Adding Fuel to the Fire: Sexual Harassment and Male Chauvinism on Tinder

Abstract Since its inception in 2012, the dating app Tinder has become notorious for its hookup culture. It has also garnered much attention for instances of sexual harassment and inappropriate male behavior toward women, with the rise of Instagram pages that exploit this behavior. With an increasing number of people using this platform to meet potential partners, it is important to understand why people communicate in the ways they do. This paper explores patterns among male interactions with women on Tinder in regard to sexual harassment and male chauvinism. To conduct this study, I examined screenshots of Tinder conversations that were posted to the aforementioned sites, as well as using examples from my own account and those volunteered by other users. After observing certain themes in the way men approach women on the app, I gathered that Tinder supports a culture of sexual harassment, as well as sexist and chauvinistic behavior