OkCupid now has a dedicated space for preferred pronouns

Personal pronouns are important as they play a vital part in acknowledging and respecting people's right to identify however they choose. 

That's why it's a huge step in the right direction that dating app OkCupid now allows users to display their pronouns prominently in a dedicated space on their profiles. 

SEE ALSO: If you’re cracking a political joke, make sure women and LGBTQ people aren’t the punchline

Before, users had to write their pronouns in their bio to avoid misgendering, since the profile template had no designated pronoun space. Now, pronouns can appear right at the top along with other basic information. 

The feature came to be after the dating site started noticing how many of their LGBTQ members shared their pronouns in their bios. "That led us to have some great discussions about how we can help people be their authentic, true selves in our app, which led us to build out our pronouns feature," Melissa Hobley, CMO of OkCupid, told Mashable. 

The feature was designed by an OkCupid employee who uses they/them pronouns themselves in collaboration with LGBTQ organisation GLAAD. OkCupid already serves 22 gender options and 13 sexual orientations, all in an attempt to make online dating more inclusive to all, Hobley explained. 

"We hope that the pronouns feature will make LGBTQIA daters feel even more affirmed and feel that they can better express their true selves," said Hobley.

GLAAD Vice President of Programs, Zeke Stokes, said in a statement that OkCupid "raises the bar for LGBTQ inclusion on dating apps" with the pronouns feature. 

"Everyone should be able to express who they are, in their own words, and to have the opportunity to find romance with someone who respects and appreciates them," Stokes said. 

WATCH: Why it's worth taking the leap and meeting your Tinder match IRL