This teen created an app to help those questioning their gender identity
Joshua Tint is aiming to de-stigmatize the process of questioning one’s gender identity. The teen founded Discover Me, an app designed to help those questioning their gender identity try out different names in a safe, discreet and comforting space.
“I want to make sure that LGBTQ people, trans people, queer people don’t get left behind when we are discussing new technologies because the world that we’re building right now is going to become foundational for generations to come. And we have to make sure that LGBTQ voices are being included when we’re building that,” Joshua says to In The Know by Yahoo.
When opening the Discover Me app, users provide a name and set of pronouns and can add more names and more sets of pronouns if they want. The app then shows users what those names and pronouns seem like in context through sample text with the chosen name and pronouns inserted. Users can swipe left or right — just like when using a dating app — to indicate whether they like or dislike that name or pronoun in context. This process aims to let people make sure that their name works for them in all settings and contexts.
“I think it’s hopefully going to make questioning more of a public experience because when questioning becomes a less stigmatized, more open experience, it becomes infinitely easier,” Joshua says to In The Know by Yahoo.
The idea to create Discover Me came to Joshua during quarantine, as the time of introspection got Joshua considering his own gender identity. He realized that what was missing from the experience was a safe digital space where people could find their names and pronouns on their own terms. So he decided to create that space.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have a community physically that will support them as a trans or queer individual,” Joshua says to In The Know by Yahoo. “So providing digital and online spaces for queer people to express themselves is paramount because it allows people to access those resources without needing to live in an accepting community because so many people don’t.”
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The post This teen created an app to help those questioning their gender identity appeared first on In The Know.
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