Online Dating for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders and more

Although society has become very accepting of same-sex relationships, members of the LGBTQ community are still prone to personal attacks, especially on the Internet. To ensure that your experience with online dating is an enjoyable and fruitful one, we've compiled a few tips that you should remember when using online dating sites.

1. Know what you want - Are you solely interested in the same sex, or are you bisexual? Are you looking for casual dates or flings, or do you want a lifetime partner? Finding the right dating website for your preferences and needs means less time wasted signup up for websites which will give you little to no success. Yet, browsing different sites can surely be fun, and if you're by now unsure about your dating goals, take a look around.

2. Filter your pictures - If you want to protect your identity online, do not post photos with distinguishable marks, such as street signs, photos of you wearing your company ID, or posting any photos with backgrounds that can be easily traced.

3. Don't waste time chatting online forever - Before meeting potential matches that you met through online dating sites, of course, get to know them a bit. But don't keep it online forever, meet them if you think there's chemistry between the two of you. See Tipp #5 for this too.

4. Take care of what information you're sharing - If you haven't come out yet, this might be an important tipp for you. There are stories of people being blackmailed or outed against their will. Only share information that reveals your identity with people that you trust.

5. Always have a public first date - It's understandable, if you haven't "come out" yet, you want to protect your secret, but remember that your life and well-being come first. You can have a casual coffee date without affectionate contact - after all, the purpose of the first date is to ensure that your date is who they say they are. Of course, if you've outed yourself already and are open with your sexuality, then dating in public shouldn't be a problem for you. But: even if it's just a hook-up date, you should meet for a drink at a nearby bar first and not meet at their or your home immediately. Not only for your own safety, but maybe they turn out not to be who they said they were, looking different or have bad body hygene?