There comes a time when many people, especially young people, begin to doubt and question their gender identity. It happened to Joshua Tint when he was in high school. This 19-year-old student knew people who were transitioning from one gender to another and went through a difficult time, believing that perhaps he was a woman in a man’s body.
Finally, he ended up concluding that he is cisgender – that he identifies with the sex with which he was born -. But she realized that his case was not unique in the world and she decided to help other people who could find themselves in a similar situation.
Swiping name and pronouns
It is an easy-to-use app, in which you only have to enter the names and pronouns
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Tint created an app, dubbed DiscoverMe, that allows transgender, questioning, or gender-nonconforming people to try out different names and pronouns in a safe, personal environment to find out which one fits them. In this way, they can have a reference to know if they are cisgender they should begin a transition to the opposite sex.
DiscoverMe, which is available for iOS, is designed to be “quick and simple.” Once it is downloaded, the name and pronouns with which the user feels identified or would like to know if they are appropriate must be entered. From here on, it’s like Tinder: dismiss by swiping left, approve by swiping right.
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The app’s algorithm optimizes all displayed examples based on the swipe patterns. In this way, it offers more appropriate phrases and contexts so that the decision on gender identity is more precise.
So that no one suffers looking for their identity
It is a system that Tint made with paper and pen
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How the app works is based on Tint’s own experience: “I found myself scribbling little notes to myself using different names and pronouns to see if they rang true.” His goal is to “create an interactive and unobtrusive experience that would allow other people to quickly and easily try out different identities” similar to what he did to find himself.
For Tint it is essential that there is an app like his, since questioning gender is a taboo subject: “Many people, both trans and cisgender, have questioned their gender at some point, and yet there is a huge stigma about speaking openly about it.” As he has recognized, he would have liked to find a space like the one he created when he had doubts about his sexuality.
Apple Swift Student 2022
Apple se rinde a Tint
Joshua Tint’s application has received recognition from Apple and Tim Cook, one of the great CEOs and a benchmark for the LGTBI community. The student won the Apple Swift Student 2022 award and was able to be with Cook, who tested the app and gave him some tips to improve it.
“Having your validation that my application was useful is… I mean, there is no better person on the planet to hear that,” the student assured, noting that Cook was very close and kind.
