Kindness is Sexy

Chappy — the UK-launched gay dating app currently taking over the U.S. — continues to be the breath of fresh air the online dating world needed, with its fun, sexy, and responsibly-minded social campaigns.

This past Halloween, they cleverly promoted safe sex via their “Dress the D” campaign, which called upon 15 New York City-based artists for their creative interpretations of costume-themed condoms, as reported by Twelv magazine. Proceeds from the auctioned artwork benefited Housing Works, an advocacy group dedicated to fighting for funding and legislation in support of those living with HIV/AIDS.

Artwork by Blažo Calovic for Chappy's "Dress the D" campaign

Now they are launching the “Don’t Be a D, Just Swipe Left” campaign focused on promoting kindness and compassion — virtues that perhaps attitudes of anonymity and disposability in the world of online dating have seemed to erode over time.

“Users, when they join the app, actually have to sign a pledge that basically says ‘beauty is found in the way you treat others,’ and we don’t tolerate any sort of discrimination,” says Jack Rogers, Chappy app cofounder.

For this campaign, Chappy filmed 16 men who shared some of their experiences with dating apps — revealing rampant underlying racism, ageism, and “fat and femme” shaming. Chappy hopes this global campaign will encourage users to think twice before needlessly saying something hurtful or offensive, and will help promote “safe and fun” dating.

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