The people here who have argued against with your views on gender separation do “get it”; they just don’t agree with your views on the subject. Where I live the only everyday case where gender separation is the norm is public bathrooms and I think it’s silly to segregate bathrooms by gender. I believe that viewing women as so weak that they can’t handle the presence of men dishonors women.
4 Likes
Um, you do know that men posing as women on the internet is common, don’t you?
Yes, religions that segregate men and women are sexist and are one of the biggest contributors to the oppression of women. Although I don’t attend single gender parties or groups; in the U.S. people are permitted to discriminate in private gatherings, but not in employment or public businesses.
Please cite your facts and statistics. Every time I look up crime statistics I see that men are more often the victims of stranger on stranger crime.
2 Likes
Absolutely! To address that we include various verification measures, one which addresses that directly is what I call the selfies feature. In order for any user to message another user, the app forces the users phone to take a selfie of them (had to be a selfie, can’t select a photo from the camera feed), which gets sent to the user they are trying to connect to to be rejected or approved. Both users have to do this step and approve each other to unlock messaging/connection. Nothing is 100% guaranteed but that’s how we addressed the fake profiles and men posing as women. It’s quite obvious on the app who’s doing that too bases on their profile.
To your other point, yes everyone is entitled to their opinions. Again, will ask you all to think again how often and how gender separation occurs, and is considered perfectly legal and acceptable. When I take my daughter to sleep away camp, I’m sure not demanding that boys be allowed to sleep in the same cabin as her, nor am I demanding she get to play on her brothers sports teams and I don’t know about you but when I went to college I certainly was in a female only dorm. Even co-ed dorms will still partner up female-female and male-male roommates within those co-ed dorms so why is that totally acceptable but this concept so taboo?
1 Like
Oooo a marketing person!! Awesome. This feed just got more useful 
Yes of course PPC, we do that already for our app which has gotten over 12 downloads. You are totally right and we intend to do just that (work from the bottom up) I just mention social media as a crutch because it’s easy, readily accessible and cheaper. THANK you a million more times for all your super helpful feedback and support.
Apologies I meant 12,000 downloads *
1 Like
You are making lots of assumptions about how segregated our lives are which, in my case, are incorrect. If I had a child I would not ask for the genders to be separated in the cabins at overnight camps. There are plenty of dorms where males and females room together. In fact, the biggest problem with rape is at fraternity parties.
Ellen, I’m sorry but I will not engage further about whether men are more vulnerable to assaults (especially sexually and especially whule traveling alone) than women. That’s just insulting my intelligence. And as someone who has been both a victim of domestic violence (in a physically abusive marriage), robbed at gunpoint while traveling alone and sexually harassed by a stranger, it is counterproductive and damaging to go further into a discussion like that. Sorry I’m you don’t agree or feel this type of platform is appropriate. I respect your opinion and comments but I won’t go into that subject further. I genuinely mean it when I say it would bring me great joy to to find out you’ve never experienced anything like that or felt scared traveling alone or vulnerable in any space for that matter. For those women that are getting the support, resources, information or access they need from our platform to venture the world in confidence I’ve done my part and feel good about that. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Peace and love everyone!! Thanks again
1 Like
Interesting indeed. Another thing, as a many-decade practicing Mormon (although no more) I can tell you right now that many young, educated single Mormon women would not be 100% comfortable staying in the home of a male host. Dorms at BYU and off campus housing is strictly separated by gender. (There cannot even be a shared wall, which is pretty ridiculous, but there is it.) They would be far more comfortable in the home of a female host. You don’t have to agree with them. I’m just saying that’s the way it is.
Rock on, @Maxine_Outerbridge!
7 Likes
Yes, you do imply this by your very proposition. I realise I may have been a bit too vehement in my opposition, though. Perhaps it is because I recently declined a guest who asked lots of questions about whether there is a lock on the door and whether my son is at home alone at any time. It was insulting and offensive. This is my family home. The GUEST is the stranger who may be a threat to us, not the other way around. I don’t give a shit what this precious guest’s perceived needs are - she insulted my family by her insinuations and is not welcome here. She had no right to deem her insecurities as more important than the insult she delivered. She should have booked a hotel or an all-female hostel and not enquired about staying at a family home.
You sneer at those of us who have talked about our sons in regard to this topic. That’s misguided at best, I think. These young men are the next generation and many of us have worked hard to bring them up to understand and appreciate gender parity. Therefore it is painful to see them confused and hurt by the continued insistence that they are all the same and cannot be trusted. It does a LOT of damage. I have been a feminist ever since I can remember but I am uncomfortable these days with the attitude that, essentially, girls are somehow better than boys. And yes, that IS what it boils down to in the end.
I think @Astaire makes some excellent points about self-segregation and how backward-looking that is.
3 Likes
I can understand completely that some women may prefer to stay in an all-female environment for these reasons. There are many Airbnb hosts who only take female guests. If Air could make that a search option, it would be helpful. Creating a whole separate exclusive platform for women is another thing altogether.
It is beyond ridiculous to compare an impoverished woman living in Saudi Arabia or India with a Western woman with the money to travel for pleasure but feels a bit scared to do it on her own in case she randomly gets hit on. Seriously, it’s kind of insulting actually. The only thing these women have in common are their genitalia.
(Not saying you suggested this, btw, but it came up somewhere in the thread)
1 Like
I think the concept is great. Not sure how much of a market there will be, but I like the idea in general. Of course there are already female Airbnb hosts who only rent a shared space to other women. And then if there are all female hostels, etc - I guess all female accommodations already exist…
But instead of sorting through all kinds of listings to find a female host who will only have other females in the space…it’s a lot easier to go to one site like yours and know all listings are “female” friendly. Although I don’t know how you will address the host having a boyfriend or if the host has two rooms for rent. Would the host not be able to rent the other room to a male? It sounds like the ideal host for your site is a female host with just one bedroom?? That way the host can take reservations on Airbnb for any gender, but when a booking comes through your site, then there won’t be any other males around?
The social aspect seems really beneficial too. To be able to freely talk to another female about subjects you may not bring up with a male host is nice. For example, a female host just letting her sheltered American guest aware of the fact that many men in her country have the idea that Americans are “easy” to get into bed. And I’m not just referring to discussion regarding males, but even in general topics sometimes it’s just easier for females to relate to one another when they have questions.
If you truly feel there is a market for it then go for it! You’re right to not spend energy on the doubters who will do nothing but distract your vision. 
5 Likes
Hey Jan! Thanks for the offer. How can I contact you further. would love to be featured
Although I understand that there is a market for your app, I also believe in an all-inclusive society. I don’t think your app, is the best way to achieve this. But thumbs up for the good intentions anyway, and some women will most certainly be happy with the app.
I however belong to the non-segragation camp, even for all the generally accepted segregations in our current society that you have mentioned in various posts.
In Belgium e.a. segregated schools don’t exist anymore since 1992, when 9 girls when to court to be allowed into a boys school. They won and I was classmates with a few of them. Of course in a school of 700 boys, they were the new big thing, even the teachers all of a sudden had to adapt to having girls around.
Your safety feature is an interesting one. Can’t one take a picture from a “selfie” on the internet? I think to the benefit of your concept you need to maximize safety and trust levels. Maybe it would be better to record a max. 15-20 seconds video, where hosts and guests present themselves. AirBnB IMO would also benefit from this.
2 Likes
Dear Lord, it’s not segregation when you simply choose who you want to vacation with. It’s not your whole damn life and society. It’s a vacation! Honestly, I just can’t anymore with the men here who refuse to think women have the right to choose who they want to vacation and travel with for themselves.
4 Likes
The fact that certain religions who oppress women, perpetuate the notion that woman are too weak to be in the world without excessive protections. I for one don’t subscribe to this segregation for our own safety. We need to empower women, not reinforce fear, the dangers are highly exaggerated.
I had a guest ask if my place was safe fior his two daughters, who were over 16. I don’t lock my doors, my car keys are left in the car. Yet this man blocked the interior door between my part of the house and the mother in law suite. As if I was going to break in.
2 Likes
I don’t understand women who think men have to keep their mouth shut when it concerns women. Having an opinion and voicing it shouldn’t be related to your sex.
And I never said that women can’t choose who they want to vacation with. I just don’t think that organizing it will help women in the long run. One step leads to the next, and the new normal is just around the corner.
3 Likes
It’s kind of like those panels on gender equality in the workplace that are all composed of men.
3 Likes
This is a fascinating discussion with good points made on both sides. I’m surprised that no one has commented really on the female host’s point of view.
I live alone and have been hosting for a few months now. The idea of using my unused space to generate income has been in head for a few years but since it would be a shared living space safety was always a concern. I decided to take the leap on Airbnb and couchsurfing at the same time. Lemme tell you, the number of conversations I had to have with family and friends to reassure them that I would be alright has been substantial. And even now, 100 guests later, I find myself still defending the decision. I went from carrying a dog spray (pepper spray is illegal in Canada) in my pocket around the house to forgetting where I put it. I went from seriously vetting guests…verification necessary, reviews necessary, facebook stalking to make sure they look normal…to accepting a well worded intro message for the most part.
I’ve come to the conclusion that most people are good and decided that fear won’t stop me from doing the things that I want to do.
Now, having said that, most of my guests have been couples and groups of two girls. And even at that, one room I have offers only a twin bed that people squeeze into, so these people are little enough that I could probably handle them if I had to 
And on the rare occasion that I have single or two male guest requests, my vetting comes back to make sure they’re not creepy.
All of this means that I fully understand the desire for a community of both hosts and guests who want to alleviate some of their concerns by choosing who they will stay with or who will stay with them. It also opens the door (not closes it) to allowing these types of sharing communities to attract people that may have otherwise had apprehension. Starting with what makes them comfortable will hopefully lead them to shed the restrictions, whether it be based on gender or anything else, once they’ve gotten their feet wet.
There may be a fine line between belonging to a community and belonging to a group that discriminates against others. This is the reason that it causes such controversy, but a line does exist and I don’t think that this business idea crosses the line.
5 Likes
No. The app forces the front facing camera in your phone to take a picture of you. There’s no way to grab a pic from the internet.