EHarmony Discriminates Against Gays and Lesbians

Matchmaking for Everyone? Nope

Practically everyone has heard of eHarmony.com, the personal matchmaking website started by Dr. Neil Clark Warren. The bespectacled man appears against a white backdrop in the website’s television advertisements, talking about their special methodology for marriage matching and how everyone deserves companionship. You get the impression they’re trying to sell you on eHarmony’s “scientific” approach, but there’s an eerie clinical tone to the commercials that raises some suspicion. Still, if you’re like me, you’re intrigued enough to check out the site and at least get your free compatibility profile.

So, one afternoon, while staring at the steady drizzle outside my window, I figured it would be a good time to fill out their super-detailed questionnaire. I went to eHarmony.com and was done in about 10 seconds. Why so fast, you ask?

Because I’m gay. And eHarmony discriminates against gays and lesbians.

If you’re not heterosexual, you can’t even get past the first page. The website has only two choices: “I’m a man seeking a woman” and “I’m a woman seeking a man.” For the millions of single non-heterosexual people out there, eHarmony declines service…but they’re passive-aggressive about it. Nowhere on the site are potential users explicitly informed that eHarmony discriminates against gays and lesbians. Their terms of service make no mention of sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians only find out when they begin the sign-up process, like I did. When they see the site doesn’t welcome them, they can’t find an explanation – even in the “Help” section. It’s as if same-sex matching had never even occurred to Dr. Warren.