“LuLu” Sparks Controversy in the Male Student Body
Mark Langan, Social Media Director
February 5, 2013
Filed under Opinion, Student Life
A new app on the iPhone is beginning to precipitate quite the controversy here at MHS. As a male student and a user of Facebook, I am a candidate who can be rated on this new app by all who I befriend. This new app, “Lulu,” gives girls a chance to judge the male student body at MHS, and other schools, solely based off their looks, and, in some cases, previous sexual relationships and/or encounters.
So, other than the obvious invasion of privacy, this app seems to be a gateway into the furthering of society’s self-hatred. I know, one could argue how melodramatic it is, but in all seriousness, this app is fueling everything we are told to speak out against as young adults. Teenage girls, in particular, know how difficult it is to be proud of the image the project; but does that justify making it just as hard for others?
Teenage boys are susceptible to the same struggles with self-image as girls. Society’s expectations of men whether about body image, level of masculinity, or simply what the typical guy is supposed to do are things men and women go through side by side. Soon enough there will be apps for guys to rate girls, girls to rate girls, and guys to rate guys. Soon enough, we will all be rating each other: no longer taking the time to get to establish a personal relationship before we pass judgment, yet labeling one another as 6.5’s or 8.9’s. Soon enough, I won’t be Mark Langan, and you won’t be you. We will all be numbers, simply, numbers.
Upon asking some members of the male student body here at MHS, I began to see a trend in responses. The one response that struck me the most was given by senior Collin Scarpello. When asked what he thought of this app, Collin stated: “I think the LuLu app reflects the lack of self esteem in the girl student body. God knows if the guys had an app like this, the girls would be literally crying every day.”
It seems that the only way to avoid this trap is to remove oneself from Facebook, but is that really fair? I speak for myself when I say, I would never let a number influence the way I lead my life, but that isn’t to say others wouldn’t. High School isn’t easy. Why make it any harder?