A trans-identified male lyft driver has been given a paid partnership with Lyft to promote their Women+ Connect feature on his social media. Launched throughout the US in February, the feature was intended to make female passengers feel safer when using the service by allowing them to opt for a female driver.
“Women+ Connect, a highly-requested feature that lets women and nonbinary riders and drivers ride together more often, is now available nationwide,” Lyft said in a press statement on their website following the roll-out of the program.
“Drivers and riders asked for it, and Lyft is the only rideshare company with Women+ Connect in the US,” said Lyft CEO David Risher. “When rideshare is better for women and nonbinary people, rideshare is better for everyone. We’re proud to bring the comfort and camaraderie of Women+ Connect to millions across the country.”
When the feature was first introduced last September, many were quick to point out that allowing men to self-identify as trans or non-binary to become either a Women+ Connect passenger or driver defeated the purpose of such a feature and didn’t help keep women safe.
“On the surface, I would have to say this is a GREAT idea. But you do realize now you give MEN the option to request a woman driver/[passenger], just by saying they are non-binary? Such a great idea, but get the opposite effect when you let your ideology get in the way of logical thinking,” one person replied to the company.
Another user commented: “Lyft is calling it Women+ because it involves men in womanface. Hey @lyft, do you know men with autogynphilia commit more sexual offenses than men without? Do you know much they envy and hate real women? This puts women MORE at risk than less. Disgusting.”
While many initially speculated that the feature gave males the opportunity to abuse gender self-identification to pick up female passengers, Lyft has now made it apparent that this is not an unintended consequence of the feature, but something they encourage.
The ride share app entered into a paid partnership with a trans-identified male TikToker Davie Felton to promote the feature. Felton has 900,000 TikTok followers and primarily makes content about gender ideology.
Felton only began identifying as a woman in August 2023 but claims to have been a driver for Lyft for over 6 years.
In the promotional video, posted to Felton’s TikTok account, he demonstrated how easily he was able to turn on the Women+ Connect feature to match with “women and non-binary” passengers.
“I’m so excited, the feature offers more control over the driving experience for women and non-binary people”, Felton said in the ad.
The TikTok video was reposted to X by @LeftismForU, and immediately prompted outrage amongst female ride share users.
“These paraphilic men pose a significant risk to the safety of women and children. Shame on @lyft for putting women and children in danger. I will no longer use their services,” one woman said in response to the video.
“As a woman, this is the last feature I would use. I would much rather be driven by a normal man than choose an option AGPs will gravitate to,” said another.
Prior to identifying as a woman, Felton sported a long white beard and previously volunteered as a store Santa Claus from 2008 until 2022 where he would ask young children for their name and pronouns. Felton admitted to growing out his beard for the role of Santa, but after he began identifying as a woman he changed his character to “Sandra” Claus.
“Thank you for providing Santa a safe space to ask the kiddos the questions that really matter to them,” Felton said in a video posted on his YouTube account.
On his X account, Felton has regularly expressed anger towards women who are critical of transgenderism.
Felton has also mocked women’s concerns for wanting single sex spaces. He has posted selfies in women’s bathrooms and said he will continue to use women’s spaces regardless of the law.
“Trans people aren’t harming other women in bathrooms! That’s hyperbole and fear-mongering. Men in clergy, that’s where you wanna be looking!” Felton said in one post to X.
The need for a women-only feature on ride sharing apps emerged due to the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault that both female drivers and passengers face. From 2017 to 2019, Lyft logged 4,158 Sexual Assault Reports. However, in their promotional material for their Women+ Connect feature, Lyft focused less on the safety aspect of the feature and presented it as a way for women and trans-identified males to make friends and bond.
One of the first ads posted on Lyft’s own TikTok shows a female driver picking two passengers, one of whom is a trans-identified male, and shows the driver acting as a therapist for the passengers before taking them for milkshakes.
Reacting to the ad at the time, one woman said on X: “They’re playing with women’s lives at this point because women have been attacked by both Lyft and Uber drivers. I’ve been in several Ubers with creepy male drivers. Predators won’t think twice to claim they’re non-binary. The last thing you want at night is a man picking you up.”
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