Lulu: An app too far or a sign of the times?

Watch out men! That girl who you pulled in Jesters the other week may be jeopardising your chances of pulling again in the near future. Controversy has arisen surrounding a new […]

Gender Inequality Technology TV

Watch out men! That girl who you pulled in Jesters the other week may be jeopardising your chances of pulling again in the near future.

Controversy has arisen surrounding a new app just for girls, Lulu, which sees girls write reviews and rate boys. All posts are anonymous, but can be seen by anyone, without the male even knowing that they are on there. This has led to critics calling the app potentially libelous.

The offending App

The app works by a user creating a profile for the unaware male, including photos, ratings, strong points and if they are likely to do a runner the next morning. This profile can then be viewed and further added to anonymously, whilst others can favourite the profile if they like what they see.

Users can also hashtag aspects of the male which they like such as #HandyMan or #SmellsAmazeballs so other women know what they are getting.

Although it initially appears as harmless fun, Lulu raises two big issues; privacy and gender inequality.

Without their knowledge (or consent), men are having their privates made public. Just imagine if you stumbled across a sibling or a close friend…the horror!

However, this is not the biggest issue. After decades of campaigning, gender equality now appears to be a not so distant target, with huge progress in pay, job status and social status in a previously totally male dominated world. But are males now being objectified in way females used to be, or is it part of the increasing LAD and LASS trend made popular by sites such as TrueLAD and UniLAD?

Other recent examples of the objectification of men can be seen in TV ad breaks for Diet Coke and surprisingly, Bertolli Spread.

In the Diet Coke advert, a group of women roll a can of Diet Coke down a hill into the path of a gardener. He opens the can and accidently sprays coke everywhere, causing him to take his top off to reveal a six pack, much to the pleasure of the ladies at the top of the hill. Although it is innocent, it does seem a bit juvenile to suggest that girls can’t see a topless man without going all giggly and silly; not really a great message for anyone involved.

The Bertolli advert is slightly more sinister, with a young man getting changed on a beach when an old woman sets her dog on him to steal his towel so she can take naked photos of him. Not something that you’d want your Grandma to be doing.

I am pretty certain that if the Bertolli advert was swapped around and involved a young woman and old men, Ofcom would have pulled it from public viewing, but is this two faced attitude by society hurting Gender Equality hopes?

We want to hear your views on Lulu and the adverts, comment below!