‘Ladies First’ Dating Application Is Making Romance Political

Dallas-based Crush, an online dating app, recently added an update that allows users to get know their matches on a political level.

“Who are you voting for in the midterm elections?” This is the type of question that people often avoid on a first date, but Crush is bringing political affiliations to the forefront of love.

Here’s how the app works: Crush uses a “Lady First” approach in which the male user makes the first move, but the female user has the final say. Once a match is made, the woman can decide between selecting one of Crush’s pre-made questions or asking a question of her own. If the guy answers the question to the woman’s satisfaction, she can choose to unlock the chat. 

Political questions may seem nerve-wracking to bring up before meeting someone in person, but this doesn’t hold true for Crush members. Out of the sample of female users that were given the option of asking “Who are you voting for in the midterm elections?,” 60 percent of them chose it as their first contact with matches, according to a statement. The male user response rate to this question was 23 percent higher than for other questions. 

“What better season to qualify personality and potential dating compatibility than election season?”
Jasmine Young  

“We knew that politics was everywhere, and rather than shying away from the topic, we decided to lean into it, knowing that especially among our younger users, it was important to their potential dating profile,” Jasmine Young, co-founder of Crush and a Dallas native, said in a statement. “What better season to qualify personality and potential dating compatibility than election season? The data collected proved to us that our hunch was right, that people care about politics when dating.”   

Crush decided to include political questions in its app for two reasons: First, political affiliations are often tied to a person’s values and beliefs. Second, it’s a popular icebreaker that can be a continued conversation once a match meets up in person. 

Not all of Crush’s pre-made questions are about politics. Other options include questions like “What do you notice when you first meet a girl?” or “How long do you want your next relationship to last?” Crush provides a multitude of ways for people to meet their next date—politically or otherwise. 

Crush is available for free on the Apple Store and Android.

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