Crowdfunder for Giggle App suspended by Kickstarter

[NonnyMouse1337]

Giggle is the only app that is exclusively for women a.k.a. female humans. They had set up a Kickstarter crowdfunder to raise the funds needed to improve and expand the app.

In a highly predictable but no less enraging move, their crowdfunder has suddenly been suspended by Kickstarter. 😠😠😠🤬🤬🤬

Hello,
This is a message from Kickstarter’s Trust and Safety Team. We’re writing to let you know that a project you recently backed, Giggle - The Female App (Suspended), has been suspended. We also want to assure you that your AU$ 10.00 pledge has been canceled. To protect our community, we may suspend projects when they demonstrate one or more of the following:

Inappropriate content, including but not limited to explicit or pornographic material
Hateful or offensive content that fails to meet Kickstarter’s spirit of inclusivity by promoting discrimination, bigotry, or intolerance towards marginalized groups
As a result, all funding has been stopped and backers will not be charged for their pledges. No further action is required on your part.

We take the integrity of the Kickstarter system very seriously. We only suspend projects when we find strong evidence that they are misrepresenting themselves or otherwise violating the letter or spirit of Kickstarter's rules. As a policy, we do not offer comment on project suspensions beyond what is stated in this message.

We know this isn’t ideal. But we do sincerely hope to see you again soon, backing one or more of the amazing projects that do cross the finish line, without a hitch, each and every day.

Here’s to next time,
Kickstarter Trust and Safety

I believe that's roughly accurate, yes. If excluding lesbians and their dating apps was proportionate to some specific aim for Kickstarter, and they could make that argument, then they could do it.

But they currently claim to be general-purpose. But deem lesbians to be "promoting discrimination, bigotry, or intolerance towards marginalized groups", apparently.

Take the cock, bigots.

Effectively applying Equality Act-like logic - saying you can't discriminate on sex - but then saying you DON'T get to have exceptions for any purpose (like being a space for lesbians) - and then doing a ju-jitsu flip and saying anying anyone trying to apply exceptions is being a hateful bigot, so they get to discriminate against you.

So lesbians are out.

My opinion is there's nothing wrong with the app's purpose, comparing it to a lesbian club night, but Kickstarter are probably worried about any negative attention or controversy that would damage their brand so always stick to super-safe options.

Nice that an app for GIRLS is all PINK eh? Very GC.

Nice that an app for GIRLS is all PINK eh? Very GC

It's not an app for GC women, it's an app for all women.

Who gives a fuck what colour the app is? It could be Sal G's favourite colour for all I care.

It is an app for all women, not for GC women. no... it is an app for all females if I remember correctly.

And yes, I have watch the founder get 'educated' by those who argued that males should have access to the app. She took some time to research and then took the decision that it should be a space for females only. Probably in part because of the style of the demands of 're-education' that she received.

Kickstarter are probably worried about any negative attention or controversy that would damage their brand so always stick to super-safe options.

So, you are not concerned at all that the business is being discriminated against in this way? You cannot see that if it was an app just for trans people and was rejected in this way that there would not be a case for discrimination as well? Why are double standards allowed in 2021?

Can't they get some cash off the LGB Alliance? They seem to have very deep pockets.

To be clear, I hope they find another funding source, Kickstarter's decision seems unfair as I agree with the arguments that there should be apps for people of colour, or trans men only, or dating sites for people who like a man in a uniform (is that one still going?). Not everything has to be 'inclusive' if you want only a section of the market and that's the selling point. But as far as I can see, rightly or wrongly, the history of this app involves controversy, and Kickstarter don't want any hassle.

You get some marks for scattershot snark, but I've marked you down for the quality of the segue into LGB Alliance. Too clumsy.

The 'pink means girls then' thing was passable, but you could have added spice with a reference to the 'giggle' branding more broadly.

All in all, as deeply unconvincing as expected, and not really addressing why it would be controversial to have a women-only dating app for lesbians. But then, you've made it quite clear you agree that sort of thing is a problem, so not too surprising.

This is ridiculous.

It is completely acceptable for apps to cater for specific religious groups, so that eg Muslims who only want to date other Muslims can use an app that is tailored to their needs.

I used to work with a lot of women of Somali heritage, for whom as well as a religious match, they wanted to date men with a shared cultural heritage, so that they had a shared native language and traditions. No-one would have looked kindly on an atheist signing up to one of these apps and forcing their way into a date with one of these women against their explicitly stated preferences. It infuriates me hugely that lesbian women are not afforded the same dignity and respect.

Gender zealots despise the Giggle app precisely because it is exclusively for females. There would have been mass reporting to Kickstarter who ended up taking the cowardly way out.

Giggle isn't just for dating women - it allows you to network with other women, find roommates or travel buddies, talk freely without the usual sexist censorship seen on other platforms and is generally a male free space for women to connect with other women on all kinds of topics. Women don't have to deal with dick pics and sexual threats.