“So where did you two meet?”

Ok so how many of us can actually say “Our eyes met across the crowded room”? (Yes, technically my wife & I met when our eyes met across a crowded backyard BBQ but that is an entirely different article!) I am guessing that the honest answer for most of you reading this is probably way less romantic. Was it at a work function? Maybe you were both shopping for Bok Choy at Coles? Still, perfectly acceptable & practical answers, if not a little vanilla. But what about when you met your significant other via a Dating App? What kind of reaction do you get from your Aunt Beth when you tell her that you both swiped right?

Without completely giving away my vintage, I met my very first girlfriend at the tender age of eighteen when she responded to my nervous little personal advertisement in the publication Lesbians On The Loose. Remember those? Anyone else willing to confess that they too started out meeting women that way? Turned out to be the best thing I ever did! When we first made contact, we spent hours on the phone just talking before we decided to pucker up and meet. Everything progressed as expected from that point but whenever anyone asked me how I met my first girlfriend, I was actually a bit embarrassed to say that my introduction to the Wonderful World of Gay Sydney came about that way. Back then it felt daggy & insincere, even if it was the perfect way for two nervous young kids to get to know one another before taking the “next big step.” But romantic? Not exactly.

Which brings me to what is effectively the modern equivalent – online dating. Everybody nowadays seems to either know of or be someone who has met their partner via Tinder, Grindr, Bumble etc. It is now almost the cultural norm to meet prospective partners by way of a carefully selected selfie and brief, well-worded bio. Again, whilst it is not the worst way to find your special someone, it is hardly the most poetic of introductions. But does it really matter? Would you rather find your perfect soul mate after swiping through a barrage of headshots (or other parts of the human anatomy, whatever floats your boat), past all the “long walks on the beach” cliches till you find the one that makes your heart skip a beat? Does it actually work that way?

So how did you meet your partner? And does your Aunt Beth approve?