Why A Dating App's 'Anti-Celibacy' Campaign Became Topic Of Debate

A popular dating platform landed in a controversy just days after its recent rebrand, as a controversial marketing compaign sparked outrage among women. Series of striking yellow advertisements reading "A vow of celibacy is not the answer" or "Thou shall not give up on dating and become a nun" plastered across US cities caused consumers to expose the tone-deafness of the platform. As netizens pointed out the purported attack on nuns or the 'anti-celibacy' nature of the campaigns, the team behind the app was forced to issue an apology. 

The dating platform has now issued an apology stating, "To our beloved community, we made a mistake. Our ads referencing celibacy were an attempt to lean into a community frustrated by modern dating, and instead of bringing joy and humour, we unintentionally did the opposite." The brand has also reportedly taken down the provoking billboards and posters.

What Is The Controversy About?

The Texas-based company, which was known for its reported women-centric approach to online dating, recently underwent major changes including the chance for male users to send the icebreaker message. The app's "women make the first move" feature was once marketed as their unique selling point, reportedly to make female users take control.

However, the changes to this and some other features were not received well by its users. Adding to consumers' frustration, the brand recently started a new marketing campaign, pushing women to forgo celibacy landed it in trouble. Some netizens believe that the advertisements were targeted at the rising popularity of the 4B movement.

Bumble HQ

“We don’t have enough women on the app.”

“They’d rather be alone than deal with men.”

“Should we teach men to be better?”

“No, we should shame women so they come back to the app.”

“Yes! Let’s make them feel bad for choosing celibacy. Great idea!” pic.twitter.com/115zDdGKZo

— Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD (@arghavan_salles) May 14, 2024

For the unversed, the 4B movement is a feminist movement that originated in South Korea, where women are taking control of their lives by practising 4 bis (nos in Korean), prohibiting themselves from dating men, having sex with men, getting married to men, and child-rearing. Women from various other parts of the world are embracing this revolution too.

Many netizens alleged that the dating app recognised the potential threat that such rapidly spreading movements could cause to them and thus chose to capitalise on it through the controversial marketing tactic. Not only were the advertisements considered distasteful, but many critics also highlighted the app's tepid response to compromise on the safety of women users.

yk bumble got whole lot of fucking audacity with their anti 4B movement campaign for an app that has way too many cases of men using it to lure and murder women. pic.twitter.com/Q19CEyaez9

— thursday 🌧️ (@thursdayrained) May 15, 2024

@bumble now directly attacking the feminist #4B movement. For many, celibacy IS the answer to men’s violence and abuse. But you’d rather keep us on our backs than keep us safe. pic.twitter.com/s22kRicp1n

— My name is not Jamie Manger (@jaimemanger) May 12, 2024

Social media users criticised the platform for ignoring the real cause behind women swearing off dating, and instead guilt-tripping them into rejoining. "Should we teach men to be better? No, we should shame women so they come back to the app,” one X (Twitter) user joked. Another user added, "Instead of them to run ads targeted at men telling them to be normal."

Bumble with the notes app apology after getting brutalized on tiktok where Frank discussions about relationships and the 4b movement in Asia have led many women to reject modern dating. A fumble people will be learning about in advertising classes for years to come pic.twitter.com/bVYtBtyQ7U

— organizermemes (panda era) (@OrganizerMemes) May 14, 2024