Who is Chanté Joseph? Journalist faces huge backlash for her take on modern dating

In recent days, writer Chanté Joseph has found herself at the center of a heated conversation. Her article titled "Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?" published in British Vogue on October 25, 2025, has gone viral and drawn strong responses online. According to her profile, she is a London-based freelance journalist who writes for several major outlets, including The Guardian, BBC, The Independent, Vice and more.

In her article, Joseph claims that many women today actually feel discomfort with posting their boyfriends on social media. She says that for certain women, the word boyfriend feels old-fashioned or trivializing, given that gender roles are shifting and social media inherently is a different type of platform. Right after the article was published, responses followed in waves. Many women expressed excitement and appreciation, while many men responded with concern and expressed the feeling that the article was directed towards them.

Chanté Joseph's background and career

Chanté Joseph is a London-based writer, presenter, and journalist. Her work includes culture, media, relationships, and social commentary. As stated in her bio, she has written for many well-known publications and has hosted podcasts and panels in the areas of pop culture and identity.

A recent article titled "Is Having A Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?" was published on her Muck Rack profile, and she has previously written on topics including heritage, travel, living alone, and cultural identity. Therefore, the dating-relationships beat is one of many topics she pursues in her work.

She has cited issues such as visibility, relationships with social media, and the ways people curate their lives on social media, in public speaking and interviews. She has also worked with brands like Spotify and YouTube and presented live events about social culture.

Her decision to write about this topic appears to come from an observation: Chanté Joseph noticed that some women were hesitant to describe their romantic relationships publicly, and some seemed to remove or crop out male partners from their social media posts. Her article says she followed this trend, asked women about it, and wrote the piece based on those responses. The article framed the question: in an era when women's economic and social positions are changing, what does having a boyfriend mean?

"Are people embarrassed of their boyfriends now? Or is something more complicated going on?"

The article by Chanté Joseph and the backlash

In "Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?" Chanté Joseph writes that she observed many women posting online and cropping out their boyfriends or husbands. She asked women why, and some told her they thought it was "embarrassing" to post their man online. One of the reasons given by respondents, as Chanté Joseph reports, is fear that the boyfriend might cheat or hold them back from success. She writes that some women believe they are on an "upward trajectory" and feel their male partners may not be keeping pace.

The article struck a nerve. On social media, many women shared their agreement, saying they too felt awkward about showing their relationships publicly. Others accused the article of being reductive or polarising. Some men felt the article painted them unfairly.

Chanté Joseph herself responded to some of the criticism. In an interview with TMZ, she said that yes, she expected backlash, especially from men, and that she has received messages calling her "bitter" and saying "this is why you’ll be alone." But she said that provoked reaction was part of what she wanted,

"I hope this reaction leads to men stepping up in their relationships"

She made it clear that she did not intend to attack men or relationships in general. Instead, she pointed out how changing social media practices and expectations can change how people feel about romantic attachments. The article, as she envisioned it, was an opportunity to think critically about why some women feel it is risky to post a boyfriend. Why does the term boyfriend feel so unstable in some modern contexts?

Critics have argued that the article misses a lot of nuance - like the feelings of men, the different types of relationships and how class, race and culture shape how couples represent themselves online. Some people suggested the title was sensational and written to attract readers rather than to engage meaningfully. Supporters of the article state it explores a real concern experienced by younger women vis-a-vis relationships, visibility and status.

What is undeniable is that the article has gone viral and ignited an extensive online and media discussion concerning dating, gender roles and life in a digital world - it resides at the core of personal relationships, online social media self-representation and changing gender norms.

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