Female Friendly Dating Sites is Lulu a Friend or Foe?
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I have a love/hate relationship with being single, whilst I enjoy having a double bed to myself, I also miss having someone to spend my weekends with which is why I decided to try and find my perfect man online. Much like many others, I was hesitant at first but this was before my friend recommended the Lulu female friendly dating app that’s completely different to anything else I’ve tried before.
Lulu female friendly dating? What you need to know
Lulu, formerly known as Luluvise is an online dating app designed for women like myself who are looking for Mr Right (or at least Mr Right Now!) and allows women to evaluate male users based on their personal, romantic and sexual appeal. Lulu describes itself as being ‘a private network for girls to express and share their opinions openly and honestly’ and was praised by New York Times as a ‘take back the internet’ moment for females everywhere. Using Lulu female friendly dating really is a liberating experience for female singletons like myself, especially in the male-dominated internet with the recent, unfortunate online activities such as ‘revenge porn’. Instead of women being scrutinised by men like on the large majority of dating apps, Lulu allows women to take control.
I know all men reading this are probably thinking, “Hang on? What’s in it for me?” Don’t worry, all men on Lulu female friendly dating app are willing participants, you will only be rated if you sign up to be, plus a positive profiles means the increased chances of you bagging a hot date – but I will delve into the ins and outs of how Lulu works later on.
The app is free to download and registering an account is quick and easy, I was glued from the moment I installed it.
Lulu: The stats
Luluvise was designed by Alexandra Chong and launched in 2011; inspired by a ‘really funny’ date she once went on. Chong explains how the idea of the app came about after she wanted a safe haven to discuss details of dating experiences with her friends, and describes women at being great at peer-to-peer sharing.
Luluvise was later succeeded by Lulu two years later in 2013, just several months after the app was released into the US, Lulu had a reported 200,000 men listed and rated, and currently has more over a million users in total. Although the app is known as Lulu female friendly dating, it also attracts an abundance of single men looking to be dated and rated. Male users are able to add photos, personal details and their own hashtags to influence the female user’s opinion of them, they are also able to see their average score but need to pay for a subscription for a more detailed breakdown of their scores.
Despite the controversy of the app, statistics show that 50% of new users return weekly, visiting up to 8 times a week for 45 minutes and overall, Lulu has seen 57 million profile views, 5.2 million reviews read and over 10 million searches.
The app is suitable for everyone over the age of 17 and is available in a number of languages including: English, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian and many more.
In 2015, the app moved away from Facebook and now only allows users to register using mobile phone numbers. Lulu is available on IOS and Android and can be used on pretty much any mobile device – for the sake of this Lulu online dating app review, I accessed the app from my IPhone.
Lulu: What it packs
Lulu stands out from the majority of online dating websites; this app only allows female users to evaluate their potential matches, by writing reviews on their appearance, character, style, sense of humour and other aspects. Men are also assigned hashtags such as #SweetToMom and #OneWomanMan to inform other women with a simple one-liner.
Lulu has a self-removal tool which allows all users, both male and female, to delete their account at any given moment. Lulu also has a location trackers which allows you to find fellow singletons nearby, with options including private messaging and sending virtual gifts. If you like the look of what you see, simply send them a message and start chatting- It’s that easy!
Lulu: The last word
As I mentioned previously, Lulu female friendly dating is very different to any other dating app I’ve tried with very different results, although I enjoyed using it, I don’t think my success with scoring a date was as positive as elsewhere. Having said that, I did enjoy using the app and support the purpose behind it – Chong explains that Lulu was created as an honest way for women to recommend eligible bachelors looking for love.
Lulu is also about the safety of women and allowing them to find out more about the men before they go on a date with them; we’ve heard the horror stories of women thinking they’ve found their dream man before realising they’re actually a nightmare. Lulu female friendly dating helps us avoid this disastrous scenario by reading other women’s reviews of your potential love interests.
Rating
Now it’s time to rate my overall experience, although I enjoyed using Lulu, nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement which is why I’m rating my overall experience 3 out of 5 stars.
This app has attracted a high level of controversy since it launched and has received negative feedback, being describe as ‘sexist and objectifying’. Although Lulu female friendly intentions was designed with good intentions, we might not feel the same if there was a dating app where men openly judged women in the same way. If used properly, Lulu works well but I believe men should be given more access to the website and allowed to contribute more input on their own profiles.
