Photo: Christian Sinibaldi your Protector

Inside disappointingly cool summer time of 2009, We tiny the round and signed up with an on-line dating internet site. Basic research had taught me there are two types of dating sites: the ones you pay to use, and the free ones that really should be paying you. Generally speaking, those you only pay for are supposed to make a discerning customers, of course, if you’re on a no cost matchmaking services, odds are you’ll be kissing (or at the minimum, immediate texting) plenty of frogs. Not surprisingly, I made the decision to chance they on a free of charge service, OkCupid.

OkCupid is one of the most popular free dating sites on the web, with about 100,000 members in the UK. Here, the site has a reputation for cool, intelligent and politically liberal users, often with jobs in media, charity and technology. On the day I registered, before I had even fully completed my profile, I got into an instant-message conversation, initiated by a 28-year-old graphic designer from south London. His profile picture showed brown hair, big brown eyes and a smiley face. We chatted for about 20 minutes, discussing grammar, hay fever and egg sandwiches. It was easy, uncomplicated and fun. Optimistic, I signed off. Then came the other IM conversations and emails.

In no particular purchase, I’ve have anyone ask me exactly why my profile image does not show every one of my face

before helpfully recommending it was because I became an “ugly black girl”.Continue reading→