OKCupid Adds Pro-Choice Badge to Dating Profiles

By Lori Perkins

In the wake of the passage of the recent draconian Texas abortion law, the dating site OKCupid has opted to offer members a “Pro-Choice” badge to users’ dating profiles, which will appear prominently on users’ profiles. Those members who use the badge will be donating a $1 To Planned Parenthood through OKCupid.

According to The New York Times, Melissa Hobley, OkCupid’s chief marketing officer, this feature was created in response to the passage of the restrictive abortion bill in Texas that limited abortion to six weeks after conception and has practically made abortion illegal in that state.

The badge, which The New York Times called a “virtual bumper sticker,” will appear on user profiles directly below biographical details — such as name, age and location — making it an integral part of the user’s sharable identity. For every profile that adds the badge, OKCupid will donate $1 to Planned Parenthood.

This badge is part of a recent trend on OKCupid and other online dating sites, where politics and personal beliefs become prominent in members’ profiles. For OKCupid, these badges have included a “Black Lives Matter” and “Voter” badges. OKCupid added the option of an “I’m Vaccinated” badge to user profiles in May, as the vaccine became available to the general under 65 year-old population.