What Is Bumble? Let Me Womansplain for You

The word "Bumble" has been buzzing around on the Internet for the past 24 hours thanks to "multiple sources" confirming that Amy Schumer—comedic single girl hero to us all—has found love. With this hunky meat pie, to be exact, a furniture designer named Ben Hanisch (swoon, right?):

"Amy Schumer met her boyfriend on Bumble" was a top-trending topic on Facebook for a hot minute yesterday but it wasn't long before the actress/comedian took to social media—twice, in fact—to straighten out the facts: The two DID NOT meet on Bumble. She's never even been on Bumble, in fact. And we'll take her word for it because Schumer has built her public persona on being super candid, and I don't think she would lie about dating apps of all things. 

Of course Bumble isn't really anything new (it's been around for about a good year now), but according to the hundreds of replies on Amy's tweets (including this one from Josh Charles?) people have no idea what the hell Bumble is. Bumble actually made our 2015 in Dating recap as the one dating app that might be OKAY to use (congrats, Bumble!). I'm not on Bumble myself but I just scrolled through a coworker's account, looked at some swole men, and I feel like I'm an expert at it now. So let me womansplain for you what Bumble actually is.

Familiar with Tinder? Okay good. Bumble is a dating app, plain and simple. Swiping left and right are involved—left means no, right means yes—except the ball is very much in the woman's court. After two people match, only the lady can start the conversation, and she has a 24-hour window to do so. This relieves the pressure of the woman wondering if it's too forward to message the guy first or how soon she should jump at the chance. You're not really allowed to play coy because when those 24 hours are up, you unmatch. Why is this a perk? Quick anecdote time: I downloaded Tinder once (for a week when I was overseas, just to browse for fun) and I was BOMBARDED with terrible conversation starters. One guy legit opened with: "I want to wrap you in a tortilla, deep-fry you and put you on display at a museum." No, no, no, no, no!!! *FLEES COUNTRY*

If Bumble feels similar to Tinder, that's because it was created by co-creator and former CEO of Tinder, Whitney Woolf, who left the company due to sexual harassment and discrimination from her male co-founders, who used to call her degrading names and tell her a woman's presence on the team made the company seem less legitimate (the receipts are here). She then took it upon herself to launch a less sexist version of the app—which, because men are involved, naturally veer that way a lot of the times. Still, Bumble markets itself as an openly feminist app, and that seems to have produced actual results as to who actually use the app. Woolf told Vanity Fair last year: "If you look at where we are in the current heteronormative rules surrounding dating, the unwritten rule puts the woman a peg under the man—the man feels the pressure to go first in a conversation, and the woman feels pressure to sit on her hands. I don’t think there is any denying it. If we can take some of the pressure off the man and put some of that encouragement in the woman’s lap, I think we are taking a step in the right direction, especially in terms of really being true to feminism. I think we are the first feminist, or first attempt at a feminist dating app."

With Bumble, Woolf not only thinks of women first but caters to the modern woman. "Now, women are expected to be equal to men in so many capacities—financially, career-wise, in education—yet the one disconnect was, and is, with relationships." (Sounds like the kind of app Amy Schumer would like if she were on it!) Signing up is easy. Download it on your phone, make a profile, and—like Tinder—you can set your location and age preferences, write a bio, add photos, etc. Then you start browsing. You can look through someone's photos and read their bio before you choose yes or no. If you accidentally swipe left on someone you didn't mean to, you can even shake your phone to backtrack (a perk Tinder doesn't have!). Basically, it's a dating app that minimizes regrets.

The main point—and draw—of Bumble is that it doesn't let men slide into your messages with the kind of horrors men usually do (this rule apparently doesn't apply to same-sex matches). A man can, however, extend the 24-hour messaging window by another 24 hours, but with only one match a day.  But that still doesn't stop a man from saying terrible things once you start the convo—TRUE. Bumble is NOT free from Trash Men™ (because nothing is ever sacred?), but the people who decide to use it are perhaps more aware of its mission. Some lady friends I've talked to say that Bumble generally has cuter guys who are not as terrible or creepy, (and even employed dudes, one adds!). So even if Amy Schumer is not on it, maybe this is where you might find your next true love for 2016. Ladies, maybe this is where you find the male feminist of your dreams.