What Online Dating Can Learn from a Female Health App
Flo is a period and cycle tracking app, and it’s just released a new feature which allows a user’s significant other to also gain insight into menstrual health. But what can dating & relationship apps learn from this highly-requested new tool?
The new feature, called ‘Flo for Partners’, looks to educate significant others about their partner’s menstrual and reproductive health. It includes educational tips, insight into possible symptoms, and even quizzes.
As part of this launch, Flo conducted a study which found that more than 50% of American men feel that their sex education during adolescence was insufficient.
“Women are tired of carrying the mental load, and men are tired of being left in the dark when it comes to their partner’s health journey”, said Cath Everett, VP of Product and Content at Flo.
So what does this have to do with dating & relationship platforms?
Heterosexual dating online is inherently ‘gendered’, with men & women facing different challenges. For example, men often struggle with finding matches and dealing with the effects of toxic masculinity. Whereas women are more likely to be concerned with various safety issues.
The launch of Flo for Partners highlights that while men & women work to address their own challenges, they are also keen to understand the issues affecting the other side.
Sharing more educational materials about these respective challenges can prevent people from being ‘left in the dark’, and help share this ‘mental load’. And with more insights about what the other side is going through, singles will become better at dating.
This is also the case for relationship apps, which focus on keeping an existing relationship strong and healthy. Having more resources and insight regarding your partner, whether it’s about physical health or other areas, can only help to broaden horizons and deepen empathy.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Flo for Partners is displaying that there shouldn’t have to be taboo topics for men and women. Topics such as the menstrual cycle no longer have to be issues that only half of our society are aware of.
