OKCupid website attacked for eugenics question

Dating website OKCupid has come under the spotlight from a mental health charity for an "offensive" question about whether people with a low IQ should be allowed to procreate. OKCupid asked potential daters to answer a series of questions to help them better match with other users.

Campaigner, Ciara Lawrence, slammed the website in an post entitled 'Not ok cupid' where she wrote about how she felt "disgusted" when OKCupid asked the question "Would the world be a better place if people with low IQs were not allowed to reproduce?" as part of their questionnaire to better match daters.

"I don't get why that should even be a question!" said Lawrence, who herself has a learning disability, before saying that one day she too may want children with her husband. Lawrence set up a petition in which she describes the question as "inappropriate, offensive and discriminatory".

"A learning disability is defined as a reduced intellectual ability, not a reduced parenting ability" said Lawrence. The petition has so far garnered over 2,000 signatures asking OKCupid "to immediately remove the question and apologise for any offence it has caused".

Along with the question about people with a 'low IQ', OKCupid's matching questionnaire asks a number of other potentially contentious questions. One question asks: "Do you have a problem with racist jokes?" to which the user answers simply yes or no.

Another asks whether users would "strongly prefer" to date someone of their own race or skin colour. While one asks whether the user would consider dating someone who had "vocalised a strong negative bias toward a certain race of people?" to which users can answer yes, no or "it depends on which race".

Alongside questions about race, another question noticed by IBTimes UK asked users 'Which is worse: starving children or abused animals?" to which users can choose one of the two options or say that "both are good" or"they are equally bad".

OKCupid responded to Lawrence's call with a statement saying: "Our question system is designed to help potential matches understand the interests and values of other users. Questions range from mundane to provocative and they specifically allow you to determine your potential compatibility with someone else and to avoid people whose viewpoints you strongly disagree with."