Bumble apologizes for anti-celibacy ad

Dating app company Bumble has apologized for running an ad campaign that appeared to shame women for not being sexually active and mocked people who chose singlehood over dating.

After updating its app and brand design in April to try to attract new users “burned out by the dating scene,” Bumble released a series of billboards with messages such as “You know damn well that a vow of celibacy is not the answer.” and “Thou shalt not give up dating and become nun.” The company faced rapid backlash on social media from users who condemned the ads for delegitimizing singleness as a valid personal choice.

“We made a mistake,” the company said Monday via an Instagram post. “Our ads referencing singleness were an attempt to tap into a community frustrated with modern dating, and instead of bringing joy and humor, we unintentionally did the opposite.”

The company said it was removing the ads and would donate to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other organizations that support women. Display spaces will also be offered to these organizations to display “an advertisement of their choice” for the remaining duration that Bumble has reserved them for.

Social media users accused the ad campaign of going against the founding principles of Bumble, which launched in 2014 with the aim of creating a more hospitable dating environment for women. Critics have noted that the campaign looks down on people who choose celibacy, including Asexual Bumble users and people who avoid sex due to trauma, and pointed out differences in racist language in ads depicting a Black woman.

Women have also begun to embrace celibacy as a way to protest rigid gender roles, sexism and sexual violence, such as the 4B feminist movement in South Korea, which renounces sex with men, marriage and marriage. having children.