Online dating site eHarmony has finally landed a date with a jury. Lesbian Linda Carlson's lawyer filed the suit yesterday with the Los Angeles Superior Court and alleges the virtual breeding pool denied her because she's gay. Though this may be the first lawsuit of it's kind launched against the company, it's hardly the first time they've come under fire for their anti-gay ways.
Rival dating company, Chemistry.com, recently launched an ad campaign deriding eHarmony's discriminatory policies. Among the mud slinging clips, one will find one of a gay man wondering if his dick digging disqualified him from the site. eHarmony has since filed a lawsuit against Chemistry.com's parent company, Match.com.
eHarmony's homophobic stance shouldn't be surprising. Founder Dr. Neil Clark Warren once peddled his relationship building "skills" on Focus on the Family's James Dobson's radio program. The organizations dissolved their official relationship when eHarmony went public, but many claim Warren kept the Christian inclinations. eHarmony's defended its actions in the past, claiming that they're marriage oriented site and since gays can't marry, they can't cater to the queens. They've also asserted that their extensive compatibility questionnaire – the one that helps them set up "soul mates" – has been designed for heterosexual couples and thus they can't guarantee its gay effectiveness. We can (almost) guarantee that's bullshit.
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If eHarmony simply isn't offering service to gay people now because their "research" is based on straight people, then why did they feel the need to frivolously sue Chemistry?
Why is it when a company or individual disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle, they are automatically deemed a bigot and or a gay basher? It makes no sense to me. If we, as a culture, are supposed to be "tolerant", shouldnt we also tolerate those who dont tolerate us? But in this postmodern society we live in, common sense and truth dont seem to matter much anymore.
If a company like erhamony advertised that they are exclusingely heterosexual, I think it would cause more concern among the population. If that is there stance, then why don't they just say so upfront? I think hte reason they don't is because they KNOW it is wrong and would have serious ramifications. Hence, they are biggots. Could you imagine the fall out eharmony advertised in the same way they do now, but discriminated against black people, or jews, or asians, etc.? I think people would more openly say that is wrong, Itbaffles me how it is not considered so with gay people. And to read the comment from a person who state he is gay and doesnt understand why people can't be tolerant of intollerance, that even baffles the mind further.
[...] The people depicted in these ads do not look like people I want to date and they've also been accused of being homophobic (not the people in the ads, the company), so in my forays into online dating, I have never even [...]
[...] Lisa Miller recently wrote on a gay couple's lawsuit against dating site eHarmony, which prohibits same-sex [...]
For us "normal" individuals I think its great. I am so tired of paying good money to a dating site to find its full of gays and lesbians. Thats not what Im there for. I love the idea that there is a site out there catered to the straight. If gays, lesbians, and all the other assorted types out there want to date …let em go to all the other sites out there that open the door to anything that wanders down the street!!!
No.6
next time you go to browse a dating site, stop cruising the "man seeking a man" section.
wow — i guess you really are a "normal straight guy"
I am a gay male and when e-harmony first started, I was curious and went to the site to check it out. When I saw that it was for heterosexuals only, I simply exited the site. I don't think there is anything wrong with a site catering exclusivly to heterosexuals. There are lots of dating sites that cater only to gays and lesbians. Are straight people outraged that they can't use those sites? No. Are they suing the sites for discrimination? No. There are also lots of dating sites that cater to all sexual orientations. So, you have lots of options if you are interested in online dating. That being said, I think that e-harmony is missing out on making a lot of money from the gay community and could easily develop a new questionaire designed for gays and lesbians, but, to me personally, I couldn't care less if they did that or not…
…and to poster #6, any dating sites that cater to everyone require that you identify your sexuality and/or choose a category to search profiles, so if you are straight, the only way you will see gay content/profiles is if you specifically/purposely choose the category of "men seeking men" or something similar…and if you are listed as straight/seeking women, it is doubtful gay men are going to contact you…and you are not a "normal" straight guy, nor are the rest of the e-harmony users "normal individuals" as you put it…you are simply a straight male and the other male/female users are simply heterosexual individuals. I am not heterosexual but I am not abnormal because of it just because you don't like gay people. I happen to think that heterosexual males who have such hatred for gay men is not normal, but since that attitude is common in the world (just like gay people are common in this world) at the same time I don't label you as being abnormal….straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, you are just a human being like the rest of us. Here's some food for thought for you: Did you know that they did a study a year or two ago that showed that heterosexual men who had homophobic attitudes were more aroused when shown gay porn than when shown straight porn, and non-homophobic men were aroused when shown straight porn and not aroused when shown gay porn? Perhaps you should think about why you have such a problem/dislike for men who are gay!
@Normal Straight Guy:
Are you fucking real or just a self hating American cunt? If you go to a website and find gay men on it then you are obviouslyl looking for cock as the sites are based on databases that select what you want (that is, man for woman). Or perhaps after draining your pea balls you hate yourself. Do yourself and the world a favor and kill yourself!
@Normal Straight Guy:
Now THAT is a truly funny comment. You, a self-proclaimed straight person, cannot meet gays and lesbians on any website unless you specifically state you want to meet the same sex as yourself! So what are you really doing on those sites, I wonder? LOL.