When I was doing online dating I either had something about T1D in my profile or I told people about it on the very first date. Usually checking my Dexcom or doing a pre-meal fingerstick would get the conversation started. It actually helped to mention it because explaining to my dates about T1D made for interesting conversation. And if he wasn’t interested or was turned off by it (no one ever was–most guys were very interested) I would know he wasn’t right for me. Luckily I’m now seeing someone who’s very interested in knowing all about the D and helping me take care of myself. Supportive, interested people are out there … don’t bother with anyone who isn’t!
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Take my advice and open up on the first date. Of course do this after a brief exchange of some small talk. You might want to do a brief explanation of what type 1 is, but don’t hold it back. Don’t let your condition discourage you from dating! You’ll be surprised how many people will accept you with your condition. Am speaking from experience, trust me on that one.
You could always date other diabetics too, it’s not like there’s a tremendous shortage of them… They could certainly relate well
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Since I stopped going to camps, I haven’t met anyone with Type 1 diabetes. I don’t know where to met others with Type 1
I don’t really know either, except the Internet… But I’d imagine events like the tour de cure bike rallies, and other events such as that with diabetes themes probably tend to concentrate more than a few of them in the same place at the same time…
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I always did the macro view of diabetes on the first or second date. Before shirts came off we have a more in depth discussion. Why are there 3 Gatorade bottles on each night stand? Why do you have a mini fridge on the dresser??
These were all easy to explain. Jumper cables and hand cuffs were not… Usually that got there mind completely off the diabetes.
I broke it down in stages for my wife; as to not overload her all at once. I did the; I got this and its no big deal. But their maybe time where a little help might be needed. Doing a brain dump on the first date; just seemed like too much for the other take in. Especially since it took me years to master my craft of taking care of my body.
Good luck.
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Handcuffs, check.
Jumper cables? Now I’m intrigued… 
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A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey! I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything!”
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I’m loving this!
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Ok I’m going to chime in here hopefully not disrespecting for these “girls” but no one should be treated the way you have been and I am so sorry. I confidently display my pod and even get excited when sharing all the nuts and bolts of it. Here’s some advice from experience, any girl who has a problem enough to kick you out of a vehicle for seeing a tube is SHALLOW. Set your standards higher. This makes me mad. I had one younger boy I was seeing tell me during a low blood sugar phone call that he didn’t know how to help me and he had done all he could do. I pretty much exploded on him and that was the end of that. I’m sure most of the time it’s more socially akaward for men with a pump. I have found however when you get excited about the device and explain your knowledge about it then your dating partner gets excited too. My ex worked in IT at the same company I do and I remember him and his friends being astounded that he had an app with my Dexcom sensor readings. One jokingly said, when the Dexcom says no data is she still alive!?!" I still laugh about that to this day. 
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This is really just a specific instance of a general rule. Focusing on anything other than who the person is—where they live, how tall they are, what medications they use, or anything else that tells you nothing about who they are—is not going to provide any real clue as to whether this is a person you should be with.
It took a while to learn this lesson, but when I meet someone, I’m not interested in what they look like, who they sleep with, who they vote for, or any of that stuff. The things I want to know are, do they have integrity? Can their word be trusted? How do they treat other people? Etc. Etc. Etc. Those sorts of things are the prerequisites. Everything else is negotiable.
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I actually find the D-thing to be a convenient screening tool… I don’t advertise it, but I’ve always been open about testing/bolusing in front of people when I need to do so, so most guys were at least vaguely aware after the first date or two.
It helped me decide to cut my losses with the guy who, when I bolused on our first date, declared he was an expert on pumps and diabetes in general because he had a roommate with a pump for one semester in college and then spent our entire lunch mansplaining how pumps worked to me, the engineer who had worn one for 10+ years. It was a definite sign to walk away from the self-centered jerk who, when the shirts came off, ripped off my infusion set (ow!) twice in one weekend and then picked a fight when I said I was going home the second time instead of spending the next eight hours with no insulin.
They’re not all bad, though… I knew DP was a keeper when, on our fourth date, we were hiking and he asked if I was feeling a little low, then pulled my favorite brand of gummies out of his kit bag. 
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“Mansplaining”: love it! Do I have your permission to use this word from time to time?
I’ve had occasion to remark before in various threads on “Irritating things people say when they find out you’re diabetic” that the T1 distribution among college roommates seems to be about 10x the level in the population at large. Also too: cats.
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it’s a real word
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That’s another favorite word of mine: portmanteau. Along with: haptic, counterintuitive, ambiguity, oxymoron, nanosecond, anaphylactic, trapezoid, tertiary, and nutella.
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My favorite mansplaining instance: Mr Darcy’s archery lesson, in the goofy old 1940 film of Pride and Prejudice. Totally invented episode, not in the novel, but a quintessential example of the phenomenon complete with well deserved comeuppance. Tried to find a youtube of it but no luck so far.
ETA:
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Be careful with words like ‘mansplaining’. As the Wikipedia article explains there is some controversy about this term.
How not to use ‘mansplaining’:
For this community, ‘dia-splaining’ may be a better addition to our lexicon: the act of explaining ‘proper’ diabetes treatment to a diabetic based on what your second cousin, childhood friend, or recent tv doctor show said.
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There should be a generic word for this that is non-gender specific, because I’m here to tell you that both sexes do it—a lot. My niece . . . oh, never mind.
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