A deeper look into online dating for women is now being made public thanks to a new Instagram account. Called Bye Felipe, the account accepts screenshots from women using Tinder and other dating apps and sites who receive offensive messages from prospective male matches. The Instagram posts range from men calling women cruel names to insulting their physical appearance, but all of them shed light on the misogynistic nature that society still deals with today. Alexandra Tweten, the creator of the account, started sharing the conversations to reveal a common pattern she and many other women have encountered in the online dating world. In a story from The Huffington Post, Tweten goes on to discuss what this pattern truly means for women.
“It’s a standard reaction that I’ve now seen over and over again with the submissions. Guys hits on girl, girl doesn’t respond, guy lashes out with insulting message,” Tweten told The Huffington Post in an email. “It really shows the entitlement these guys feel, and I think it shows our cultural misogyny problem.”
Tweten also uses the account to give men a glimpse into the online dating world from a woman’s perspective. In the story, she shares that she hopes the account will affect how men use online dating resources in the future.
“I also wanted to show men what it’s like existing as a woman online, because I don’t think they realize or know what it’s like,” she said. “Maybe a guy will see it and put a second thought into sending a woman a mean message.”
Whether it is the fearlessness that comes with texting behind a phone or computer screen or a sense of male entitlement, certain male users of online dating apps are contributing to society’s misogyny problem. Bye Felipe is here to share that problem and acknowledge that the online dating world can truly be cruel for women.
Take a look at more of the submissions below. Some explicit content has been edited.
All images taken from the public @ByeFelipe Instagram account.