Bumble App Responds to White Supremacy

Misogyny is deeply routed in society and you don’t need a dating app to observe it. However, dating apps are teeming with people who exert themselves in the most inappropriate behaviors imaginable (if you don’t know, look up @byefelipe). This is likely because by being on these apps, there is a level of anonymity given to the users and like internet trolls, it feels like a space where people can allow themselves to have any persona they want – including the really grimey ones.

On August 18, 2017, Bumble App sent out a notice to all active users with the subject line, “Protecting Bumble From Hate with the Help of ADL.” Parts of the email reads:

“Hate speech, racism, and bigotry are intolerable realities that we must all come together to take action against. Bumble is a community of kindness and empowerment. This type of behavior goes against our mission as a company and is never welcome on our platform.”

You can read the rest of the email here but basically, it highlights Bumble’s no-tolerance policy for bullying. It also says that they won’t tolerate the hate that they have been receiving from white supremacy groups, and that they are joining forces with the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) so that administrators for the app can easily identify bullies. They claim that they had been receiving threats due to their women’s empowerment stance, prompting this partnership.

For those not as familiar with Bumble, it a dating app where you swipe right to express interest in a person, or left if you are uninterested. However, men are NOT allowed to reach out until you make that first move. This way, it keeps women from getting bombarded from messages from men. Many of which can be unprovoked sexual advances. If my screen grabs aren’t convincing, check out this woman who created an art gallery from the vast amount of unsolicited pictures of penises she was receiving from strangers.

For someone who has has heard of and has experienced inappropriate behavior from the opposite sex, I find Bumble’s stance to be incredibly positive.

Does this shock you or have you been the victim of creepy dating behavior before? What can we do to change the behaviors of the perpetrators or are they doomed?