This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at GCU chapter.

Started in December of 2018 by an Arizona State University senior, Micheala Okland, this iconic account has taken the twitterverse by storm. It has accumulated nearly 200,000 followers in less than five months and has even launched an online merchandise store featuring a collection of apparel from the most outrageous direct messages she has gotten from girls regarding their wild interactions with men.

With a tagline that just consists of the phrase “the dogs are your exes,” this account allows for girls to anonymously expose men and their inappropriate behavior by direct messaging the account and having their stories posted. This account parodies the dearly beloved WeRateDogs twitter account, which reposts pictures of cute dogs and rates them out of ten. SheRatesDogs takes this same concept but instead uses a negative scale, and usually adds a witty or comical description in order to lighten the mood.

This account has become incredibly popular due to the fact that many girls have experienced sometimes straight out ridiculous behavior from not only exes, but males in general. It allows girls to bond over similar experiences, and creates a sense of community between those who have been wronged by the opposite sex. In an interview with The State Press, Okland opened up about her intentions behind the account and why she thinks it is so important, saying that “it’s a gaslighting feeling like girls are crazy because of the way they handle things, and it’s nice to have people on your side who agree with you.” Often times, women encounter these strange and usually unwanted advances from men, and are taught to keep quiet or take it as a compliment. With SheRatesDogs, the exact opposite is encouraged and accepted, allowing women to vocalize their feelings.

While the account started off as a way to publicize women’s exes for their unaccusable behavior, it now also posts bios and interactions from various dating sites such as Tinder and Bumble. This has helped expose on the terrible way men talk to women who they do not even know, and how often times men view this as acceptable behavior. The most recent addition Okland has added to the SheRatesDogs Twitter account combines her musical talents and the content on the account itself. On March 21st, 2019, Okland posted a two minute video of herself singing a sent in Snapchat message from previous post and titled it “Turning DMs from men into songs” as she accompanies herself on the keyboard.

In the same interview done, Okland also mentioned how she never imagined this account to take off the way it did. She notes that she expected it to go on for a day or two before it died down, not realizing how much girls would be able to relate to the content posted. Okland has also made an Instagram account for SheRatesDogs, and although it is less popular than the Twitter account it is just as entertaining. Okland has without a doubt created a strong sense of community within women all over the world, and she should be applauded for this feat. Who would have guessed that a simple parody account could create such a huge movement? All I know is that I am here for it. You go girl!

Also, do not forget to follow the mastermind behind SheRatesDogs on all of her personal accounts! You can find her on Instagram @MichaelaOkland and on Twitter @MichaelaOkla.

She Rates Dogs

We wanna slide into your DMs