Spring is in full bloom, and hot girl/boy/nonbinary summer is just around the corner. Our bodies are fully thawed out, we’re feeling flirty, and it’s the perfect time to manifest a summer romance. While the dating landscape has changed quite a bit for queer and trans Gen Z daters, Hinge has you covered with a few updates to consider before you dive into the dating pool.
The dating app released its 3rd annual LGBTQIA+ D.A.T.E. (Data, Advice, Trends, and Expertise) report. Hinge’s research initiative keeps its users up-to-date on how the world of dating is constantly changing. Interestingly enough, after surveying 14,000 LGBTQIA+ and heterosexual daters, Hinge found a growing shift in how LGBTQIA+ Gen Zers are dating.
Reject the labels and evolve
According to the LGBTQIA+ D.A.T.E. report, queer and trans Gen Z daters are leaving labels in love behind due to “label fatigue.” The phenomena describes how LGBTQIA+ Gen Z daters are done with prescribing themselves into neat categories, leaving room for dating on their own terms. With labels aside, Hinge found that, compared to millennials, Gen Z is:
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- 21% more likely to date across a range of gender expressions.
- 22% more likely to be open to a sexual encounter outside their typical gender preference.
- 39% more likely to have rethought their sexuality label after an unexpected spark.
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“Labels can be powerful tools for self-expression, but they were never meant to be the whole of our identities,” Hinge’s Love and Connection Expert Moe Ari Brown said. “I encourage daters to use labels as starting points for expressing aspects of who we are, not definitions. Labels can help you communicate your identities, but you can evolve beyond them.”
There are many elements that color the Gen Z experience, but one in particular has been rejecting societal norms. While Gen Z has been dubbed the “gayest generation,” they’re either exchanging LGBTQIA+ labels for umbrella terms, like “queer,” or simply rejecting them entirely. Hinge’s LGBTQIA+ D.A.T.E. points to this growing change.
“You don’t have to commit to one version of yourself forever,” Brown added. “Whether you’re using terms like queer, bisexual, pansexual, or nonbinary, you are allowed to shift as you grow.”
While some daters feel the need to grow, others still feel the need to perform. The report highlighted that “50% of LGBTQIA+ Hinge users have felt the need to present as more masc or femme to attract someone.” Additionally, while LGBTQIA+ daters lean into dating fluidity, they’re also daters testing out the queer waters for the time and running into self-doubt while doing so.
Amongst daters who have been attracted to someone outside of the genders they typically date, 50% doubted their own feelings, 34% hesitated due to unfamiliarity with queer dating, and 25% feared rejection. When you consider these stats, along with the ever expanding list of labels, it can drive any LGBTQIA+ dater away from the dating game altogether. But maybe it’s simpler than we think.
While some daters are giving out Oscar-worthy performances of masculinity and femininity, others are embracing their identities and finding new experiences outside of their preferences. Hinge coined the term “type cycle” to describe the tendency to rigidly adhere to dating preferences based on past patterns.
“If you’ve found yourself in–what we call at Hinge– “the type cycle”, experiencing an unexpected attraction can feel disorienting, especially if you’ve been conditioned to believe your desire should follow a script,” Brown said. “But attraction is not betrayal, it’s a vital aspect of self-discovery.
Gen Z is actively breaking the type cycle by expanding their dating horizons, having grown up with greater queer and trans visibility and a need to disengage from societal norms. But LGBTQIA+ community as a whole has always pushed the envelope on what society could look like, including how we envision partnership and family planning. According to the report, while 82% of LGBTQIA+ users prioritized finding life partners, 58% of said users desired marriage, 30% desired children, and they were 3x more likely to consider platonic marriages than heterosexual users.
“Hinge celebrates this evolution toward even more intentional, personalized dating experiences,” Brown said. “Whether it’s daters exploring new labels, challenging old assumptions, or prioritizing emotional connection over ‘types,’ one thing is clear: The future of dating is fluid, expansive, and entirely ours to define and redefine”
Check out the full LGBTQIA+ D.A.T.E. report here.
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