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"Miss Bimbo" Blinks First; Stops Diet Pills
Techtree News Staff, Apr 09, 2008 2328 hrs ISTA notice on the Web site says, "the option of purchasing diet pills for the virtual characters was removed as a result of 'surprising media attention' but it is the correct action to take."
Last month, a Web site (and a game within) that goes by the name "Miss Bimbo" became the center of a raging debate in the UK, with parents and healthcare experts expressing anger and anguish over the existence of such a Web site capable of misleading and corrupting young (girls) minds.
But why the fuss? "Miss Bimbo", targeted at girls aged anywhere between 9 and 16 years, talks about them having their online avatars or bimbos, and taking care of them. These little girls have to remain focused on weighty issues like the weight, wardrobe, wealth, and happiness of their bimbos so as to create 'the coolest, richest, most famous bimbo in the world'.
In doing so, their bimbos can get a facelift or a boob job or both, pop diet pills, go endless pub-hopping -- wearing the skimpiest lingerie -- and possibly hooking that 'oh-so-eligible' billionaire on the loose -- but all for a price measured in "bimbo dollars". Meaning registration on the Web site may be free, but the girls are charged a good GBP 1.50 per text message to buy "bimbo dollars" to spend on their bimbos.
The good news now though (maybe due to all the media attention) is that "Miss Bimbo" has stopped offering virtual diet pills for the girls to keep their bimbos looking waif-thin.
A notice on the Web site says, "the option of purchasing diet pills for the virtual characters was removed as a result of 'surprising media attention' but it is the correct action to take."
Now the bad news -- they remain after all bimbos.
Lisa Machoian, a Boston-based psychotherapist and former Harvard lecturer specializing in teenage girls, told the Agence France Presse (AFP), "I was very alarmed and appalled because the message is disturbing." She said she chaffed at the 'derogatory' term (bimbo) that often implies a female who is focused on fashion and looks, but is deemed to be short on brains. Addie Swartz, head of US-based educational software firm, Beacon Street Girls, told AFP, "Miss Bimbo goes beyond the experience of Barbie dolls and other virtual reality Web sites for children. It sets back women by 50 to 100 years."
But all of this negative publicity doesn't seem to have deterred the creator of "Miss Bimbo", French entrepreneur Nicholas Jacquart (23), who maintains steadfastly that he doesn't believe the Web site is harmful. "It's an ironic game about the reality of the world," he was reported to have said. He also said that the Web site is not all about plastic surgery and diet pills, which is but a small part of it. There are more than 1,000 fashion items on it, and the average age is now 18 years and nowhere below that.
But why the fuss? "Miss Bimbo", targeted at girls aged anywhere between 9 and 16 years, talks about them having their online avatars or bimbos, and taking care of them. These little girls have to remain focused on weighty issues like the weight, wardrobe, wealth, and happiness of their bimbos so as to create 'the coolest, richest, most famous bimbo in the world'.
In doing so, their bimbos can get a facelift or a boob job or both, pop diet pills, go endless pub-hopping -- wearing the skimpiest lingerie -- and possibly hooking that 'oh-so-eligible' billionaire on the loose -- but all for a price measured in "bimbo dollars". Meaning registration on the Web site may be free, but the girls are charged a good GBP 1.50 per text message to buy "bimbo dollars" to spend on their bimbos.
The good news now though (maybe due to all the media attention) is that "Miss Bimbo" has stopped offering virtual diet pills for the girls to keep their bimbos looking waif-thin.
A notice on the Web site says, "the option of purchasing diet pills for the virtual characters was removed as a result of 'surprising media attention' but it is the correct action to take."
Now the bad news -- they remain after all bimbos.
Lisa Machoian, a Boston-based psychotherapist and former Harvard lecturer specializing in teenage girls, told the Agence France Presse (AFP), "I was very alarmed and appalled because the message is disturbing." She said she chaffed at the 'derogatory' term (bimbo) that often implies a female who is focused on fashion and looks, but is deemed to be short on brains. Addie Swartz, head of US-based educational software firm, Beacon Street Girls, told AFP, "Miss Bimbo goes beyond the experience of Barbie dolls and other virtual reality Web sites for children. It sets back women by 50 to 100 years."
But all of this negative publicity doesn't seem to have deterred the creator of "Miss Bimbo", French entrepreneur Nicholas Jacquart (23), who maintains steadfastly that he doesn't believe the Web site is harmful. "It's an ironic game about the reality of the world," he was reported to have said. He also said that the Web site is not all about plastic surgery and diet pills, which is but a small part of it. There are more than 1,000 fashion items on it, and the average age is now 18 years and nowhere below that.
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