Miss Bimbo and other stories

This Thursday sees the long-awaited publication by Dr Tanya Byron of her report into the internet and children: how much access should you give? How much should you scrutinise? What is a healthy level of internet use etc. Given today's horror story about a new site massively popular with teenage girls called Miss Bimbo, this report should generate some much needed and welcome debate.

Miss Bimbo, for those who have missed it, is a French website which allows girls to create an online Bimbo of their own delectation, she has virtual money, a wardrobe and gets points for being thin and as babelicious as possible: cue frenzy about bad role models for girls (Miss Bimbo lives to go partying, look cool, be the best looking at night clubs - for which she needs to be on a permanent crash diet - you can even get your online babe plastic surgery if you think your major assets need inflating).

I'm sure the men who conceived it just thought it was harmless fun - but as the ghastly effects of pro-anorexia sites show, young teenage girls are particularly susceptible to anything about body shape and can get unhealthy and dangerous ideas into their heads pretty quickly. It certainly looks pretty irresponsible. I suppose the only thing going for Miss Bimbo is that young girls might practice extreme self denial, body dysmorphia, anorexia, wardrobe/boyfriend obsession so extensively on the web that they lose their appetite for it in real life... somehow, having been a teenage girl myself, I don't think that's going to happen. But they could try out some of their wilder fantasies on there rather than in reality - or perhaps they'll discover how deeply tedious that kind of body/boy/club obsession really is. Hmmm maybe not. That takes at least 15 years of total immersion in my experience!

Wonder what the government in the form of Dr Byron's report is going to do about this? Has your teenager been on it? Had a go yourself? Shall we create an Alpha Mummy Bimbo to do all the things we're too old/knackered/fat to do anymore?

Comments

[Andrea]

I LOVE WHAT THE GIRL ON 21 YEARS ARE SAYING! YOU GO GIRL!!

[Andrea]

YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!!!! I LOVE THAT GAME! Im actually small and fatt and that game gives me hope, dreams and a rollmodel!
You are saying bullshit abaout my favorite game in the hole world! STOP WITH THAT! I WANT TO PLAY! IWEN IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!!!

After reading everyone's comments, and having played the game myself I think everyone is forgetting that it is just that, A GAME. And like most things, if you don't want your children to do it then don't let them. Take a bit of responsibility for a change instead of blaming everything and everyone else.

[chloe mafia]

IM 21 YEARS OLD AND I LOVE MISS BIMBO GAME
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND IT DOSENT PROMOTE ANYTHING BAD!
IN FACT I THINK IT PROMOTES INDEPENDANCE AS YOU CAN NOT MOVE UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL UNTILL YOU HAVE GOT A COLLAGE CORSE .
THEN YOU HAVE TO GET A JOB
YOU HAVE TO RENT YOUR OWN APPARTMENT
AND GO TO THE LIBRARY TO HIGHER YOUR IQ SCORE.

IT IS ABOUT REAL LIFE AND NOTHING ELSE!!!

[chloe mafia]

IM 21 YEARS OLD AND I LOVE MISS BIMBO GAME
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND IT DOSENT PROMOTE ANYTHING BAD!
IN FACT I THINK IT PROMOTES INDEPENDANCE AS YOU CAN NOT MOVE UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL UNTILL YOU HAVE GOT A COLLAGE CORSE .
THEN YOU HAVE TO GET A JOB
YOU HAVE TO RENT YOUR OWN APPARTMENT
AND GO TO THE LIBRARY TO HIGHER YOUR IQ SCORE.

IT IS ABOUT REAL LIFE AND NOTHING ELSE!!!

[shiobhan]

ive had a go on this since it was on the news.i dont think its as bad as people make out.it just educates kids that lifes not as simple as it seems it will encourage kids to be responsible and it states that their bimbo needs to eat.so i cant see how it will affect these kids its the celebs who are to blame because everybody thins they have to look like them to become successful in life

[nofar]

hiiiiiiiii

[nofar]

hiiii

[Lazy Mummy]

Clayton either you're trolling or you're genuinely confused about cause & effect vs. correlation. I'm not a psychologist but I don't think a game like this would make a girl anorexic in just 2 weeks. More likely the girl is attracted to the game because of the affiliation with anorexia? I'm very sorry to hear about your daughter though.

[erica]

i play miss bimbo its fun so does my little sister whos 7 but it dosent affect me.

[erica]

i play miss bimbo its fun so does my little sister whos 7 but it dosent affect me.

[erica]

i play miss bimbo its fun so does my little sister whos 7 but it dosent affect me.

[babygirl]

hey,
i havent played this game but i think that it isnt aimed at 9 year olds and parents should block the website if they think it is not suited for their child.The age limit should b 13 aimed at TEENAGE girls like myself.It could teach responsibilty.It is not what you should do to yourself in real life.

[Clayton]

My daughter started playing this game two weeks ago and now she has anorexia LOL

[den]

i have/had a bimbo, and i am 25, i for on dont see how it is aimed at such a young age as 9....but maybe thats just me...as for promoting sliming pills and all the rest of, dont teen mags do that already?? with constantly showing images or celebs in diets and the so and so losing x-amount of weight i a such a short space of time, andall the models bein stick thing....people need to get over themselves, less computers in childrens bedrooms would help too....set an age limit on the miss bimbo site and be done with it...

[Annie Shield]

As a concept to get girls from the age of nine to obsess about their looks to a hysterical level, and pester their parents for cosmetics, fashionable clothes, pole dancing kits, leg waxes, and bedroom furniture from Woolworths' "Lolita" range for kids, this game excels. I couldn't recommend it more.

What a great way to improve the nation's economy, boosting sales of all sorts of products in the real world, and no doubt the game is ingeniously designed with this outcome in mind. The girls have to buy their hot virtual character everything she needs to compete in the looks but no brains department. As a strategy for life, they choose looks and never choose books.

http://www.corrupt.org/articles/lifestyle/victoria_mcmagnus/miss_bimbo

[Ellenoire]

After having read and watched news reports on the Miss Bombo site i decided to log in myself and see what all the fuss was about and i must say that this is another typical 'nanny state' fuss over nothing, the site encourages development in a virtual world, allowing people to do the things they would be to shy to do in reality, it encourages the user to educate their avatar as well as develop their sense of style and personality. Yes some of the things available for purchase may be 'iffy' but there are in game consequences to buying the product which i feel may well help the users to make the right lifestyle choices in reality, not all 'children' that use this site are stick thin 'bimbos' that will go on a diet and get a 'boob job' as soon as they can, they are mearly trying out the sites available to them and as a parent i would sooner see them creating things that take time to develop and deal with consequences of actions, even in a fantasy realm, than see them sat infromt of a television playing mindless violent computer games that take no intelligence whatsoever! If the media want to make a fuss over anything then they should look at what children are exposed to via television and film, as well as the things they are allowed to view via parents. How many children are exposed to things that are purposely rated over their age range because their parents allow it, internet sites can be easily filtered by parents who do not wish their children to view them so why dont they do this instead of making such a fuss. As a parent and an internet user i check what sites my child is accessing and take appropriate measures if i feel they are inappropriate. Maybe the issue should not be the site itself but the amount of parents who are unaware or have no interest in the sites their children are viewing. Maybe it is us adults that do not like the site because we are unable to accept that children will explore their personalities both in reality and in virtual reality as we do not wish them to be 'ahead of their years', this is however inevitable, especially when one looks at the society we live in, i feel that magazines and television shows that children have access to can be more detremental to our children than an internet site!

[supermother]

I started today watching - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCrCsTMokTU
because I don't believe in censorship in any form and if there is a call to ban something one is almost duty bound to watch it.

Nor do I think we need as much censorship as we already have for violent or sexual content. We need to be working to remove what is there not make it worse and then parents can take responsibility for their children.

As for women dressing up and looking good it's a question of balance. If your self worth is only determined by how you look and there is nothing else in your life then that's not good. But if you choose to opt out of looking good that's fine too as long as you know that in most parts of society there is an impact if you choose not to play the game.

British women are some of the best in the world in my view in being balanced between looks and other things. We are easy to live with and good for men. We are not French and we don't spend a fortune as male play things do in South America. We have a good balance, can be pretty but aren't overly worried about being perfect. I hope we manage to maintain that difference over time.Long live English yellow teeth etc etc

[shalom]

rthwrtghtrgfh

[Baggofbones]

"you shocking grasp of the English Language"

**

Pots and kettles come to mind!

Nobody has ever said that all teenagers are illiterate and stupid. Some of the teenagers who've posted on this blog do come across as both illiterate and stupid; others are very sensible (so they're pretty representative of how teenagers have always been - and indeed how adults tend to be. As this blog has recently shown, adults are more than capable of being illiterate, bigoted and stupid).

It is perhaps interesting/helpful to get a teen (or indeed male) perspective on these issues. But on the other hand, this is a blog for Alpha Mummies. I'm sure there are heaps of sites where mummies can chat to teens and teens can chat to mummies (if that's really what they want to do?!) Why not go and use one of them instead?

"And teenage girls... I went to a good school full of intelligent young women from happy (on the whole) families who were hellbent on competitive dieting, taking sexual risks and chugging back as much booze as possible. And that was 20 years ago"

Loll - same here, also 20 years ago. Add to that a habit of racing brand-new 17th-birthday-present-4WDs down the main road at lunchtime, and you have my whole miserable sixth-form experience in a nutshell.

[Jane]

Isn't the problem with dialects/sublanguages, whatever you want to categorise 'teen slang' as that it cannot be used to communicate beyond those who share it. That's why, if, say, a teen wants to communicate with a non-teen, then they're best off using a form of language that is common both them and their target audience

However, the issue of whether teens 'should' be posting on a blog designated for their mums, is (irrespective of whether teens actually want to be seen dead anywhere near their mums!!!!) is, I think, a different one.

Personally, I can see a justification for saying that if the topic is about teens, then why not be interested in their views on it. But that's a two-way street, of course, and posters like the poor 'I am a slut' girl, may not like replies to their contributions - on the grounds that their post rather proves the point that sites like the one under discussion don't contribute positively to teen life!

[Lazy Mummy]

To the Anon poster:

It sounds like you're responding to someone specifically on the thread. Please identify who you're responding to, otherwise it's difficult to continue the discussion in a sensible way.

Don't think you're responding to me directly, but there are a couple of points I'd like to make.

1) I don't think the people who post on AM on a regular basis have *ever* branded all teens as illiterate, stupid, under one label or ignored their views. In fact, some of the more pro-teen comments I've heard have been from parents of teens on this blog. Having said that, most parents have serious concerns about their children (including their teens) using abusive media in various forms (from violent fantasy games through promotions of D-list bimbo celebs).

2) I've studied linguistics, the development of the English language, et. al. in depth and I have to tell you you're over-simplifying Crystal's opinions. Teen slang is NOT the only literate form of English. Slang is a subset of a language (any language) and while it may one day become a mainstream part of the language (in terms of grammar or syntax or both because language is a living, changing thing) to state that teenagers using slang are more literate than anyone else (using slang or the standard forms of the language or dialects) is just plain wrong from both a linguist's perspective and from a societal perspective.

We should be listening to everyone’s views, as long as they are sensible and reasonable.

You have complained about 'illiterate teenagers' on more than one occasion...maybe you should listen to the people this issue actually affects as opposed to your own complaints and ignorant views.

The younger generations have tried to talk at times and we have branded them all under one label…is this honestly fair on the majority of them? Or are we going to continue ignoring their views since they obviously know nothing and are merely living the issues you are arguing?!

The irony in all of this is also you shocking grasp of the English Language in most cases…and you say illiterate but the standard English is beginning to favor technology and not the English taught in schools, look into the works of David Crystal…so technically the ‘illiterate teenagers’ are the only literate ones in this conversation.

[Lazy Mummy]

Two more (brief) things.

Mary - I think your attitude is unnecessary. If you have something useful to add, please add it, but just firing random insults at people doesn't really raise the tone or contribute to the debate in a meaningful way, does it?

Lisa - In my (considerable) experience (in the field of developers), while not all game developers fit your flatmate's profile, they're definitely in the majority. I do think it has a lot to do with the industry and the product they turn out.

[Lazy Mummy]

The question of violence and desensitization is an interesting one. On the one hand, my instinct is with Jane: ban violent, abusive media because otherwise we desensitise people (especially children/teenagers) to things and worse behaviour/violence/abuse becomes acceptable, normal.

On the other hand...think about it. We've just lived through a period of about 60-70 years of "civilising influence" in the West (at least), a period where - in Europe at least, the death penalty was banned, wife-beating was censured, physical restraing of children (smacking, caning, etc) moved from being the norm to being considered evil, abnormal, etc. But PRIOR to this, we lived in a pretty violent world. It's not that long ago that every child saw death, illness and physical violence as the norm. It's not long ago that crowds of people thronged to witness public executions.

I think what I'm trying to say is this. Perhaps we, humans, just have an unattractive propensity for violence, sadism, etc. and now that we've sanitised that propensity in "real" life, it has to come out in our virtual, media-driven lives.

Just a thought. I may be wrong, but there might be something in my (albeit inarticulate) ramblings.

[Sara Silva]

This article is such a stupidity!!
It's like blame the game instead of blaming the parents that ain't with the kids
And, you know, I've been playing the game half a year now and I'm not anoretic or such
Well, if you want you may only let your kids play with noddy or something alike, but it won't make them perfect, will it?
And the game doesn't approve that kinds of things: for example, my bimbo hasn't taken and won't take any diet, I won't buy her that stuff and she won't take it.
As for the diet-thing, the admins of the forum are always saying that diets when non-controlled may provoke death and disorders. And when your DOLL is very thin (or fat) it says "your bimbo is very thin/as put on weight, be careful she may become ill if you don't care about it" or something alike
the clothes, please, I've already seen Xtina with shorter and worse things. Xtina and Madonna and a lot more people on the TV and all over the net - and on the ads on the bus stop etcetc

[Mary]

Jane,

Your handbags at dawn attitude was tiresome enough to read on the embryo research thread. Do you have to crowbar it so clumsily into this thread as well, without having anything to say on the actual subject? Grow up.

[Kim]

Actually, I assumed that Adam and Becky weren't real people, just someone having a laugh by parodying the attitudes and language of teenagers (e.g. "If it influences u, ur a spaz"). But now I wonder if I'm wrong.

[Noelle]

I actually have 2 daughters that play this & as far as Im concearned this is no different then paper dolls online when I was young they were saying Barbi's were destroying little girls I played with barbi & she has a town house & a corvette she had pretty friends She wasnt a fat slug who sat on the couch watching tv
I pay attention to wht the girls do with their dolls & keep it in perspective. Anyway as a mom I really dont have an issue here with this game & it basically up to parents to monitor there kids & not engage in censorship of a website.

[Jane]

Well, at least this thread hasn't got a litigious lawyer who has to resort to warnng posters about the laws of defamation to silence criticsm of his behaviour on the thread. I think I'll take any number of weirdos and teens over that!

[Baggofbones]

Lurkingmummy and Loll - I'm so with you. Maybe all Alpha Mummies should agree to ditch any thread that gets hijacked by weirdos and losers (and even by nice blokes and sensible teenagers - however nice they are, they are not mummies!) That way, the Times folk would very quickly find that their Alpha Mummy site became something that they didn't like - and then they might actually take some kind of action... I can't be bothered sifting through all the loons any more, and am tempted to leave the site to them!

[Charxxx]

I think that it is absolute RUBBISH!
Encouraging young children and other people to not be happy with their image and wanting to get plastic surgery! I thing you should close it down, NOW!!!!!
Or else I'll get the government to!
Its rediculous, I can't believe it!
What a stupid game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ann]

To be honest I'm a solicitor in a major city firm and I can't keep my room tidy either!

Thanks goodness for the cleaner (and my baby son who seems to aspire to be the cleaner!)

[bob]

It;s rubbish

[Lisa]

It's only a few more months til I move, so I think I can survive. Fortunately, he's tidy in communal areas.

Personally, I don't really play TV games and what not, not because of knowing my flatmate, they just never held any interest. I did play tennis on a wii recently, which was fun until I broke my brother's light-fitting while serving rather over-enthusiastically.

I do not believe that the miss bimbo website is different from any other. For example the sims, in this game you can change the way they look, including their weight and physical features, although it does not say plastic surgery or diets it is basically the same thing. Also if the bad point of this website is that it promotes eating disorders surely we should be talking about magazines which include every diet under the sun and nit picking at everybodies weight on the news. The name of the site is miss bimbo which in its own is seen as a joke to most, if you do these things you will become a bimbo. Bimbo is a word which most young girls don't want to be called, also if a child did have an eating disorder it may encourage it, as the child is already not thinking straight, however it would not create it! I have a daughter with a miss bimbo doll and it has not affected her at all.

[Jane]

My flatmate is a games developer for one of the major companies. He has absolutely no social skills, cannot hold a decent conversation, can't have a discussion without shouting and swearing at someone who dares to disagree with him, and, despite being in his mid 30s, is unable to put sheets on his bed or keep his room tidy (his mother should be really ashamed). If he is representative of all games developers, society has a massive problem.
***
It's presumably because he doesn't actually 'live' in the real world! In 'gamesworld' not only ar there no beds to make, but if someone disagrees with you you shoot them!

However, I would not say that all games are dire, or their developers. There's loads and loads of fun, harmelss stuff, plus games that are 'covertly education', such as Age of Conquest etc. It's only the real 'video nasty' stuff that I think should be banned. The rest is fine if not used addictively.

[j]

eeek Lisa, I am guessing you are saving up for your own place :)

[Christine]

I was discussing this debate with a friend over lunch and she mentioned that my shoe fetish is probably derived from the fact that most of my time as a young girl was spent in my room with other friends playing with Barbies, which I assume was the norm in the late eighties, however its only occurred to me now that all the Barbie dolls have arched feet, so that they can slip easily into the fabulous never-ending array of shoes to fit every outfit conceivable! I guess there is a correlation between entertainment and sub-conscious cravings!!

[Lisa]

My flatmate is a games developer for one of the major companies. He has absolutely no social skills, cannot hold a decent conversation, can't have a discussion without shouting and swearing at someone who dares to disagree with him, and, despite being in his mid 30s, is unable to put sheets on his bed or keep his room tidy (his mother should be really ashamed). If he is representative of all games developers, society has a massive problem.

[Jane]

Europe will be Islamic in 50 years
***

Isuspect you are right. End of an era. End of a civilisation. And if Islam doesn't change, fast, end of civilisation in Europe.

On the other hand, maybe Islam looks a lot more attractive than Chinese-dictator-capitalism...??

Weirdos on the increase? Well, not sure - I guess it depends what causes people to be 'sickos' in the first place. But I do think the environment helps. For example, there may well have been just as many really nasty people living in Germany pre-Hitler, but when Hitler came to power, boy, did they get their 'opportunity'! I mean, just how many sickos get to run concentration camps in 'normal' societies? Furthermore, once you tolerate 'sicko-dom', then you can bring out the latency, (if its there of course). The 'banality of evil' theory, that we can all get really, really nasty if the opportuny and the pressure is there.

That's why I think that gory films and games are a 'bad' thing and it would be a nicer world without them. If that takes banning them, well, I don't have a problem - I think we should vote on it! Unless there is a positive vote 'in favour' (which maybe there would be of course) then they get banned.

[gp]

I see.

It's the internet’s fault your child’s a neurotic, anorexic, image obsessed self abuser. And you’re now waiting for the government (!) to solve the problem by reading a report.

I blame the parents. Or the media.

[tabatha payne west mids]

its not that bad if they took away the sexy clothes/diet pills and boob job type things. i dont agree with this for any child under 16 at all. girls have to go through so much nowardays going through pubity and trying to fit in. also i feal its a mans point of view. sexy very thin women with nice boobs, long legs ect. its not fare and not a correct way to show our children to grow up. they have ciggerettes and alcohol/drugs already in there faces why make diet pills and boob jobs another problem for teens.

[keith bentham]

Degeneracy, pure and simple, don't worry Europe will be Islamic in 50 years. ( its officia; 30% of Europes' children will be muslim in 18 years time.) All that decadence, womens rights and semitic perversion will then be got rid of.
Well what are you going to do about it, breed more european babies? vote BNP? I don't think.

[keith bentham]

Degeneracy, pure and simple, don't worry Europe will be Islamic in 50 years. ( its officia; 30% of Europes' children will be muslim in 18 years time.) All that decadence, womens rights and semitic perversion will then be got rid of.
Well what are you going to do about it, breed more european babies? vote BNP? I don't think.

[Jemma]

Why the hell work when, with some raunchy conduct, a woman can snare a randy, highly-paid and stupid man?

Duh!

[j]

Oh I dont know, as a mother I am used to ignoring the ramblings of lesser beings...:)

[Lurking Mummy]

I have been a lurker on this site for a long time, and enjoyed reading the blogs and particularly the comments. I fit the definition of an Alpha Mummy as described here and relished the comments from similarly-minded Mummies.

This is no place for kids and blokes (well mannered, considered, Alpha Daddies are, however, appreciated).

Moderators - remove the non Alpha Mummies from the comments, or another regular reader is leaving the blog... I can't be bothered with trawling through trash any more.

[Loll]

Alphamummy has lost its way, I can't even be bothered to comment anymore. Most of the time I can kid myself that the majority of human beings are fundamentally good and tolerant and try to avoid bigots and misogynists but here they are, ranting away...

The censorship issue: not something I'm keen on but when images of extreme violence and sex are out there to the degree they are now, surely we've got to draw a line. The ubiquity of this stuff is such that I don't see how one is supposed to shelter one's children and teenagers from it.

And teenage girls... I went to a good school full of intelligent young women from happy (on the whole) families who were hellbent on competitive dieting, taking sexual risks and chugging back as much booze as possible. And that was 20 years ago.

[Christine]

Jane,
I think you're correct as throughout the past 3 decades, films have become more violent and as a consequence our ability to 'absorb' the increase in visual brutality has led to a 'normalisation' and acceptance to these high levels. Hence movies like the most recent Harry Potter, would not have had the same viewer guidance rating if it had been released 10 years ago. There is a desensitization towards violence in the media, yet, what is more upsetting, watching the newest instalment of an aged Sylvester Stallone causing bedlam on scores of unfortunate 'bad guys' or watching the continued slaughter going on in Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq etc.. Etc.. On the news? I think for the most of us, (and I'm making a presumptuous generalisation! Sorry!) there's a switch inside that enables us to differentiate the real world and that of fiction. Seeing a few hundred people getting shot in a Hollywood blockbuster is completely ineffective, seeing a broken man carrying the body of his son after one of the Shia attacks in Iraq is heartbreaking.

Once again, I think it comes down to the minority, who will take the violence, the suggested acceptance of brutality glorified in movies, or the apparent 'smuttiness' of dressing a virtual avatar in 5 inch stilettos and lingerie into their own lives.

You mentioned that we now have more 'weirdoes' than ever before, yet can you substantiate that? Do we have more 'weirdoes' now than ever before, or has our ability to apprehend/locate/sensationalise these individuals in the media increased exponentially?

[Jane]

I just want to stress that the overall effect is minimal.
***

I do find it strange that anyone can find it enjoyable to watch gore, or inflict it virtually. I think that habituating yourself to this level of violence does change you - it makes it more acceptable, more 'normal', and the changes are only for the worse, for all who watch/play them.

For some, the ones who are already disturbed and 'head cases' I think they can be very dangerous.

I do think the government is pathetically spineless about the whole issue of violence in the media. It can hardly be in anyone's 'good', let alone society's, to take enjoyment from such gruesome scenes.

Personaly, I think it's pretty sick, and only encourages more sick people in this world, and heaven's knows we've got quite enough sickos to go around.

What would be the harm in banning them? Some idiotically abused 'principle' of freedom of the press/media? Save the fights where they matter, such as in a political free press, etc - don't fight for the right of human beings to watch/play torture-porn.

[Christine]

I think the issue of videogames and their ability to sway/influence people is a debate that will never be won. This same debate is still raging with regards to tv shows and movies. I think the common link is that most forms of entertainment can have an effect on a minority.
We have for example a videogame that was banned for a couple of weeks which is horrendously gruesome and violent. However, this same game that was temporarily banned, has significantly less violence than some action movies or cult genre that is becoming ever so popular 'Gore' movies that are currently being screened. I haven't seen (nor do I wish to!) the new Rambo movie, but I have been told by work colleagues of the disturbing amount of violence and gruesome deaths which occur throughout the films duration, yet no mention of it being banned, or protests outside the cinemas have occurred.
I'm not here to preach against movies/videogames or any type of mass entertainment vehicle, I just want to stress that the overall effect is minimal. The issue lies with a minority of people (who either are unhinged individuals, or have family issues) and use subject matter portrayed in their favourite movie/game as an excuse to do something daring, or draw attention.
I have a horrible fetish for shoes and handbags, and my personal opinion of the Bimbo game is that its harmless fun. I would've thoroughly enjoyed dabbling in it when I was younger and thought nothing more, other than its a fun bit of distraction. As I mentioned above, this game might have an efect on a minority of girls, but in their case, this game is merely a trigger for an underlying problem in their lives.

[Jane]

Please, no more trolls. It just gets so tedious.

[Carol]

The Bimbo website is symptomatic of how modern women view themselves i.e. as sex objects. This is true even of so-called Christian women, who wear make up and jewellry and whose sole object in life is to snare a husband, so that they can give up work and let someone else slave to support them. Women may say that they like to look good just for themselves, but this isn't true. It is all about strutting their sexuality in front of men, nothing else. It's a modern manifestation of a primitive urge to procreate. Mothers pass this on to their daughters by tarting themselves up and sometimes even encouraging their daughters to wear make up etc. Once upon a time, people work make up to hide the ravages of disease, especially VD, which is why it is historically associated with prostitutes. Seeing today's young women with their faces stained and smeared in grease, I reckon not much has changed.

[Baggofbones]

Variety is indeed interesting, Supermother. But only if it means you can actually have a discussion. The "variety" we're getting at the moment is weirdos who come out with loopy, often offensive, dogma and make no attempt to discuss anything!

[Hermes]

Intelligent discussion? On the INTERNET?

Oh, you people are funny people.

[supermother]

It is a real concern for many alphamothers I'm sure, particuarly those my age, that in some sense girls now, many many of them, are much more concerned about how they look and how they can hook a rich man than 20 years ago. I doubt it has anything to do with religion and more to do with popular culture and the fact there are perhaps fewer good female role models around.

So many girls wanting to have their chests cut open and have silicon put inside (and their mothers) just like chinese women 200 years ago with foot binding. Make you wonder if we've really come very far at all as women as our worth is still so often determined by what man we've hooked who will keep us (where women don't work) and where our value is on our continuing good looks and ability to keep a man.

I don't mind if men or anyone posts. Variety is interesting.

[Jane]

Personally, I have been surprised that the Times is happy to encourage low-quality posts as if more posts are better than no posts (e.g. using the f-work, boasting about using prostitutes)

***
The problem is, it's AM itself that opened the floodgates to 'low-brow' with the blog on (insert popular term for having sex) with TV characters.

[mumoftwo]

Please stay BofB, I also have been totally dismayed at many of the posts on the prostitutes/Heather Mills threads. The quality of the debate, which is usually so high, has just sunk so low it is hard to find the motivation to pick your way through.

I guess the problem is that to Times editors, there is a tension between having an ongoing debating/fun blog for the target audience of Alphamummies (which is why we are here) and their desire to showcase the said blog in the main pages by putting buzzwords such as 'prostitutes' or 'Heather Mills got too much money' in the main site and thus attracting people (mainly men) who are the diametric opposite of Alphamummies in every way and just see it as an opportunity to bash women, especially working ones! This then means the original target audience feel like bait rather than valued members of a blogging community. Personally, I have been surprised that the Times is happy to encourage low-quality posts as if more posts are better than no posts (e.g. using the f-work, boasting about using prostitutes) and wonder whether it is really enhancing the reputation of the Times by using blogs in this way. I agree, if they can't find their way back to the original purpose (a site for mothers who work, used to work whatever) then I think the core of Alphamummies (and the pretty cool Alphadaddies who ran away when the scary men arrived) will probably join you at the exit.

[Baggofbones]

Lazy Mummy - I had been going to abandon Alpha Mummy this evening, and was having a final look. But you have just about convinced me to stay with it for a couple of weeks, even if passively. It is always possible that the weirdos will crawl back under whatever stone they emerged from!

On the Miss Bimbo thing, I'm really not convinced that things like this cause eating disorders. But I am worried about this whole "healthy eating" message that schools are plugging so hard. Okay, so healthy eating is good - but my nearly-six-year-old son has now come home telling me that we can't have crisps because there are 20 calories in every crisp (who says???), and that he can't have ketchup with his organic new potatoes because Mrs Teacher says it's bad for you.

Young children never take in more than half the message (at best!) All they hear is this food = good, that food = bad. This has to be dangerous? My poor son is a stringy thing, not least because he walks absolutely everywhere, not even blenching at six miles. A boy like this really doesn't need to start worrying about calories.

I particularly fear for my daughter, as she's naturally on the big side (whereas I am naturally, yes, a bag of bones). At what point will she start obsessing about crisps and ketchup, and will it make any difference if I tell her that if she eats a bit of everything and gets a reasonable amount of exercise, she has nothing to worry about?

[Lazy Mummy]

Do you mean we're up against websites like this? Or that we're up against weirdos who bring Jesus into the "debate"?

****

Er, both, I think (sadly).

------
What I can't cope with is intelligent debate being gatecrashed by the god-squad, by illiterate teenagers (what are they doing on Alpha Mummy?
****

Agreed, it's been a pretty sad week or two, since the Spitzer/prostitute thread got trampled all over by the sort of men we AMs wouldn't give the time of day to in real life.

Might be time for us to email Caitlin et al with our revised list of subjects we'd like up for discussion (SM had a good list she posted around New Year). But don't defect just yet, BoB, I have hopes things will turn around soon. At least give it another 2 or 3 weeks (please).

[Bethan]

'WTF is wrong with you people, its a game. It does not say you must go anorexic on the website. why must you always have a go at video games? Anyway most girls want to have boob jobs anyway, before this game even came out.

If anyone wants to argue this case with me, email me at urslut@live.co.uk

Becky aged 15.'

Of course, how could any of us forget that a fifteen you know better than anyone else?

I am 16 and rest assured Becky, the majority of teenage girls do not wish to have boob jobs, although given your rather interesting choice of email address perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the majority of your friends wish to.

Eatng disorders are a very serious issue and a site like Miss. Bimbo simply trivialises them. Young girls and teenagers are especially impressionable given the peer pressure from the media these days and when a site like this is created which turns eating disorders and the idea of being stick-thin and made of plastic into a game, people will neglect to realise quite how serious these things are.

I can see the irony in this site, but a lot of young girls will not, and as that is whom this is aimed at it should be taken more seriously not knocked off as 'ironic' as the target audience will not recognise this.

And to all those parents out there whom are worried about their daughters finding this site: For goodness sake, put some parental controls on your computer and send your children outside to run around and ride bikes. That is how a childhood should be spent, not inside on a computer transfixed by stories about celebrities and such.

I Think Theres an element to the game that does introduce young girls to the facts of life : that some people do take drugs to stay thin and that there are such things as extreme dieting and so forth. But i do beleive that this sort of thing should be tought through school and not in a competition to make the best 'bimbo' because this gives out the message that the only way to look good is by taking diet pills or just not eating.

[Albert]

Absolutely brilliant - designed obviously as a mickey take to appeal perfectly to the inane "Chavs" that are obviously using it. What is even funnier is that the irresponsible, mindless parents of these Chav's are in uproar as to the content !!! Try bringing up your children properly or ask yourselves the question as to why they are logging on ???? Don't blame the creator, we think he's very creative and its a great piss-take.

[Baggofbones]

Do you mean we're up against websites like this? Or that we're up against weirdos who bring Jesus into the "debate"?

I can cope with dodgy websites "encouraging" girls to try out horrible things. My and my sister's Barbies were anorexic, drug-taking, hotel-bombing, alcoholic, silicone-enhanced prostitutes, some of whom died of AIDS (well, it was the 80s) and neither of us has ever been anorexic, taken drugs, gone in for binge-drinking or even had more than one sexual partner (and no, we are not religious).

What I can't cope with is intelligent debate being gatecrashed by the god-squad, by illiterate teenagers (what are they doing on Alpha Mummy? If they're going to contribute, they could at least disguise it as intelligent comment), and by men (sorry - as I've said elsewhere, I only really do male friends in real life, but they're not the type of men who go in for commenting on Alpha Mummy). Can't someone start an alternative site for these people?

[Jane]

Has anyone else noticed that the recent blog posts on Alpha Mummy seem designed to bring all the weirdos out of their closets? It all makes me feel a teeny bit sick ****

Yes, though grimly this one is of relevance to parents. Makes us realise what we're up against.

[Matt Anthony]

Total rubbish, sexist and an abomination to the LORD Jesus Christ.
Evil is the word that best describes this game.

[Baggofbones]

Anyway most girls want to have boob jobs anyway, before this game even came out.
##

What a tragic view of teen girlhood. Who are these "most girls"? Ones who have "slut" as their email address? I despair.

Has anyone else noticed that the recent blog posts on Alpha Mummy seem designed to bring all the weirdos out of their closets? It all makes me feel a teeny bit sick (and that's not because I've had flu for the last 5 days). If they don't come up with a real topic of interest to alpha mummies soon, I shall defect to real life!

[John]

Despite at least 40 years of strident feminism, isn't it utterly ironic that droves of young girls are hooked on such a "how to be a dumb sex object" web site?

All it proves is that popular culture - i.e. celebrity antics, supermodels, pop princesses and soap operas - is far more powerful a force than anything the feminists can come up with.

It is therefore wholly wrong to single out this web site as a particular offender, when it is merely embodying the same message as the entire pop culture that is thrust at young girls and boys from day one, which is responsible not only for this addiction and anorexia and so on, but also for the general disrespectful, egocentric and badly behaved youth culture.

Anyone who has ever seen BRATZ - an American cartoon series about a group of greedy pre-teen fashion and money obsessed bimbos - will know it is a far worse influence than this tongue-in-cheek web site, but nobody says a word about it.

Whether you believe in a God or not, when religion disappears from society as now, this is what happens, i.e. we get luxury, vanity, sex and body obsessed, and PARANOID.

[VIKTOIR]

With the ridiculous amount of free pr this site got yesterday they must be rubbing their hands together.

How many more members have signed up since yesterday I wonder. The website owners have achieved exactly what they wanted. Shame.

[supermother]

Very little is as important as press freedom. Parents should control what their children use. We do not need a big brother/nanny state intervening all the time. We should be campaigning against censorship not advocating it.

[Jane]

We all just need to get real and get over it, things are going to get alot worse.
***

Why should it all 'get a lot worse'? Why just accept that? Why roll over and die, etc.

Passive acceptance is probably the most powerful reason that the 'bad stuff' happens.

[Jane]

If anyone wants to argue this case with me, email me at urslut@live.co.uk
**

Well, I'm afraid your email address says all anyone needs to know about you, sadly. Maybe one day you'll grow up into a fine human being - right now you're not, and you don't even seem to realise it. I'm sorry for you, and ashamed of the lousy job your parents have done in raising you.

[Hermes]

At this point, I figure that there's no point whining about how damaging the game is to children, and work to actually get this tripe out of circulation.

There's hardly any point in hoping for government intervention by banning the game; as we've seen with ultraviolent games like Manhunt, that sort of action not only fails, but also lends the game an aura of 'cool', even if the game is, essentially, rubbish.

So target the advertisers. Target its affiliates. Target whoever who decides to look at the game in any way that isn't disapproving.

Tell them that the game is harmful to young women, and why. Get them to pull out and disavow themselves from the game.

And, if you are still in control of your child's money, and if they were playing these games, get them to stop. Make sure not a single damn cent goes into their coffers.

Remember -- these guys are businessmen. They're here to make money. Deprive them of that opportunity.

And remember -- try not to do it alone. Get in touch with other, like-minded people. Educate your kids.

Get the invisible hand to work for you, people; get it to throttle this game out of business.

[hg]

wow...just when you thought it was getting bad. I blame American Idol and the media, and the parents of course.

[Rick]

SHUT IT DOWN!!! I have enough trouble as a single father dealing with my little girl's questions without THIS kind of bullshit. I can just hear it now; 'Why can't I play too Dad? All my friends are.' Bunch of bastards are TRYING to make parenting a pain in the ass.

[bainbridge island florist]

as much as these sites do great harm on kids, i think it's best if they're environment, ie people around them make them feel what really matters. Cause sometimes, people can drown on their insecurities.

i have never played the game before, but it sounds bad.it has probably only been on the news for one day, and when i took a look at it, it wouldn't load. so i am pretty sure that it is being hurt badly by all the bad publicity. i also think that it is also setting a very bad example for young girls learning about bad decisions about these actual things. it is just like a game on www.addictiggames.com called "PARIS OH PARIS " and what you do is feed Paris Hilton till she is fat enough to get liposuction and it says"But Paris oh Paris, you should really watch your eating. How about a little sympathy."SUCK HER DRY" I think we should do something about this NOW.
to check out paris oh paris,copy and paste this site:

http://www.addictinggames.com/parisohparis.html

[Christina]

The fuss being made about this one game is ridiculous and it has been blown out of all proportion. There are many more violent games which are also out there if you want to have a go at internet games. However by publicising it all that has been done is made people want to play it. The first thing i tought on seeing it in the news is that looks fun i want to play it and so did my freinds.

[Adam]

Teens have the right to free speech, we have the right to give our say although no one ever listens. I've played lots of violents games and it has had no affects on me or any1 else. Adults just have to blame eveything on Video games. Every1 just believes what the 'doctors' say about..... There are studies proving that violent games affect children:

1. We should still be allowed to play them even if it does, we have to express ourselves.

2. If it influences u, ur a spaz.

3. All the children in those studies are psycho's.

Join me against cencorship, banning and age ratings.

adam.perryman@hotmail.co.uk

[Becky]

WTF is wrong with you people, its a game. It does not say you must go anorexic on the website. why must you always have a go at video games? Anyway most girls want to have boob jobs anyway, before this game even came out.

If anyone wants to argue this case with me, email me at urslut@live.co.uk

Becky aged 15.

[Mrs B]

My daughter turned nine today, and luckily for me, is far more interested in playing with her dolls, and not which outfit makes her look thin/fat!!

I, on the other hand was bulimic at 9, and nearly died from anorexia at 14, was not so interested in playing with doll's, but which supermodel/celebrity figure I could achieve..by using diet pills (age 10), and up to 20 laxatives a day(age 15). I totally disagree with the website to encourage girls that being thin, bronzed and beautiful is the norm, cause it's NOT! and making a 'GAME' of it, is even worse.........

[Get real]

To be honest i think we all need to take a reality check. The world is not a nice place; and if you insist on bringing children up, oblivious to all the unpleasant things going on this is what you get! There are drugs, rapists, perverts, murderers and so on. This is the least of your worrys i assure you. Now i understand you want the best for your children, as do i mine, but this game is just some fun. From having two teenage daughters i can tell you that no matter what the "size zero" fad will always be there and theres nothing anyone can do about it. We all just need to get real and get over it, things are going to get alot worse.

[teenager anoynomous]

i am sixteen years old going on seventeen and i think that the site miss bimbom is a very inresponsible thing to put on the internet as young girls tend to follow everything that they see, young girls should be worring about education and fun e.g. going out to the park with friends, not going on miss bimbo site that drum into head everyone should look the same and act the same, i think that this site should be banned and anything else that like that. children follow from example as a teenager i know, the internet should show a much more of a effort to stop sites like that!!

[Angela Gilchrist, Chartered Clinical Psychologist]

Miss Bimbo is far from being a harmless game. It very powerfully conditions young girls into believing that extreme dieting, plastic surgery and the use of pills to achieve a desirable body image are within the ambit of acceptable behaviour. They are not. The game is especially damaging given that the young people it targets are at a vulnerable point in their cognitive and emotional development and may be easily swayed into making toxic lifestyle choices.

[Jane]

I would probably argue, in respect of the 'badness/goodness' of the Internet for children/teens, that well-adjusted, psychologically healthy, morally-aware children with supportive families and a strong 'normal' (ie, 'real-world') life, are not going to be damaged by the Internet - but that less fortunate children/teens may well be.

That said, I'm glad I don't have a daughter! I think there's far more 'bad stuff' for them on the net, on the whole. The 'bad stuff' for the boys tends to be the ultraviolent/porno-sex stuff, which, I would argue, is less 'tempting' because there's less 'social pressure' to participate, rather than the 'me as bimbo/proanna/pornbabe' dangers for the girls where they come under far more 'social pressure' to participate in?????