Do you wish this happened like...NEVER?

These cringe-worthy photos are are a turn-off for women, and the reasons men send them are even more disturbing.

If you've ever participated in online dating, you've likely been visually assaulted on your phone by a man who sent you an unsolicited photo of his junk. This isn't just a Tinder phenomenon, women report d-elfies coming from men on all dating sites! In fact, 45% of women say they've received an R-rated photo from a guy. How has this become a thing? There is so much wrong with this on so many levels. Laughing it off isn't the answer, and being offended doesn't make you a prude. 

In this article, Elizabeth Segran and Kimberly Truong investigate the problem and offer a little insight as to why men send d-elfies. To be honest, it's quite unsettling.

First let's be clear about how women feel after receiving one:

"I felt visually assaulted..."

"I just felt dirty after using my phone!"

"It's the online equivalent of the subway flasher..."

"At its worst, this is sexual harassment. At its best, it's a bummer — since it means you wasted your time chatting with a jerk."

No woman wants an unsolicited dick pic. Period. So why do men send them? The reasons are quite alarming:

 "It was a way of asserting power by making a woman squirm. Many of these guys have struggled to get a woman’s attention, and sending a dick pic is a sure way to get a reaction."

Is this the same as bad press is better than no press? Not true! Ask Chipotle. Unsolicited porn is about as appealing as E. Coli and it's doubtful that anyone who got sick there will ever go back. 

“I used to send dick pics to basically anyone who would have them… It's definitely an expression of power in some sense. It's the epitome of your masculinity; it's what makes you a man — what good am I but it?”

Wow, that's scary. Anatomy makes a male, and sending a picture of it has ZERO to do with the makings of a man, especially the kind of man women want.

This next quote summarizes the "anything goes" behavior that can happen in online dating. Profiles aren't people with feelings, so you can treat them however you want...WHAAAT?

“I think that 'lashing out' towards women on online dating sites, whether harmless annoyance or genuine harassment, is caused by being ignored so thoroughly by so many women. After a while, women on these sites aren't people with feelings; they're just thousands of profiles who all seem to dislike you for completely unknown reasons. Dick pics are, I think, a very specific form of this harassment...”

What's the best way to respond if it happens to you?

Ignore and block. The silent treatment speaks volumes without saying a word to the perpetrator. Don't send LOL, HaHaHa, or a snide comeback. All that does is continues the conversation with someone who isn't worthy of it. Laughing it off only lowers the bar on how we agree to be treated. Feminism is not about tolerating assaults, visual or otherwise. And, being a feminist is about being a woman who knows her worth, not just in the workplace, but in relationships. 

We have the power to turn this "talking to," "hanging out," "DTF" train wreck of the current dating culture around. At the end of the day, men want something women have, and if we make it clear offensive photos and disrespectful behaviors aren't going to bring them any closer to getting it, they'll stop. But we have to be united. 

Share this post and join Flirt! Ring's movement to bring real dating back. 

#makedatinggreatagain #singlelivesmatter #knowyourworth #bringdatingback #lovetrumpshookups

How to meet a man you won't have to drag to church.

In the tongue in cheek song, God Made Girls, Raelynn sings that one reason God made us is to drag (our man's) butt to church. That's cute and funny in a country song, but in real life, it kinda sucks.

If faith is an important component of your next relationship, online dating and mobile apps might not be the best tool for finding your match. When creating an online dating profile, we define our faith by selecting from a list of denominations such as Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Latter-day Saints, Jewish, etc.--you get the idea. So we choose the short answer we most identify with, and our viewers are left to fill in some very large blanks. 

I played tennis a good part of my life, but since tearing my ACL five years ago, I haven’t stepped foot on a court. Yet, in my mind, I’m still a tennis player. But if I say I like tennis on my profile, a man looking for his next mixed doubles partner will be very disappointed to learn that tennis is no longer part of my everyday life. The same can be said for faith. I don’t think people are intentionally misleading about their faith, it’s just another flaw in the algorithm of online dating that uses limited information to match two people together in hopes of producing chemistry. 

When I started online dating, I wanted to find someone with whom I'd have chemistry and who shared my faith, so I only responded to emails from men who described themselves as I did--Christian Other. I assumed... (I know...assuming makes an A-S-S out of U and ME!) ...that a man who was Christian Other was most likely non-denominational having similar beliefs and practices to mine, and if we started dating, he’d go to church with me. That happened NEVER!

My parents have been married 57 years. As singles, they both worked at U.S. Steel in the accounting department and they'd see each other daily—not at work, but at church, where they both went on their way to the office every morning. Their shared faith or spiritual chemistry is part of what initially attracted them to each other, and it's what has held them together through all the calm and storms of life.

I don't know anyone who goes to church every day, and I only know a handful of people at my own church. This day and age of large and mega churches can create a sort of anonymity in itself and makes it difficult to meet others outside of our circle. Last Sunday, I looked around my church and saw several men and women whom I know to be single. I realized Flirt!Ring can be a helpful tool in bringing singles of faith together. The whole idea behind Flirt!Ring is to help singles meet in real life, so why not on Sunday mornings?! 

I’m not saying we should approach church as a singles scene or turn “peace be with yous” into pick up lines, but how cool would it be to have a chance encounter at the coffee cart? If you’re praying to meet a man you have chemistry with and connect with spiritually, don’t place your faith in online dating. Wear a Flirt!Ring to church and give like-minded single men a little faith to say hello. The bonus is you'll know exactly what he looks like and you won't have to drag his butt to church!