Mencap says question on dating site that asks if ‘people with low IQ should reproduce’ is discriminatory and demands it be taken down

Campaigners at the learning disability charity Mencap have called on an internet dating site to remove “hurtful” and “discriminatory” language.

They say OkCupid poses a shocking and offensive question as part of its screening process, asking: “Would the world be a better place if people with low IQs were not allowed to reproduce?”

Amy Clarke, who works for Mencap and has a learning disability, said: “I am very upset that OkCupid could ask a question about whether people with a learning disability should be allowed to have children. This is not OK.

“It is shocking and offensive.” By asking the question, she said, “they are making it seem like it is OK to say yes, which it is not”.

Clarke said: “If they had asked the same question about people of different races or sexuality, there would be outrage and it should be the same for people with a learning disability.”



Ciara Lawrence, who also has a learning disability and works for the charity, said in a blogpost on the charity’s site: “When I got married I proved that people with a learning disability can be like anyone else, we can have relationships, we can get married.



“It was hard from me to imagine that I would ever achieve anything I dreamed of in my life.

“People still have such negative attitudes and a lack of understanding about learning disability. So many people focus on ‘you can’t’, ‘you won’t. But ‘I can’ and ‘I have’, now I am married, have a great job and live an independent and happy life.”

Lawrence said: “I’ve met some fantastic parents who have a learning disability. With the right support parents with a learning disability can be as good as any other parent out there. That’s why I started this petition, asking OkCupid to get rid of the hurtful question and apologise.” It had been supported by just under 1000 people as this article was being prepared.

Lawrence’s petition on change.org says: “A learning disability is defined as a reduced intellectual ability, not a reduced parenting ability. It should not matter who you are when you have children just that you will love them and do everything you can to raise them in the right way.”

OkCupid said: “Our question system is designed to help potential matches understand the interests and values of other users. Questions range from the 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.”