Gleeden is a French online dating community and

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

primarily marketed to

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

, specifically those who are already in a relationship. In 2009, the site was launched in France. More than 65% of users reside in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The company serves as a secure dating service open to all genders and to practitioners of all lifestyles. Gleeden's membership service is free for women to use. The name of the site is a portmanteau of “Glee” and “Eden” (referring to the biblical “Garden of Eden”).

History

Gleeden’s dating service was founded in September 2010. The site was officially launched in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in December 2009. Gleeden is available in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. In 2010, Gleeden opened to the public in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is a brand of Blackdivine Group. Gleeden.com is available in 159 countries. As of 2017, Gleeden.com's faculty are all women.

Community

Gleeden’s community is open to

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

s of all relationship statuses (

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

, separated,

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d, co-habitating, single) and

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

s (

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

). Gleeden is primarily marketed to married men and women.

Services

Gleeden’s business model is based on a system of

credits Credit refers to any form of deferred payment, the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. Credit may also refer to: Places * Credit, Arkansas, a ghost town * Credit River, a river in Ontario, Canada * Credit River (Minnesota), a river in ...

rather than monthly

subscriptions The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...

as opposed to

EHarmony Eharmony (styled eHarmony) is an online dating website launched in 2000. eHarmony is based in Los Angeles, California, and owned by Nucom ecommerce, a joint venture of German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media and American private equity ...

Meetic Meetic is a French online dating service founded in November 2001 and part of the Match Group since 2013. History In November 2001, Marc Simoncini started Meetic as a dating website. It became publicly quoted in October 2005. In 2007, accordin ...

. A subscriber can purchase credit packs in order to communicate with other members. Members pay a one-time fee of 2-3 credits to participate in an email or chat conversation with another member. Any follow-up messages in a thread are free. Private messages, chats, and credit packs do not expire. The average subscriber has £40 (US$44) worth of credits in his or her account at any given time. Members get in contact with each other via chat or private messages. Members can send each other virtual

gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

s, which are sorted by type and price. Although the moderation policy can be strict Gleeden members can keep private

photos A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

in a separate photo album, or “private book”, which can be viewed with the permission of the member who owns the album.

Moderation

Gleeden purports to moderate its members heavily to ensure that all members on the site are real. The site in addition promotes a strict

privacy policy A privacy policy is a statement or legal document (in privacy law) that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identif ...

. Gleeden prohibits

vulgarity Vulgarity is the quality of being common, coarse, or unrefined. This judgement may refer to language, visual art, social class, or social climbers. John Bayley claims the term can never be self-referential, because to be aware of vulgarity is to d ...

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

and

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

. A reporting system is available for members to report unseemly activity. This is described as a method of ensuring a “harassment-free” environment.

Controversy

Since its launch, Gleeden has received criticism for allowing married members. The site has been severely criticized for allowing married people to identify their status and interests on their profile. As stated by Gleeden, “In an age where divorce is 40-60% among newlyweds and 33% among those married for 10 years, many times

extramarital affairs An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

can intervene as therapy for a couple. Gleeden is a facilitator of confidence where married couples can disregard the taboo and explore their desires safely.” In 2015, the company was

sued - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

by the Association of Catholic Families, which contested the site's legality. However, adultery has not been a crime in France since 1975 but the association said the adverts were “publicly promoting infidelity and cheating” and a clear incitement to disrespect the French civil code, which covers marriage, and stipulates “mutual respect, fidelity, help and assistance between spouses.” Gleeden refers to the network as a divorce alternative.

Notes

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em

External links

Official Website
Online dating services of France French social networking websites