Lulu: the horrific you v all of them man-rating application | Sarah Ditum |



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very long time before, when mobile telephony had been very younger and idea of performing such a thing together with your handset besides speaking felt exquisitely innovative, a woman I found myself buddies with introduced me to the woman new sweetheart. “Here, look at this,” said the boyfriend thrusting his Nokia towards me personally, and adding me consequently to a bald, grinning man with a lube-slicked head whoever pornographic activities questioned my personal understanding of the suppleness of body. That was the worst thing I got ever observed on a cell phone until past whenever, in a spirit of journalistic interest, I downloaded the
Lulu application
on to my iphone 3gs.






‘the sort of thing Lulu thinks females need to know about men are comprehended by these brands as #big.feet, #kinkyintherightways and #smellsamazeballs’

Lulu seems like a powder-puff euphemism for ladybits, and although that’s not what the software is, featuring its tyrannous magenta colour scheme and its particular relentlessly twee scrolled typeface, it epitomises precisely that sort of elegant dreadfulness. If it ended up being individuals, it could drink increased fizz and giggle which thought “a little naughty”. Exactly what Lulu is truly is a service enabling women to rate guys as union prospects. Sorry, not ladies: “By women, for females … strictly women merely, which means no boys permitted,” says the explanation in the application shop, in case any person ended up being underneath the impression that repairing hashtags on your own crushes like pins in a beetle was at in whatever way the career of an emotionally adult individual.

The type of thing Lulu believes women have to know about guys are comprehended by these tags as #big.feet, #kinkyintherightways and #smellsamazeballs. It really is like a stiletto stamping on the face of humanity forever while Kathy Lette screams chuckling. And also as much when I can tell, there is no opt-out for men who’d instead not be shagged and tagged: whenever I install my personal account, the Twitter profile each and every chap i am aware had been dragged to the Luluverse and I also was actually invited to comment on their unique qualifications. I am sorry, men. It did not ask me easily wanted that to take place, never mind you.

The oddity about Lulu is the fact that this urge to categorize and categorise is actually stereotypically allowed to be a male characteristic, there are indeed numerous sites focused on guys revealing views about ladies with a view to revealing the women. Across week-end, I read an
post
from the New York Observer about “artisanal hookers”, which are handcrafted from traditional products and fireblasted in a history material kiln. Not really, they are just extremely pricey. And something ways by which which rich the original biracial gay men source their own farmers’ marketplace level prostitutes is through overview sites, which let johns level girls on fidelity of the marketing supplies additionally the quality of their own services.

I had a review of some of the write-ups on one web site. They were remarkably polite, in an audience’ Confessions way: “Lisa answered the doorway in a dangerously tight black dress,” that kind of thing, authored as if acquiring mere seconds of pleasure from the encounter (and also for the rates included, it’s hard to begrudge any punter that). I don’t doubt your tone of the referrals varies extremely, however in many simplistic means, examining the premium solution of a prostitute strikes me as significantly much more honest than investing notes on a man exactly who don’t understand that by getting into a brief connection with a Lulu individual, he had been redefining himself as a rateable customer product.

Lulu is gross, after that, and an absolute confidentiality possibility. But is it even beneficial? Their data collection options are geared towards a rather particular profile of feminine need: #willwatchromcoms is the only concession to culture for the “best thing I am able to say about him” list; #trekkie looks merely inside “worst thing” solutions. In case the thought of good evening in involves watching The Wrath of Khan accompanied by some #kinkyinthewrongway motion, after that Lulu will not direct you towards your pursuit for Spock.

If the notion of an excellent night in involves another woman, forget it: Lulu is straightsville. Their hideous presence is based on a sniggering us-v-them vibrant, so the idea that women could possibly be both reviewer and reviewee would blow its revolting pink globe apart. The worst development for Lulu, though, usually I’m not sure women also worry about this type of crowdsourced insight into their unique prospective times.

My personal outdated buddy’s sweetheart resulted in into club that long-ago night together with his very own worst thing – #collectshorrifyingpornclips hence event outlived the rosy light of feminine comradeship. Love and sex are far stranger than any checklist can accommodate.