Is Muzz Male-Dominated? From A Female’s Perspective

A few years ago, Shahzad (the CEO of Muzz) said in an article, “membership is two-thirds male and one-third female”. After using Muzz as a woman and meeting my partner on the app, we can both say that this statistic is still the same. 

For me, I had endless profiles to scroll through and tap the little heart icon on. For him? He said he was “lucky” if he got “one or two” that he actually “liked”. 

So…why the imbalance?

After speaking with many women, it’s clear that we want to feel like royalty and be given the good old princess treatment. We dream of that fairy tale ending. Or we simply want a ‘meet-cute’. And for some, saying we met someone online just doesn’t sound very… romantic. We want a story that will melt our mum’s heart or impress our nosey aunties.

“He requested me”, “he slid into my DM’s” and “we matched on an app” doesn’t always feel like that.

A lot of people who’ve met their partners on Muzz end up with creative cover stories, from “we met at Queen Mary’s. I bumped into him at the library” to “we met at some coffee shop in East London. I spilled coffee on him and he offered to get me another”, and can even go as far as “we met outside Regent’s Park Mosque, and he prayed for me”.

But me? I met my partner on Muzz. And honestly? Our story is romantic.

I downloaded the app and became a member because I was doing research for an investigative feature: I was sceptical about Muslim dating/marriage apps. Turns out, I didn’t need to be, because I found my match.

And he said something I’ll never forget: “I wanted to take part in your investigative feature because I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to support you–personally, academically and professionally. I’d always want to support you in those ways as your partner… and I do want to be your other half.”

Romantic, right?

Even if it doesn’t feel romantic straight away, that doesn’t mean it won’t be more romantic later. He might take you on a thoughtful date. He might surprise you with your favourite flowers. He might even cook your favourite foods. It can turn into something romantic, and more importantly, something real.

Some even called the app “shallow”.  My partner told me one of his friends “would just like profiles based purely on how a woman looked”. He wouldn’t even bother reading their taglines, bios or about me.

But honestly? I wouldn’t call the app shallow, I’d say some people can be. It’s made for muslims to meet and I guess many fall victim to playing the blame game. Apps can’t stop shallow people joining and bridle how they behave. 

Like in real life, those are the ones you need to filter through. It’s all part of the process and helps you spot who’s serious and who’s not. Muzz also gives you tools to make that easier, too. You can filter for completed bios, shared interests, personality traits, and of course report or block anyone who’s misbehaving. 

I experienced this myself a lot before I had set the filters. I took my time and thought about what I wanted to write in my tagline. I wanted to show my personality, so I went for something short and sweet: 

“A literature graduate turned journalism student who loves animals more than people. I’m also a big fat foodie who would like to travel more.”

But at the bottom of my bio, I wrote: 

“I’m an MA Journalism student, and I’m on Muzz because I am writing an investigative feature. I’m also genuinely looking for a partner. If you’re interested in participating and ok with your name and picture being published, message me!”

How many men actually read that?

We’d match, I’d ask something like, “So you’re ok with participating?” or “So you’ve read my bio?” and they’d be like “Huh, participate in what?” or they’d read my bio and unmatch.

That’s when I realised most of them just liked me for what I looked like, not for who I was. 

And honestly? If that’s your approach, you’ll never find a match. You get what you put in.

It was the ones who messaged me things like, “So, have you got your pen and paper ready?” who had actually read my tagline, my bio, and about me. Those were the ones who I matched with.  

So, while there might be more men on Muzz, I wouldn’t say it’s dominated by males. If anything, it just means we women have the upper hand. We’re spoilt for choice, and that’s not a bad thing.

We decide who to match with, who to chat to, and what kind of story we want to write for ourselves. 

And with more women joining the app every day, that so-called imbalance? It’s starting to even out. So take your pick!

Article Written by Saarah Miah, MA Journalism Student and Freelance Journalist