Bumble’s Open Letter To Dean Wells Should Be Compulsory Reading
Dating app Bumble has clapped back at Married at First Sight’s Dean Wells, after he defended his “right” to body-shame people online.
Here at Punkee, we rarely want to write about this man. You see, he says so many offensive and tone-deaf things, that if we covered every single disgusting remark that he makes, we would not only be writing about this man way too much (yuck!), but we’d be giving his trash opinions more oxygen — and that’s just what this man wants.
So what did he do this time? Last week, after Bumble announced it would be banning users who posted messages that including body-shaming, this man posted his response on his Instagram stories. He actually said: “Aaand yet another example of our freedoms being taken away one by one. Little by little our right to say, think, and do whatever we want is being eroded.”
Y’all hear that? Being able to comment on women’s bodies, degrade them, and make them feel shit about themselves is a human right! Good luck finding any women who will want to date you in the future, mate.
Now Bumble has hit back, posting ‘An Open Letter To Dean Wells, From Bumble’ where they’ve responded to his disgraceful comments.
Here are some highlights:
“Dear Dean,
Last Friday we at Bumble announced a new company policy that bans body-shaming on our app,” the letter begins.
“We read that you slammed these rules as a violation of your freedom of speech — in fact, you claimed that the right to ‘say, think, and do whatever we want is being eroded.’ We reject the idea that it’s acceptable to say someone is too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, or whatever your complaint might be.
“You’re not entitled to make unsolicited comments to someone about their body just because it doesn’t meet your standards. You don’t have the right to make someone feel undesirable because you don’t find them attractive. But we do have the right to ban you from our platform if you do,” Bumble wrote.
ICONIC.
The post continued:
“You said ‘it’s just words’ and that ‘you should be able to say whatever the hell you want.’ Here’s something that you might not realise: From the earliest of ages, people across the gender spectrum, but particularly women, are taught to feel embarrassed and ashamed of their bodies. The pressure to look a certain way starts young, and unsolicited comments about weight, height, body hair, or skin can cause damage that lasts a lifetime. Body-shaming can do harm to the mental and physical health of the people on the receiving end.
“Women are more likely to feel physically judged while they’re dating. So next time you meet someone new — whether that’s at a bar or on Bumble — and you don’t find them attractive, move on. Keep your personal opinions about their body to yourself. Not sure if a comment about someone’s body might be welcome? Just find something else to talk about.”
