Instagram account created to shame men who are abusive on dating apps
The account has received more than 4,000 submissions
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Dating apps have changed the face of dating - but they’ve also given rise to a culture of abuse prompted by rejection.
Because the apps allow for a certain level of anonymity, polite rejections are frequently met with abusive tirades and harassment - a trend that prompted one woman to create an Instagram account dedicated to these interactions.
The Instagram @byefelipe, run by Alexandra Tweten, screenshots these instances and shares them with the account’s more than 425,000 followers.
In addition to entertaining, the immensely popular account also fights back against the men who feel it is okay to lash out on women or send unsolicited genital pictures.
Since @byefelipe was created in 2014, Tweten told ABC Australia that she’s received more than 4,000 submissions from around the world.
She’s also received hundreds of messages from women thanking her for exposing the common harassment.
“The reactions I’ve gotten from a lot of women is them saying: ‘Thank you for creating this and for giving women a voice,’” Tweten said. "Because a lot of the time, women said: 'I didn't know that other women went through this, I thought I was the only one.'
“So it’s kind of a sense of community and just understanding.”
One photo uploaded to the account shows a man Instagram-messaging a woman he saw on Tinder and referring to her as sexy. The woman responded that she was pretty sure she’d swiped left on his Tinder - which incited an abusive response from the man.
“LOL no worries you’re fat and ugly,” he wrote back.
The screenshots, which receive thousands of likes, also prompt hundreds of comments from women who have experienced the same thing.
“Why are men like this?” one person asked.
Another comment praised Tweten for outing the men on Instagram and in her new book, Bye Felipe: Disses, Dick Pics, and Other Delights of Modern Dating: “Yes! Make money off of guys being idiots. Profit. Gain everything you can from this ridiculous behaviour.”
By publicly shaming the behaviour, the hope is that men will realise their words and actions have consequences - or end up on the account.
You can purchase Tweten’s book here.
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