The ‘Bumble Fumble’: Dating is hard enough – why are the apps making it worse?

The dating app has ditched its ‘women make the first move’ marketing and instead pivoted to trying to shame women into having more sex, writes Olivia Petter. They’ve really fumbled this one

Olivia Petter
© UK Independent

Bumble was the first dating app I joined because it made me feel safe. At 23, and with only a handful of romantic encounters to my name, I found its “women make the first move” USP an appealing draw. “Finally!” I thought, “a place for all of the hot, single, feminist men that date women to congregate, like a sexy corporate conference where no one stares at your breasts or tries to touch you inappropriately. Woohoo!”.

And for a while, that’s how it felt to use the app: I met interesting, kind, attractive men who replied quickly and didn’t ghost me – oh, those were the days. The whole premise, from Bumble’s marketing to its design, was built around empowering women, and the clientele reflected that.