Ratelband seems to be something of a "let's say something outrageous and see if it sticks" kind of a guy, but his assertion that since he can legally change his name and his gender he should be able to change his legal age is … mixing apples and oranges.
Name (clearly) and gender (increasingly clearly) are labels. Age, on the other hand, is a fact, a math equation between today and the date of birth.
It's certainly legit to argue that age should not be used for all that it is used, but that's a different argument. It's also legit to suggest that Tinder should allow a flexible value to use for how long you've been around or your maturity or self-image ("young" "mature" "classic" or whatever), to avoid age bias, and that such values should be up to the account holder to assert, not based on the mathematics of age.
But age itself is a fact. A number. It's fair to ask why that number makes a difference. It's not fair to argue it's a different number.
Dutchman, 69, sues to lower his age
Emile Ratelband wants to officially change his birth date by 20 years to boost his Tinder prospects.
Let me play devil's advocate.
Gender and age both have distinct physical characteristics. It can also be argued that they have distinct mental/emotional characteristics that may differ from the physical characteristics (Bruce/Caitlyn, Chastity/Chaz, etc.).
In terms of age, we encounter this often. Clinically, it is someone said that someone with the physical age of an adult has the mental capacity of a child. Capacity is usually determined clinically (see link).
These differences between physical age and mental/psychological age can be tremendous – many assert that one particular 72 year old male, temporarily residing in Washington, DC, has the emotional capacity of someone 70 years younger… 🙂
However, it doesn't appear that Ratelband can make a clinical argument (despite his alleged physical fitness) that he is younger than his physical age. And you can bet that Dutch health and life insurance companies would forcefully argue against his case.
https://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/September-2010/Using-Functional-Assessments-to-Determine-Mental-C
Dude, maybe it’s not your age that’s the turn off.
Well, the gender attributes you are born with are a fact too, he'd tell you.