Dateability: The Dating Revolution We Know We Needed
In a world that values convenience and instant connection, dating apps have changed the landscape of romance and relationships. But not for everyone. There exists a significant portion of the population for whom these platforms are a reminder of their marginalized status: people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Enter Dateability—a dating app that is shattering stereotypes, challenging norms, and revolutionizing the way we perceive love.
The Untold Story of Ableism in Dating Apps
Swipe right, swipe left—the mechanism is simple. However, what these apps fail to consider is the experience of those who are disabled or chronically ill. The sad reality is that mainstream dating platforms are often fertile grounds for ignorance, discrimination, and ableism. People with disabilities and chronic illnesses frequently encounter harmful comments, skepticism, and sometimes even out-and-out rejection due to their conditions.
A Mission with a Vision
Dateability is not just another dating app; it’s a platform with a mission. Founded by sisters Alexa and Jacqueline Child, the app aims to create a safe space for people with physical, intellectual, and psychiatric disabilities to connect and form meaningful relationships. Jacqueline, who herself is disabled due to a chronic illness, knows first-hand the challenges of dating with a disability.
Love is Love: Breaking the Stigma
The notion that love should be accessible to everyone regardless of their physical or mental condition is not groundbreaking—it’s common sense. Yet, it’s an idea that is often lost in our society, one that has a narrow vision of what love and attraction should look like. Dateability challenges that by not just stating but demonstrating that love is love, regardless of the condition of your body or the trials you face every day.
Inclusivity as a Priority, not an Afterthought
The inclusivity of Dateability extends beyond disability to embrace people of all genders and sexual orientations. In doing so, it showcases the true essence of what dating should be—an open, safe space where you are accepted for who you are, not judged by your ability to climb a flight of stairs or the number of medications on your nightstand.
Why Dateability is Revolutionary
Empowerment: This app gives agency back to a marginalized community, allowing them to control their narratives in the dating scene.
Visibility: By its very existence, Dateability forces us all to reconsider who is allowed to date, love, and be loved in return.
Community Building: It’s not just about love; it’s about a community coming together, acknowledging their right to romance, and thereby setting a standard for the rest of society to follow.
The Lasting Impact
Dateability is not just an app; it’s a cultural movement. It tells a sector of the population that they are deserving not just of essential needs but of fundamental human experiences like love and companionship. It bridges gaps, smashes stereotypes, and makes love accessible and equitable, which is exactly how it should be.
In the end, what Dateability offers is not merely the chance for love but a form of validation—that regardless of physical ability or health status, each of us is deserving of love’s most sweetest endeavors. And that, in itself, is revolutionary.
Puneet Singhal
My name is Puneet Singh Singhal from New Delhi, India. I am a person with an undiagnosed learning disability and stammering. I see my life as the intersection of poverty, domestic violence, and multiple non-visible disabilities. I am a disability activist advocating for a more inclusive and accessible society for people with different, distinct, visible, and non-visible disabilities. I founded a non-profit called ssstart, working towards normalizing speech and communication disabilities. I am part of organizations like NASA, Diversability, IUCN CEC, HundreED.org and NeuroGifted.