Dateability

I recently learned about @dateabilityapp , the only dating app for (and created by) the disabled and chronically ill communities. Jeez, I wish something like @dateabilityapp had existed when I was single! Why? Dating as a disabled person can often feel like you’re a measly minnow, swimming against a powerful rushing river current, and all the other fish are big and powerful and leave you in their bubble trails as they easily and joyously frolic upstream. But also the river is made of fire wherever you are swimming. And also there are one thousand bears craving minnow for dinner standing in the river. For real, though, my experiences as a young disabled adult in the big scary world of dating were pretty abysmal, and 99% of the time it was because new people got so hung up on my wheelchair that they didn’t bother to get to know me. (The other 1% was the time I took a girl to Panera on a first date and accidentally burped twice while eating my French onion soup.) Today, one of the most common questions I get from disabled folks is how to get started in the dating game in a world that’s so deeply ableist and inaccessible. My usual response is that it’s going to suck but you have to push through the suck and you’ll have opportunities to meet incredible people. But since learning about @dateabilityapp , that will no longer be my reply. @dateabilityapp is on a mission to make love accessible to all. Sisters Jacqueline and Alexa Child founded it after Jacqueline, who is disabled due to chronic illness, faced discrimination on mainstream dating apps. Their app, which offers paid and free versions to ensure accessibility, is an inclusive space where more than 70 million US adults with disabilities, as well as nondisabled people, can connect, be seen, and find love. Check my link in bio to learn more! #ad

Dateability is in @people ! We are so grateful for our users who were vulnerable and shared their stories. Love is all around. 🩵 ••• [Image Description: A photo of the Dateability founders, Alexa and Jacqueline smiling with the blue People Magazine logo in the upper left hand corner. On the upper right is an icon that says, “People Real-Life Love.” At the bottom, the headline reads, “Sisters Create Dating App to Give People with Disabilities, Chronic Illnesses a ‘Safe Space’ to Find Love, ‘Feel Seen’.”]

Dateability is powered by personal story. While the catalyst for creating Dateability was personal, the prevalence of these negative experiences is what drives us. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us! ☺️ ••• [Video Description: Jacqueline and Alexa wearing Dateability merch. Both have long brown hair and brown eyes. The video is captioned.]

#ad I’ve already found my person but spaces like @dateabilityapp still matter so much to me🤍 It’s the only dating app built by and for the disabled and chronically ill communities. A space where you don’t have to explain. yourself before the first date and however you define connection, you truly belong✨ Download Dateability in both Apple or Android App Store, and match with your person! #blind #interabledcouple #disability #dating

This past weekend, we hosted our second Dancing with Dateability event at the @nycballet ! 🩰 The adaptive workshop led by the incredible @harrison_coll_ & @seginator allowed participants to freely express themselves through dance and movement in the iconic rehearsal studios at the New York City Ballet. Following the workshop, we all attended the performance where we watched some of the gorgeous choreography we had just learned. (Who danced it better? We will never tell… 😝) It was a magical day of connection, learning, and art appreciation. Huge shoutout to @popupbagels who gifted us a delicious assortment of bagels and schmear! 🥯 To the @nycballet , we 🩷 you! Thank you for making dance accessible and inclusive! #NYCBallet #NYCBEducation #NYCBAccess [Alt Text Slide 1: A group of diverse people in a NYCB dance studio. Everyone is posing with a dance move. Text says, “Dancing with Dateability: The New York City Ballet.” Slide 2: A PopUp Bagels box in front of a Lincoln Center sign that says, “Dancing with Dateability.” Text says, “Disabled Dating App + NYC Ballet + PopUp Bagels = the perfect throuple.” Slide 3: Harrison Coll and Kristen Segib, two NYCB dancers, sitting in the dance studio hosting a Q+A. Slide 4: A clip showing the group dancing to the choreography led by the dancers. Slide 5: The Dateability founders, Alexa and Jacqueline, standing on the stage in Lincoln Center with NYCB dancer, Harrison Coll, standing between them.]

A little reminder during Mental Health Awareness Month. 🫂 [Alt Text: a piece of notebook paper with handwritten text that says, “you can’t see a person’s mental health. Be kind, always.”]

Different words, same message… f*ck ableism! [Alt Text: A comparison of Millennial and Gen Z lingo and work. Text reads, “Millennial Social Team: Dateability is an inclusive dating platform built by and for the disabled and chronically ill communities, creating a safe and accessible space for neaningtul connection.” Text surrounded by playful emojis reads, “Gen Z Social Team: disabled people deserve love. we built the app. bye.“]

What would you add to the list? 😱 [Alt Text: A video of a disabled white woman strolling down the streets of SoHo, NYC. Text says, “My Top 5 horror movies: 1. When someone confronts me for using my accessible parking placard. 2. Insurance denying care. 3. Doctors who have a waitlist of more than 6 months. 4. Reading ableist comments on social media. 5. When someone asks you how you’re doing and you don’t know how honest/detailed to be.”]

“I just wish there was somewhere I could meet people like me” Two sisters turned one frustrating conversation about dating into an app designed for disabled people. They tell Kate Stevenson about their goal to help users find connection without stigma. Read now on our website, link in bio ➡️ PIC: © JESS BRADLEY

When you live with a chronic illness/disability, life can feel overwhelmingly clinical with the constant medical appointments, treatments, and symptom management. While Dateability centers the experiences of the disability/chronic illness community, we want to emphasize normalcy and neutrality and encourage people to comfortably connect without judgement 🧡 @popsugar [Alt Text: Slide 1: A peach colored background with the Popsugar logo. The article headline reads, “What It’s Like to Date Amid a New Diagnosis” by Shahamat Uddin. An excerpt reads, “Her experience, however, eventually inspired her and her sister, Alexa Child, to start a dating app tailored for people living with chronic conditions, Dateability. “Something that I struggled with when realizing that I wanted to meet people with chronic illness or disabilities is that everything that was built for my community was super clinical,” Jacqueline says. “I would either have to meet someone at a doctor’s appointment or a support group, and that’s really not that fun for me. So I was like, let’s make this normal and just have it be so that there’s no shame attached.” Slide 2: An excerpt reads, “The sisters launched Dateability four years ago and recently celebrated their first known wedding between two people who met on the app. They’ve prioritized giving the agency of disclosure to their users, allowing individuals to select from broad terms like “immunocompromised,’ “chronic illness,” “permanent medical device,” and these tags show up on a user’s profile like religion, political views, or similar attributes would on traditional dating apps.” A black and white photo of the Dateability founders sitting back to back is below.]

Community specific dating apps have proven to be successful for many, so why shouldn’t disabled people (the world’s largest minority) have one too?! 👏 Dateability makes dating as a disabled/chronically ill person FUN! 🤩 📸: NBCUniversal / BravoTV [Alt Text: A scene from Bravo’s Summer House showing Kyle Cooke, a white blonde male, waving his arms around shouting that summer should be fun. To put a Dateability spin to the scene, text reads, “Dating should be fun! Mainstream apps? Not fun!”]

“The disabled community desperately needs non-disabled allies.” 👏👏👏 In our latest “The Dirty Deets” conversation, disability advocate and creator @thedisabledhippie opens up about love, caregiving, and what people consistently get wrong. She shares what it really looks like to build a relationship rooted in communication, adaptability, and care on both sides, not one-sided sacrifice. It’s not about who gives what. It’s about showing up in the ways you can. Disabled people aren’t less than. They aren’t “too much.” And they are absolutely full partners in love, life, and care. ❤️ #Ad #DateabilityPartner [Alt Text: An interview from Dateability’s The Dirty Deets series with the founder of Dateability, Jacqueline, a white brunette female and content creator/disability advocate, Julian Gavino. They are conversing back and forth in their respective settings.]