Hallelujah! Feminist Dating App Siren Hands the Reins to Women
Two New Girl episodes ago, Schmidt reminded après-nine-dates Jess that she’s the last piece of pie. Although “girls are like leftover dessert” might be rather iffy as a simile, the thought that counts here is that, in the game of finding someone to long-term hang out with, women ultimately do the choosing.
New dating app Siren underscores that idea, swapping out sketchy dudes and am-I-back-in-school questionnaires for more substantive communication that doesn’t emphasize appearance nor revolve around appendage length.
CEO Susie Lee and design director Katrina Hess said they imagined Siren as a fun, comfortable space in which women initiate real-world interaction. According toTech Times, Siren prompts users to upload just one profile-verification photo, then to answer an open-ended question of the day. Only when Siren notifies a woman someone’s interested and she decides to make herself visible does the app share her picture. Male users, on the other hand, see a woman’s responses—but not her face—until she accepts his invitation. (Take that, Shallow Hals!) As for the “Siren Call” part, that comes in when a woman asks to meet IRL.
At the moment, Siren is in private beta testing, but a nationwide rollout and an LGBTQ version are on their way.
Hear, hear.
