Chemistry.com vs. eHarmony

July 19, 2007

We were all over the story last month about Internet dating site eHarmony.com and the less-than gay friendly practices they employ. So we were quite interested today in the PinkNews.co.uk article about a rival site called Chemistry.com.

The new website welcome those who were rejected from the eHarmony dating service because they are gay. The eHarmony founder has previously stated that his site is about marriage and that the eHarmony “matching technology” was derived from studies of straight married couples and as gay marriage is illegal, in his words, he is not interested in their business.

This is where free markets, open economic democracy, blah, blah, blah really seems cool and ideal. Along comes Chemistry.com with a new ad campaign targeted at the large gap in the market eHarmony’s business practices have afforded.

In one of their commercials a man is featured reading a copy of a girlie magazine. After a brief pause he looks at the camera to say, “No. Still Gay.” eHarmony lawyers are unhappy with the representation of the commercial and are asking it be taken off air; eHarmony is also currently being sued for alleged discrimination against GLBT’s.

Chemistry.com and eHarmony both use scientific methods to guarantee a high rate of dating success among their participants. It may be the case the two site’s formulas match up pretty evenly, but it would seem the difference is met when you finally get to that “what turns you on?” question. Leather, disco and Xena are probably not the responses you’d get on eHarmony.