Posting Up

As it turns out, eHarmony.com, a dating/matchmaking internet service with a clientele ranging over 17 million subscribers may be alienating a significant percentage of Americans. 

Sticking with the trend of online dating service providers, (ala It’s Just Lunch),  I was quite suprised on Monday by news from a fellow classmate that eHarmony.com, arguably the most popular internet matchmaking service, has been an alleged practitioner of discrimination against gays and lesbians.

“No way,” I said.

“Yeah, because they don’t offer services to homosexuals. Only heterosexual couples.” the classmate replied.

Interesting…

According to an article from Reuters.com, a class action suit was filed in California by Linda Carlson, an open lesbian of San Francisco, CA who was rejected by eHarmony because she didn’t fit their “men seeking women” and “women seeking men” criterion. The suit charges that eHarmony violated descrimination laws in California by refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals.

Out of curiousity, I went to the eHarmony website. The website doesn’t provide matches for homosexuals. In fact, their whole “29 key dimensions based of a 436 psychological relationship based questionnaire” wont even consider a similar sex match.

 All of these psychological and compatible queries about relationships and not one of them about being queer? -I thought. There may be a reason for this.

According to the website, eHarmony was founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren- you know that old guy from the commercials that kind of looks like a grayer haired Don Knots from The Andy Griffith Show?

Anyways, when eHarmony first started, it was very closely tied to conservative christian principles and even had a kinship with a christian organization Focus on the Family.

Since its creation in 2000, eHarmony has continued to proclaim itself as a  successful christian matchmaking service.

Considering this, it starts to become clearer why alternative lifestyles are rejected by the dating/matchmaking service.

But then, if eHarmony’s business ethics are so closly tied to its christian views, then why is does this same website offer dating advice on “Navigating the One Night Stand” or “What Both Sexes Want in a Kiss” or yet another flawed human behavior looked down upon by organized religion in, “Drinking and Dating; Find the Right Mix”?

It’s okay to promote casual or pre-marital sex and drinking but it’s too over the top to allow gays and lesbians to join the site and provide them services?

Hmm…Sounds like hypocrisy to me.

As of right now, the civil suit is still in litigation.

We’ll see what happens.

Posting,

E.Ricci