Niche dating websites

by Emma Bower

We all have different tastes, different expectations, and well - we're all different. it is no surprise then that some people find it difficult to meet a potential partner.

With lifestyles becoming more hectic, there is less time to socialise and the traditional route of meeting someone through family or friends is proving to be more difficult.

Thankfully for some of us, there are hundreds of niche dating websites, which cover endless topics and interests.

From websites for beautiful people and food lovers to singles with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), there are a plethora of them to suit your specific requirements in a partner.

Beautiful People

Applicants to BeautifulPeople.com, a dating website for "beautiful" members, are required to be voted in by existing members of the opposite sex on the strength of their profile picture.

Applicants are awarded full membership if enough people vote for them over a 48 hour period.

BeautifulPeople.com came under recent scrutiny by the Daily Mail for excluding 5,000 members for gaining weight over the Christmas period.

Robert Hintze, the founder of BeautifulPeople.com, said: “We mourn the loss of any member. But our users demand that the high standard of beauty be upheld.

"Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business.”

Those who had been evicted were sent details of local fitness centers and told to reapply once they had shed the pounds.

Sugardaddie.com and dateamillionaire.com are specifically aimed at the rich and successful who wish to meet like-minded singles.

Positive singles

One of the more obscure dating websites, PositiveSingles.com, specialises in dating for people with STDs.

When applying, users can specify which STD they are looking for.

On their homepage they pose the question: "When you have Herpes, HIV/AIDS, or any other STD, it can make you feel like you are all alone in the world.

"Do you wish there was a place where you didn't have to worry about being rejected or discriminated?"

PositiveSingles.com told Arts London News that they are aware of around 500 successful relationships as a result of the site.

The site also includes a forum for people to post their concerns or advice about living with STDs and allows members to reassure one another.

Another example of niche website is The Ashley Madison Agency, which specialises in affairs for married people.

The US based website was founded in 2001 and boasts on its homepage "Life is short. Have an affair."

Currently their membership stands at around 5.3 million across the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

Web affairs

Arts London News spoke to founder Noel Biderman, of The Ashley Madison Agency, and when questioned about the ethics of the website he said: “Ethics defined by who? If for example there is a woman in a relationship who has not been paid attention to for the past decade and if she indeed feels lonely within her own marriage: is she supposed to suffer for the balance of her adult life?

"Did she sign up for a sexless marriage? Is the answer simply to 'leave'?

"I would argue 'no' to all of these...”

Biderman has also been quoted as saying: “30 per cent of people going to these so called dating websites were attached and lying about themselves using the anonymity of the web and meeting unsuspecting singles.

"I said to myself, wouldn’t it be a better place if I could move those people off singles dating sites into a universe of people looking for affairs?

"Instead of having an affair in the workplace, instead of having it on a singles website to an unsuspecting person, instead of going to an escort, go to a community like Ashley Madison where everybody has the same expectations.”

Obscure fetishes

For people with more obscure fetishes even bordering onto the bizarre, there is a wide variety of fetish dating websites for your needs.

You may have thought that you were the only one out there, but nine times out of ten you are probably not.

Proving that there is a market for even the most obscure fetishes, DiaperMates, according to its homepage, has over 14,000 members for all those adults who enjoy wearing nappies or looking at people wearing them.

There is a section on the site devoted to nappy related discussions.

For those who wish to experience a more mature lady there are several dating websites including GilfDating.co.uk and GrannyDating.co.uk.

Swinging and group sex

TheAdultHub.co.uk is probably the most subscribed-to fetish dating website.

With over two million members, the site specialises in adults who are interested in swinging and group sex.

What started as a venture to improve people’s lives, has now turned into something of isolation, with websites such as DiaperMates.com and GrannyDating.co.uk, almost mocking the original intention.

Surely embracing your own individuality and not being embarrassed by your idiosyncrasies is a much better way to be, rather than hiding them away on the web.

Once you learn to be comfortable in your own skin, being at ease with others will come naturally.