Oh Hell No! A New Dating App Wants to Know If You're Lightskinned, a Hotep or Submissive?
A new dating app is taking the “brown paper bag test” to a whole other level. Enter: Smoochr, a new Black dating app whose tagline is, “Discover Black Singles by complexion, hair and more!”
Perhaps a more transparent one would be “Only Exoticals, Girls With ‘Good Hair’ and the Shallow Need Apply.” But we digress.
Smoochr, which may or may not have been created by Larry Kenebrew Jr., allows for potential suitors to find dates that are self-described as “mocha”, “almond”, “vanilla” and/or “caramel.” Not to mention, you are prompted to answer questions about whether your hair is “natural,” “locks,” “extensions,” “short” or “long,” to name a few. It also asks you to describe yourself in silly adjectives such as “hotep,” “submissive,” “vixen” and “dominant.”
Oh, and this app completely ignores the LGBTQ community, only allowing hetero relationships between women and men.
Sigh...
Obviously, we're not the only ones giving Smoochr the ultimate side-eye. Black Twitter is sounding off with the hasthag #shutdownsmoochr:
In fairness, colorism, sexism and fragile male egos aren’t new or rare in our community — they existed way before Smoochr ever reared its ugly head. But it’s obvious that this app, clearly created for colorstruck hotep brothas, continues to perpetuate this existing and harmful bias. A sentiment that this tweet perfectly sums up:
We really hope that this app is a joke and that we’re getting Punk’d.