Smoochr, a dating app marketed for Blacks to meet other single Blacks, has not been a hit among the Black community. The app focuses on stereotypical questions regarding physical appearance and does not make any reference to things such as education level or income. Twitter users have shared their complaints with the hashtag #ShutDownSmoochr.
When registering as a new user, the very first question asks what their hair type is. Options include natural, weave, extensions and afro.
The app also asks users to select their skin tone and lips. Choices for skin tone are mocha, caramel, vanilla, pecan, almond, chocolate and latte.
RT @missodessa: if you’re looking to date a cup of coffee this is the site for you #smoochr pic.twitter.com/wKcL75kQMu
a (@baldassalexis) July 25, 2016
I thought Smoochr was fake, but the colorism and texture discrimination is VERY real. See for yourself. #ShutdownSmoochr
Beamer (@BeamerDoesMedia) July 25, 2016
Options for lips are thin, full, soup coolers and duck lips.
Questions about income, which are common on other dating apps, were absent, users noticed. The site also asks no questions regarding education, also found on other common dating apps.
ok if yall can have preferences about skin tone and hair texture why can’t I prefer a man with 6 figures hmm #ShutDownSmoochr
sad gal/bad gal (@the_housebunny) July 25, 2016
Smoochr is not equal op shallow bc there is no dropdown menu for income. Which tells me just who this app was created by. #shutdownsmoochr
jen (@xoxojenelle) July 25, 2016
One section asks users to describe their character but includes choices such as hotep, hustler and angry.
The site also only offers two options for sexual preference: woman seeking man and man seeking woman.
smoochr is a hotep site. Only for straight ppl, no option for relaxed hair, and no income question #shutdownsmoochr
Steph BMore (@StephBMore) July 25, 2016
Smoochr founder Larry Kenebrew Jr. is, incidentally, Black. However, this does not change the app’s many problems, users noted.
“why you want to #shutdownSmoochr it’s black owned!!” because it’s colorist and made of disgusting mysogynoire
Dead or olive (@LilyLalilou) July 26, 2016
Related Story: College-Educated Black Women Least Likely to Have a Well-Educated Spouse
Kenebrew has not yet commented on the media circus surrounding his app.
Black Dating: Inequalities for Well-Educated Black Women
Black women already face barriers when it comes to seeking a potential partner, research has found particularly college-educated Black women. A study published last April discovered that only forty-nine percent of college-educated Black women marry a well-educated man, compared to 84 percent of college-educated white women.
58 percent of college-educated Black women are married to a man with a lower level of education compared to just 48 percent of white women.
The authors of the study, “Single black female BA seeks educated husband: Race, assortative, mating and inequality,” wrote, “Even if Black women rise up the ladder, in part because of their efforts to acquire more education, one of the key mechanisms for maintaining that higher status for the next generation assortative mating is less available to them.”
