student at the University of California, Irvine: “As Tinder directs all users, regardless of their indicated gender identity, to choose between man or woman, nonbinary femme users chose to align themselves under the category of woman.” This directly correlates with Tinder’s structural inaccessibility to gender identity outside of the binary (Christensen, 2020). (suite…)