According to an article by the BBC, the dating site BeautifulPeople.com has dropped a number of its members as a result of holiday weight gain.
The members in question posted pictures of themselves having put on a couple of extra pounds as a result of a little too much roast turkey or ham. Cottoning onto said pictures, the site, which takes the aesthetics of its clientele very seriously, dropped them.
In defending his actions, site founder Robert Hintze said the following, “As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but…letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.”
Now, one’s first instinct might be to be appalled at such ridiculously shallow behavior. But, here’s the thing: First, dating websites are allowed to reject applicants for certain reasons. For example, tales of people being rejected from eHarmony.com aren’t uncommon in the least.
Still, being rejected for being fat (or just having put on a couple of holiday-related pounds) seems a little insanely offensive. Until you realize that BeautifulPeople.com purports to be “the sexiest website in the world today,” and not only owns up to but embraces having physical attractiveness as the distinguishing characteristic of its members.
I mean, the top three bullets on the front page say this:
- Do looks matter to you, when it comes to selecting a partner?
- Do you want to guarantee your dates will always be beautiful?
- No more filtering through unattractive people on mainstream sites
Given that, what do you expect? Not only that, but the site is actually honoring its commitment to its members. It clearly targets a certain type of member, and frankly, as annoying as it is, eating one too many Christmas cakes threatens that. Insane.
That founder sounds like an idiot. How can you refer to people as”fatties?” Really…not too smart for your business model.
Agreed. It’s the “fatties” comment that irks me. Sure, he’s staying true to his business model, fair enough, but what’s with the silly namecalling? A few extra pounds does not a fatty make.
No fatties…that is music to my ears. Just because women “think” that being 10 or 15+ lbs is “ok” – it is not. Fat is not attractive. Fat is unhealthy. Fat is disrespectful to yourself and your partner, face the facts!
Kat Ahn, his business model works fine. He has created a dating site where you are guaranteed everyone will be attractive and in shape. The use of the word fatties is brilliant marketing, loads of men and women don’t want a fat partner. For some fat disgusts them – it is equal in their minds to lazy, stupid, dirty and slovenly. Whether or not that stereotype is fair is irrelevant. The owner of this site has guaranteed he will get a flock of new members who don’t like fatties. Most people who are slim don’t like fatties. What man wants a fat girlfriend? Not many.