Tracee, I think the smoke pouring from your ears is clouding up my office..

;)

Could you post the shot of your head exploding??

I'm just kidding - it is sick and infuriating and it's so awesome that these parents are uniting and getting something done about it. I'm curious, did this kid make the game with little girls in mind? Or adults? I guess I"m wondering if it was his sick idea to market it to girls, or an investor or something..

Ashley

I think it was his sick idea.

I think we're seeing a new bread of bastard.

They don't understand why it's offensive to encourage girls to be bimbos because they believe they "love" bimbos - after all they do like to date them.

breed

I think the new breed of bastard was spawned from the the producers of 'girls gone wild' and rap videos..I can totally see how that influence coupled with teenage boy hormones could be super toxic to us all..

You're right - the word "new" is not at all accurate.

This is really just the same old idea about women - that we just want to be bimbos wanted by dorks like the creator of this website.

I believe it very well could be Joe Francis' European cousin who developed this. You are correct. What an evil Bastard!! Just when I was having to start worrying about MySpace here comes this crap for me to keep away from my daughters. Thanks for the info Tracee!

I already told you how I felt about this in an email. To sum up: Ick.

This does make me ill. Why is this fun?

Off topic, Tracee, but is Tracee Sioux your real name? Or did you choose it? If so, how?

B/c my fist and middle name is Kacie Sioux, really, and I have never met anyone else with "Sioux" as their name ('cept Siouxsie Sioux, I suppose)let alone somone whose name who rhymed with mine!!

Kacie - I've never met anyone else either. My naming is only slightly more complicated than yours. I wrote al about it here: http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/08/name-identity.html

Thanks for coming by -come again.

I keep thinking that myself "why is this fun?" Do we believe them when they tell us that "being their bimbo is fun?" The Girls Next Door make it look pretty fun. As do Paris and the others.

Our girls believe it will be as fun as it looks. We need to tell them the truth. No one takes a bimbo seriously. It's pretty fun to be taken seriously.

Tracee,

Ditto what you said on this:

We have consumer power.
We have voting power.
We have Love.

I'm glad the media attention is messing up their bimbo website!!!

Jeanne

Tracee, did you see the article on "MissBimbo" on Headline News' Showbiz Tonight Sunday night? They interviewed the "creator". He looked like a 20-something geek, and wouldn't comment that Paris Hilton was the inspiration for the "model" Bimbo on the game. Like he had to reply..... uggghh

I think that is low. The boy who created miss bimbo is just good at marketing. I bet you hate Myspace too. (Don't try to say that Myspace and MissBimbo are completely different when Myspace exposed your children to way more than Missbimbo) And that is really sick that pedophilia is your first conclusion. You all must be mothers of some kind when I am barely out of my teens, but I guess I can speak for the kids who don't. (Most importantly, all anyone is doing is telling those creators of missbimbo, "You're disgusting," "You're an idiot," "You're a geek," When perhaps they are influenced by the same things your children are influenced by. What everyone is disregarding is that those boys have some talent, and with encouragement, maybe they will use their talent for something better. Instead of playing their enemy, you all should be playing their mother!!!

"good at marketing" there's the excuse for tricking 9 year olds into believing they should be bimbos. I don't think it is "good marketing" as much as exploitation of children frankly. This man is an adult and should be held accountable.

Because you can doesn't mean you can without criticism.

FYI - I am 30 and I play both MissBimbo and MaBimbo (the French version). It's mindless fun for grownups. Parents should be supervising their children on the internet and then they won't be on sites like this. I know I supervise my child. As a parent, I am more worried about sites like myspace and juicycampus and facebook.

I don't know what a 30 year old woman is getting from playing Miss Bimbo.

But, this game is not called Mrs. Bimbo or Ms. Bimbo, implying an adult - it's called Miss Bimbo and is being marketed to and played by 9 year old little girls.

I expect manufacturers of games, toys, websites and computer programs to do everything they can to protect everyone's kids.

This includes age requirements for use, requiring credit card information that small children generally have no access to to, etc.

If they do not I'm going to react with consumer outrage and parental education via articles like this - it's one of the tools I use to protect my kids and yours too.

It's a legitimate tool.

How do you know its for 9 year old little girls? Did the creator say that or did you say that? Maybe it was intended for teenagers or young adults. Young adult want to be thin, they want to get breast implants... BTW if YOUR kid wants breast implants and diet pills, than you have alot more to worry about than some online game. Lot's of teenagers are into dolls and cartoon characters from Disney. It's a major fad in America.
I had said this before I heard about miss Bimbo but we were discussing MMORPGs, (Massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) We were discussing how the games that take place in modern time are very limited as far as what the player can do. (Walk, talk. walk, talk) Someone shouted the idea of being able to own and perform in a strip club. We all agree (whether you do or not) It would sell more than most other games because of the freedom it allows. My point being, that's what the creator was doing, allowing more freedom. He's not the first one to think it, he's just the first to make it.
(PS. Your younger generation is probably under the influence that "Bimbo" Is a stupid person, not a sex object)

"Allowing more freedom."

Freedom for whom?

Young girls are told they are judged by their breast size, beauty ideal, weight, etc. They then cut on themselves, reconstruct their bodies, and pop pills to meet this notion of the beauty ideal.

If this is your idea of freedom it's a very narrow one.

True freedom would be the freedom to look how you look via biology. True freedom is being allowed to eat food without being judged, true freedom is understanding marketing and being able to resist it.

Your friend, the maker of Miss Bimbo, has no creative or worthy ambition - his ambition was to make money via manipulative and fraudulent means. I don't have any obligation to be in favor of filling his pocketbook. His freedoms to not supersede my own or my kids.

This isn't about creative play by adults. If it were, it would be restricted from children. An age would be required. Credit Card information would be required to play. Children don't have credit cards.

Instead the maker of this game opted to use a manipulative text messaging pay method - one that the naive and immature will use. Do children even understand their choice to text message?

It's the same as those 1-800 to Santa of the '80s. After a bunch of kids called it and their phone bills charged their parents hundreds of dollars the phone lines were outlawed.

Here's the thing - you can have all the freedoms and rights you want - but they can't infringe on mine or my kids'. If they do, expect a protest.

P.S. everyone knows that a Bimbo does carry sexual connotation - even my 6 year old daughter.

I seriously doubt that EVERY kid knows the slang meaning of Bimbo. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bimbo. The first definition is a stupid person.
I was saying that the less censorship on a game the more people are willing to play it. That has nothing to do with, "True freedom."
I don't know the creator of MissBimbo, but who are you to judge him? Do you know him? Do your friends? No, you don't. All you know is that he created a game that was granted instant popularity. For all you know, it was meant for his peers. It was meant for his friends to laugh and giggle at society’s faults, at society’s shallow perceptions. And it's not like he lured them in by calling it, "Come play with Smiley Sally," No, he called it MissBimbo, a word that would grab the attention of parents so they would take a second look before allowing their children to play. If you neglected to watch your children's movements on the web, then that is YOUR fault, not his. So I have a solution for all of you mothers who don’t want their children to play MissBimbo… Block it.

Didn't he judge girls' first?

With the diet pills and the plastic surgery - as in women/girls/Bimbos aren't "the best Bimbo" the way they biologically are.

Don't tell me I don't have a right to judge based on a game that is ALL about judgment in it's directive to compete to be the best bimbo.

If this guy has creative talent - which you seem to admire - I am sure he can find better uses for it. Make a game that doesn't sexualize and minimize girls and women.

To your "watch your kids" comments - I do my damndest to watch my kids. It would be a hell of a lot easier if so many people like the creator of this Miss Bimbo would mind their manners and stop putting smut out there and marketing it to kids. Put some protection on your site if you want it to be for adults.

Many, many filtering systems require that you KNOW about the danger first. You have to enter a key word or rating or code. To stop advertising porn on this site through Google I have to enter a specific URL or code or name of the site I want to block - how likely is it that I know the URL, name, code, etc of every pornographer or pervert who associates the word "girl" with "for sale?"

For instance I never have to use my password on the TV for reality television on the E Channel. To create a "block" they have to submit a rating - they left it "unrated" to allow children to watch.

I'm unwilling to accept that Marketers do not have to accept some responsibility to not be disgusting.

Didn't you get my last post? WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS TRUE INTENTIONS WERE. To me, as a teenager, it’s funny. It's a big joke. I don't think kids were supposed to find it. So he probably wasn't judging anyone. And I really must have hit a nerve; did your children find the website? Did you? Or did you get second hand resources from the gossip girl club?
I don't agree what message COULD and WAS interpreted, especially in the UK, (It's not too popular in the USA, We tend to stick to MySpace) But I am not defending the game, I'm defending the boy who made the game. (And by the way, I'm a chick so I am just as offended by Bimbo, as you are. And I would be just as angry if my children came to me asking me about breast implants and other questions that involve cutting up the body for self improvement (physical appearance). It is clear that the game is not suitable for little girls and little boys for that matter. But I have to say, you would be a little naive to think that the creator didn't have these thoughts in mind as well. I don't want to speak as a woman; I'm speaking as a person about his age. I can see him and a bunch of his computer friends sitting around the computer saying, "Add this, make her breasts bigger, give them the option of giving her diet pill." I can see all of his friends going to the extremes of our society’s flaws. I am convinced that it was for his friends and peers and other teenager, not kids, that's sick. And if all that I claim is true, than at least you know that he has an awareness of these flaws in our society and he makes fun of them too.
By the way, they do have computer games that run about $100.00 and more for you to take a picture of yourself, put it on a naked body and change the appearance of yourself by making yourself thinner, and bigger breasted, and change your nose. (I have a face program that does that) These are all indications of cosmetic surgery, that’s the game I would fear most for your children, all of your children. And the scariest part, is that the person you are changing, is yourself, not a bimbo, you.
(PS. I do believe the creator said something about making the bimbos a lot like Paris Hilton. I’m not sure about people in the UK but in the USA, We think Paris Hilton is a joke.)

I don't CARE what his intentions are.

I care what the effects of his actions are. The effects of his actions are BAD FOR GIRLS.

I know people are angry about the game and the effects, but telling this guy that he's a pervert and he's the enemy is wrong. Period! You want someone to blame for women's insecurities and hanging this boy is not the proper way to hide your kids from inevitable information. It's definitely the way to tell them that if they do something wrong, they'll be hung too. Imagine your son, (if you have one) explaining to you why he made MissBimbo. Imagine you calmly explaining how that might effect many families, not in a good way.

The game is wrong, and you don't care that maybe the creator's intentions are not what they appear to be. And that's normal, and no mother is a bad mother for using force (not literally) to banned the easy access to an ill percieved website,
But he's human. So kill the site not the creator!!!

Wake up - this guy had a giggle and a wack off at your expense.

Why do you think men want girls to get boob jobs and take diet pills and wear revealing clothes? What motive could a grown man have in wanting little girls to play his game where he makes them compete in this way?

All the reasons I can think of involve his need to get laid and his wallet.

It's "wrong" for me to understand that? To question his motives?

I'm fine with being "wrong" then. In fact, it's my responsibility as girl advocate and educator about the sexualization of girls to be "wrong" in this way.

BTW he's been interviewed and he was brazenly not understanding how or why his site would be bad for girls. He did not proclaim the "innocent intentions" that you persist in believing in.

All I hear you saying is men want this, and men want to get laid, but it really sounds like you are trying to blame men for your own insecurities. To tell you the truth, it's not fair to him. And from that news report, we really didn't get a lot of information, did we? It really sounds as though you were waiting for someone to slip up, so you can crucify them. You don't care; you just like to hear your own voice. It sounds as though you hold high regard to yourself.

Let's do it your way, Let's ban missbimbo, myspace, block plastic surgeries online, no weight loss pills online, lets censor the ones who speak of it, no IMVU or any chat, lets take out all groups that don't have to do with home gardening or new and improved low calorie dinners in 30 seconds, Ugh. We can’t have Pornography, oooh, block all sites with models (Armani, Vercace), (they are all a bad influence) No books, no music, no lyrics, no poems, not even sex education, no youtube or Instant messanger... You know, let’s shut down all computers. Oh no, oh wait, those kids, they are all in danger of being exposed to all these things in libraries, from friends. I know lets shut down libraries, home school our kids and lock them in the basement. (Censorship causes blindness, so while you kids lay dumb in a closet, shut out the lights.)

offtopic
Now, instead of focusing all you attention to MissBimbo, why don’t you stop websites that advocate racism. Why don’t you stop Humantrafficking? What about THOSE little girls? What about those pornography websites that advocate sex with a minor? What about them? You speak for them. When they ask me why, what do you say? No when a middle class child comes to me and asks, “Have you played missbimbo,” I’ll say, no, but you sure are lucky.”

Thank you so much for being an advocate... I can see where you stopped the "real" badguys.

Now... Don't you feel compfy in your texas house, sitting in that chair behind you computer? Safe... cause the real victims sure don't!

"Real bad guys" convince girls that they are their boobs, that they don't measure up without diet pills, that their ambition should equate to being "the best Miss Bimbo."

I also write about Human Trafficking and Racism and exploitive violent pornography. This is but one of my articles.

What are YOU doing to make the world a better place? To raise awareness on sexualization of girls, to improve the self esteem of girls and women, to encourage girls to believe the are worth more than being some dude's Bimbo?

Trying to convince me it's hard to be a pimp?

I bet you do, I bet you do all you can do to feel liberated, to hear you opinions repeated back to you. What did I do? I lived there, I am very aware of the stuff you try to censor people. More so than you!!!

What I wish for you - and for all teenage girls - is for you to understand that you do not have to be minimized and devalued and sexualized to have worth as a person or as a female.

When I was a teenager - looking back - I am astounded at the sexism, the blatant devaluing and the put downs, inappropriate touching, minimizing, etc that I accepted from the boys and men my age.

I didn't know I had another choice. I thought by laughing at their jokes, accepting their games, or telling myself "they don't mean it" that I would gain their approval and acceptance and love.

I can't even believe what I used to put up.

I hope you know that you don't need to participate in the sexualization and minimization of yourself.

I hope you know that you have value beyond being someone's Bimbo.

I understand that completely, I'm a lesbian!!! But you have to understand that the creator had a choice to create the website, he did. That is his right. 1st ammendment. Now, it's up to those kids, it's there choice to view that website. Harrassing the developer is sending the wrong message no matter how wrong you feel he is. And I shouldn't say that I am defending the developer,I'm defending his right to create, and run his site in the USA.
If someone were to take down MissBimbo, someonelse could take down your editorial pieces due to the "disturbing" content. I know what your thinking, "But my editorials are not disturbing," That kid thinks the same thing you do.

I have now visited your site and have sampled your article on hatred toward women. Randulph Hearst would be proud of you.

His 1st Amendment right to put the site up, in no way negates my 1st Amendment right to criticize it.

I have serious questions about whether the 1st amendment applies to marketing inappropriate to children. I want to see some boundaries and some ethics.

Social and public criticism is a perfectly legal and valid way to put pressure on free market companies that act in a negative way towards women and children.

Perhaps you're confused. You do understand my website has no power to make laws?

This website:

A) Educates parents about gender bias. (Miss Bimbo)
B) Educates parents about clear and present dangers to the well being and self image of their daughters. (Miss Bimbo)
C) Gives parents action steps to stop direct inappropriate marketing with discriminatory and negative messages to children, especially girls. (Miss Bimbo)

I've in no way harassed or violated Mr. Bimbo's rights by doing any of these things.

It's interesting that you think a fully grown man needs a teenage girl to defend his rights. He doesn't appear to be equally invested in your best interests.

He is twenty three, that is not a full grown man and I'm not fightng just for him, I am going to generalize the situation. If, tomorow, a series of websites sprung on the internet, (IE. "How to be anorexic and hide it from your mother," "How to be a stripper and show your friends at school," There is nothing you could do. Because it is the creators right to put up these websites and blogs. You can whine, kick, and scream all you want but if you tried to shut them down, they would surely shut you down. If the English boy was in America, he wouldn't have to modify his creation, but you know, he probably would because he saw how much it upset the mothers and he didn't mean for that to happen. Check it out, he even wrote an apology letter and everything. And you call him a pervert.
By the way, I googled your name, I couldn't come across a link without you talking about yourself.

Thanks for taking time to consider my position on Miss Bimbo.

Have a nice day.

I am a 13 year old girl.

I heard about missbimbo from the news - and my dad was absolutely fine with it when I asked him if I could play it. Is my dad a bad parent? No, on the contrary. My mum was fine with it too, before you get any more sexist ideas.

I play missbimbo for entertainment. I like to think I am cleverer than you seem to believe the whole world's population of kids are.

I am old enough to see the irony in the game, and if other children are not, then it is purely up to their parents or guardians to keep them safe and moniter their internet use.

I am a down to earth girl. I have introduced the game to many of my friends, who see it with the ridicule I do.

But unfortunately, the girls I recommended the game to have, well, become anorexic, and they um... well, they got a disastrous boob job.. they've turned into absolute tarts, they are utterly shallow, their schoolwork has taken a massive dip, they regularly pop diet pills, they go out to clubs and kiss numerous guys one after the other..... yeah, the game has seriously messed them up.

Not.

"Parents uniting and getting something done about it?"
No thankyou! Do you mind? This is my entertainment you're trying to get rid of. Compared to some of the really sick sites that may be out there, this is nothing. If you have such a problem with it, then simply don't let your kids play it. Let people do what they want to do. Let parents decide if they want their child playing it. If they don't, then the solution is extremely simple. Don't let their child play it.
It's not up to you, or any other of these crazed parents.

Maybe it was naive of the guy to create something that would obviously make such an uproar. But he's about 23, and he's doing what all businessmen do: making a successful business. In fact, I credit him. I know a fair bit about web design, and what he's created is quite commendable.

The fact that the game is called "miss bimbo" does not imply that it is aimed at young girls. I do not know where you have got your logic from. Do you think the game would have the same sugary pink image if it was called "Mrs Bimbo?" I don't think so. I mean, Mrs Bimbo just really doesn't fit.

So, I'm glad for you that you have managed to find something to get unnecessarily worked up about. I hope you have fun while it lasts.
But if you really want to protect young girls, then don't waste your time with this.

"Men want women to get breast implants, pop diet pills, get face lifts..."
No, you're wrong: WOMEN want women to get breast implants, WOMEN want women to pop diet pills and get face lifts. When was the last time you picked up a Vogue magazine?

These days, women are far more sexist than men.

Fay.

I realize Miss Bimbo is just one part of the Onslaught of minimization and sexualization of girls.

Please watch the short video at this link. It eloquently describes the onslaught of images and messages we're subjected to http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/10/onslaught.html

And Fay, it's very perceptive of you to realize that girls and women are the biggest participants in their own self-sexualization.

It doesn't make you parents bad at all. and Fay, you are absolutely right. Women want those thing, way more than men and I'm really glad that you see it that way. By the way, Do you live in America or the UK. I want to know if you know what Bimbo means and where you are at might influence the definition taught to you. (Like I am in Oregon, I was taught that "Bimbo" Was a stupid person, and that's it. What do you think?

A lot of you are acting like frenzied sheep, chasing after Frankenstein's monster with torches and pitchforks in hand. Get real people...Miss Bimbo is a silly, FREE, tongue-in-cheek game that takes itself a lot less seriously than any of you are. You're giving the game and it's creators FAR too much credit.

Don't even get me started on the misinformation in this thread.

First off, the game doesn't target young girls...or boys. It doesn't target ANY particular group. Are you all seeing the Saturday morning television commercials or cereal box ads for Miss Bimbo that the rest of us are missing? Are there rotating ad banners for the game on the Disney, Nintendo or Nickelodeon websites or something?

Have ANY of you haters even played the game, or bothered to investigate it beyond what you've read in Miss Bimbo hate blogs like this one? Contrary to what's been suggested, you absolutely DON'T have to pay anything to play the game. You don't need to pay money at any point if you don't want to. You can get several jobs (and boyfriends) in the game to supply you with virtual cash to spend as you see fit. And even if you did have to pay to play (which again, you absolutely don't), instead of blaming the game for kids spending their parents money, why aren't you parents you know...PARENTING, instead?! Everyone wants a scapegoat now-a-days. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions or lack there of.

Parental discretion should be exercised for ANY media. Books, films, games, music, etc.. If you feel that the game is a bad influence, explain this to your child and take measures to control the content your child is exposed to without going after the the things that aren't even meant for them in the first place. Do you folks get up in arms about every CD, website and comic book that you dislike? Do you work yourself into a frenzy about every action movie Hollywood puts out? Do you freak out if your kids read books filled with graphic tales of misogamy, polygamy, infanticide, genocide and murder; like, you know...THE BIBLE. :-/

Do you blindly attack other media just based on someone's word, and nothing more? It's ironic how people can be so shallow and two dimensional when criticizing things like this silly game for being exactly that. Shallow.

I shudder to think of the inevitable 'Grand Theft Auto IV' hate blogs that will be congesting the net in the ensuing weeks.

With all do respect, get over yourselves. Unclinch people, and apply your attention to 'REAL' problems. Like complaining parents who are too lazy to stop their children from playing games with mature themes.

unaeducated wisemann, I live in England, and I was taught that "bimbo" meant a blonde, shallow woman, normally obsessed with her appearance and boyfriends, etc. so really the meanings we were taught are quite similar.
I think it has other meanings aswell though, some of which are quite degrading and rude.
Tracee, I watched the video you suggested, and I totally agree: girls are surrounded by pressures to conform to the "thin and beautiful" kind of idea, and the pressures come from women alone.
I just think that the missbimbo came is a really mild form of this; whereas the messages put out by the magazines, models, and fashion & beauty companies are where the real problems lie.

Fay

It's interesting to me that it's completely okay with you for a man to call women and girls a "Bimbo" which is basically calling women "stupid, promiscuous, image-obsessed, shallow, sex object" - whatever your definition it's not a positive one.

But, you're offended when I call the guy doing the name-calling a pervert trying to get rich by exploiting sexuality of women and girls.

It's interesting to me which one seems harmless and "no big deal" to you and which one seems offensive.

You keep saying that those are his intentions but I don't think they are... It's disgusting how easily you can come to that conclusion. Deja Vu!!! But I completely accept that no one can change your point of view...

We obviously view the world in different ways.
You see it as MALES and FEMALES.
I don't see it that way, the fact that there are two different genders doesn't control the way I think.

You seem to think I am offended when you call the guy a pervert: let me make it clear that I am not offended by anything here - I'm just trying to tell you my opinions.

It's interesting to me that you have accused me of being on the male side in some sort of way.
Did you know that the first usage for the English word bimbo was to imply a stupid man?
I never saw them getting worked up about that.
Fay

If it's not a gender issue Fay then where is Mr. Bimbo with his need to take Viagra and and his need for a penis implants?

You'll notice boys have better things to do than participate in your glorified paper dolls game.

There's not even an equivalent word for a male Bimbo.

Addressing a few of the gender points raised:

For the record, lots of guys play the game too. I'm a guy and I play the game. You can see whether a player is registered as male or female (and how old they are). Roughly a fifth of the players I've seen are guys, and maybe 40% of them were registered as being under 18. Not surprisingly, the largest group appears to be females between the ages of 16-28, but they're certainly not alone.

The argument that the game and/or term 'Bimbo' is gender based is true, but it's arbitrary. There are a ton of games (thousands in fact) that are centered on male characters and offer a stereotypically masculine, macho experience. Having a stereotypical gender-centric theme doesn't, in itself, make a game good or bad.

Also, speaking on the whole weight issue; the point/focus of the game isn't to be anorexic or anything. Granted, you are given a competitive edge in the game if you maintain your weight, but it's hardly the focus of the game. The whole diet pill (non)issue stirred up a good deal of the controversy, and that was mostly after it was removed. What wasn't addressed is that there's also exercise equipment that can be purchased, gym memberships that can be acquired, and you can control which foods your character eats, all of which affect on your character's weight and happiness.

You can eat things like steak and chips, chocolate, ice cream and cola which will make your girl a lot happier than eating vegetables and water will, but you'll also gain more weight. You can work off the weight by exercising. You could lose it faster still by using diet pills (the same way you could in real life), but it really wasn't a big deal.

What's also worth mentioning is that you're rewarded at the 8th level of the game for gaining enough weight to be a plus size model. The games stated 'target weight' of 127 lbs. (your character is 5'6") is almost generous by todays standards (though that's still pretty tiny to me, as I'm partial to chunkier women).

Let's be honest here; the reason that most of people who take issue with 'Miss Bimbo' are up in arms about this game is because it has a controversial title. I'm sure if some of the people who complained about the game actually played it a few times, and where completely honest with themselves, they'd admit that it's really no more offensive than watching a romantic comedy.

The game has lots of cheek and stereotypical situations and behavior, but it's purely satirical. Your character starts off as what people would typically consider a 'bimbo' -- a girl who's not very bright, that has little going for her besides sex appeal. Ideally you want to change that by making her smarter and more successful. You can raise your Bimbo's I.Q. by solving daily interactive puzzles (like Concentration and Sudoku) and by sending her to the library to study for so many hours a day. The smarter your character becomes, the better the jobs she qualifies for. The better the job she gets, the more money she makes, which you can use to make virtual purchases (clothes, groceries, medicine, a dog or cat, pet supplies, etc.), and to pay rent.

Success (i.e. a good job, a decent boyfriend, a nice home, etc.) improves your character's attitude (that's given a numeric value), which is one of the three factors that determines the outcome of 'challenges' against other players. The others factors are appearance and style.

In the end, it IS a glorified paper doll simulator, but it's a very clever game...albeit extremely an extremely buggy one. It's really not the boogie-man it's being made out to be; it's just a clever and entertaining bit of interactive satire.

I've got nothing against games.

I do think it's interesting that satires about females are perfectly okay in society.

You would not be playing this game if it was designed to "improve upon black people" and it was titled something derogatory like "My N." for instance. because it would be considered offensive and condescending to send your black virtual paper doll off to college or do puzzles to improve their deficient brains. To monitor their food and give them plastic surgery to make better looking "My Ns."

It is equally offensive to do this about the female gender. One is blatantly racist the other is blatantly sexist.

In short, it may be satire but I don't think it's funny.

Secondly, I'm thrilled he took out the diet pills. Take out the plastic surgery - even better.

Thirdly, put some age restriction on it and I don't care what the game content is.

My issue is that it's available for young, impressionable girls who are developing a self - who win points by being thinner and sexier taking diet pills, monitoring their food intake, getting surgery to be more desirable. Being condescended to about their brains.

That's a straw man. Satire about men is perfectly fine as well, and is just as common, and you know it. Watch virtually any film staring Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Rob Schneider, Shawn William Scott and the like, or watch any given episode of 80% of the sitcoms aired since the 90's and you'll see tons of it.

Almost all of them portray heterosexual men as being selfish, tool, women, beer and sports obsessed pigs; and where is the outcry? Men being stereotyped isn't titillating enough, so it's not splashed across the MSN's homepage when 'Home Improvements' or 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' chases SpongeBob Squarepants on Nick at Nite when young impressionable boys are still up.

Let's give humans a little more credit here. It seems your argument is that girls aren't able to make informed intelligent decisions about what's important and appropriate because they're impressionable. But then, why is it that a silly game (riddled with bold red printed warnings and advice about reality being different from the game, discouraging actual cosmetic surgery) is more of an influence on the young girl than that girl's parents, teachers, and (for those who are religious) spiritual leader are? You know, the ones who actually raise her, and teach her right from wrong.

I asked about other media before, but I didn't get much of a response. Are you all just as hard on books, magazines, romantic comedies and sitcoms?

First the game was attacked with misinformation, then the game's creator was attacked for being an evil, misogynistic pig, and now it's a question of young children having access to (at worst) PG rated material?

We've even advanced to comparing Miss Bimbo to a game about blacks. You've even gone so far as to give me my opinion on said game. For the record, I am black, and I wouldn't take offense to such a game. Moreover, if it were anything like Miss Bimbo, I'm sure I'd play it. The same way that millions of people play 'Grand Theft Auto' franchise, and those games aren't even free. I personally don't care for the GTA series at all, but I don't complain about how it's somehow diminishing children's capacity to make the right decisions in life, or about how they view themselves.

You're "thrilled" that the diet pills have been taken out of the game, that's fine. Not surprisingly, you want the cosmetic surgery to be removed as well. What's your issue with it exactly? And do you also want celebrities who've had cosmetic surgery banned from media that children can be exposed to as well? Can you name more than a handful of adult celebrities who haven't had some form of cosmetic work done? Again, Miss Bimbo isn't Pornography, or Devil worship...it's satire. It's a clever slice of tongue and cheek social commentary. It's not marketed to children, as previously (wrongly) suggested, and it's not meant to raise, rear, educate, nurture or otherwise mold your child. Neither is 'The Drew Carey show', 'The 40 Year Old Virgin', or 'Wonder Woman' comics...that's what PARENTS are for.

I'm assuming you're a woman -- if you don't mind me asking, what was it like growing up for you with regards to sexually charged media? Do you feel it damaged you, or did you think any less of yourself because of the images of women on bill boards and on MTV? I'm not asking to be a jerk, I'm honestly wondering if your arguments are indicative of something you've experienced personally. Your concerns (while valid) seem a little extreme to me.

About the idea of an My N game - I don't believe you. I think it would piss you off, at least piss off most of your contemporaries.

This is but one of the articles I write against sexism and objectification of girls and women.

To your argument that it's parents' responsibility to influence girls
1- I am doing that by educating parents that Miss Bimbo sucks for girls via this blog.
2- I would never let my kid play that game.
3- Don't you really just love this argument so you can be as disgusting as possible without any personal responsibility?
4- I don't believe corporations have a free reign - there are responsible ethics of the marketplace and I expect more from the marketplace in the hopes that I will get more.

To your argument that sexism goes both ways I would say - then turnabout it fair play. This blog criticized what I think is wrong and by calling the creator "a pervert looking to get rich off girls' sexuality" is perfectly okay by your own logic - it's just turn about. Call me a bimbo I get to call you a perv. Fair.

Also I wrote ONE article about this. I don't consider that extreme or going overboard as you suggest.

Yes, I think it is unfair to expect girls who are in their childhoods or teens to exhibit an adult maturity when playing games like this.

Lastly, YES, as a woman I feel minimized and sexualized and objectified by the media all the time. And THIS is what I choose to do about it.

I don't know where Mr Bimbo is, all I know is that it probably wouldn't be a very interesting or popular game.

I'm not able to explain things as well as "an informed reasonable adult", so I'll simply let him do it.

I'll just say one thing: I play missbimbo for fun.
What is the point of life except to have fun?

Nice talking to you,
Fay

Well, when you're 13 fun should be your purpose Fay.

As a parent and a more mature woman, I wish your fun weren't tainted with boob jobs and diet pills and a quest to be the best "Bimbo."

Tracee, you really hold high regard to yourself. YOU ARE NOT RIGHT! Everything you say is your opinion and Fay can fend for herself, she doesn't need YOUR tainted outlook!!!

This is my opinion and I have a right to state it on MY blog. You came looking for me, not visa versa.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comments and your view.

Good, at least you understand that your word is just your opinion.

I would think you would like my opinion of you over the creators' of Miss Bimbo, uneducated.

I think you're a precocious and intellegent young woman worthy of respect. He thinks your essentially a stupid slut preoccupied with your looks.

Interesting which opinion you respect and prefer.

How many times do we have to go over this? We don't know him!!! We don't know what his intentions are. I guess it really depends on your age.

Maybe it is an age thing.

As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like Bimbo it applies to ALL women, including myself and my daughter.

When you hear it you seem to believe "doesn't apply me."

Once again, since you seem to need me to repeat myself, I don't care for the word nor do I think the game is a good idea, but you are way overreacting as far as when you criticize the boy. I think you just want to feel self righteous but your bra burning days ended in the 70s.

You've basically resorted to calling me a liar. That's not cool. :O|

I suppose you know better than I do what I find offensive. I don't know how the rest of us have managed all this time without being told what we should think about ourselves. I'll tell you what I do find pretty offensive; people assuming they know what I think and feel based solely of the colour of my skin. Especially in an intelligent exchange. And as far as my contemporaries go, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but in the real world, not all blacks (or women, or men, or children) have the same opinions on everything. Moreover, have you ever listened any Hip Hop? Watched or read comic strip/television show 'The Boondocks'? What about Def Comedy Jam? Do yo have ANY ideas how many N-bombs are dropped on any given episode?

Hey, I respect your right to believe what you want, and even to mount a high horse to tell me how I actually feel about things. If you want to believe that I would take offense at a (clever and entertaining) game about black guys that happens to have 'the N word' in the title, fine. If you want to believe that parents aren't capable of making informed decisions about media that you dislike, that's also fine. And if you want to believe that children don't know the difference between a video game and reality, I won't challenge your perception there either. Just know that you thinking this stuff doesn't actually make it real.

I won't pretend to know anything about you besides what I've read in this blog. You should probably extend me the same courtesy though. Neither of us know the person(s) who made this game, either. But those of us who actually play it, know a lot about it than those of us who don't. I'm not saying that you, or anyone else should waste your time playing it, since it's obviously (and understandably) not your cup of tea, but you really should keep it real, and be open to the reality that you don't know much about the game, it's players, or it's designers, besides the fact that it's got a controversial title and some admittedly low brow humor. And as far as this comment:

"As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like Bimbo it applies to ALL women, including myself and my daughter."

Hey, I can do that too! Watch:

As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like jerk/sexist/pervert it applies to ALL men, including myself and my son/father/brother, etc..

It's right there in text on the Internet, so it most be true, right? Again, that's totally a straw man, that I don't think anyone here is buying it. You seem like an intelligent person, and I'm sure you have enough real concerns and issues with the game -- you don't need to resort to that sort of argument.

Let's keep it civil.

If the shoe fits. . .

23 year olds are not "boys."

We're talking about a full-grown man - both under the law and in the eyes of society - who is bright enough to create a business. I think he can take the heat.

I wasn't even wearing a bra in the 1970s. Much to my mother's disdain I didn't start wearing a bra until the mid-90s.

Being 23 soes not make you full grown, 23 makes you responsible for your actions and in some states being 12 you are responsible for your actions. Does not mean that he understood the direct harm the game sent out, doesn't mean that he understood how it may effact other people. I bet he thought it was just a stupid funny game that poked fun at people's shallow perceptions. MY GOODNESS, I feel like a broken record. By the Way, The bra burning thing wasn't literal, you don't actually have to be in the 70s to burn your bra, you don't technically have to burn your bra to burn your bra... All you have to be is a, i don't know, a reporter from texas who shows extreme cases and acts as if it's the norm and then crucify people for misuderstandings!!!!

One blog post educating parents about this game does not a crucification make.

If it were a simple misunderstanding he would change the game to be unoffensive.

I appreciate that he took off the diet pills. I'd appreciate it more if he took off the plastic surgery. I'd appreciate it even more than that if he required an age limit of say 16-18 to prevent impressionable 9 year olds from playing the game if he's going to leave that stuff on.

Here's the thing, we don't want diet pills and plastic surgery to be "normalized" for our young daughters.

I know it must seem insane to you - but, we'd like for them to love and accept themselves as they are without resorting to Dr. Frankenstein measures.

Anything that interferes with that - and I agree Miss Bimbo is just one small part of a huge cultural problem - is a bad influence.

This blog educates and informs parents. It's a valid and important thing to do. Without education and information parents aren't even aware the game exists and can't protect their kids from it's influence.

I think it's a bit off that you are wanting to set a good example for your kids yet everyone here is commenting that the creators are geeks he might be a bit of an ass but your setting a bad example for your children yourself by calling website creators geeks because they hae a job that requires some level of intelect.

Lots of evil or bad things require a degree of intellect.

It's a question of how we choose to use our intellect don't you think - whether for progress and goodness, or for bad: minimization and objectification of human beings.

Reading these comments, i think it is quite stereotypical of you to think that just because it was a twenty-something man that made the website, that it is for a sick reason.personally i think there is nothing wrong with the site.it does warn that it is only a Game on the page with plastic surgery and that if you are considering it, to talk to your parents!!also, the site is not really encouraging girls to be "bimbos", it is encouraging them to be responsible.for example, you have to get an apartment and go on a training course to get a job!i think all you are doing is being biased and not reviewing both sides of the story.

Tracee, I think the smoke pouring from your ears is clouding up my office..

;)

Could you post the shot of your head exploding??

I'm just kidding - it is sick and infuriating and it's so awesome that these parents are uniting and getting something done about it. I'm curious, did this kid make the game with little girls in mind? Or adults? I guess I"m wondering if it was his sick idea to market it to girls, or an investor or something..

Ashley

I think it was his sick idea.

I think we're seeing a new bread of bastard.

They don't understand why it's offensive to encourage girls to be bimbos because they believe they "love" bimbos - after all they do like to date them.

breed

I think the new breed of bastard was spawned from the the producers of 'girls gone wild' and rap videos..I can totally see how that influence coupled with teenage boy hormones could be super toxic to us all..

You're right - the word "new" is not at all accurate.

This is really just the same old idea about women - that we just want to be bimbos wanted by dorks like the creator of this website.

I believe it very well could be Joe Francis' European cousin who developed this. You are correct. What an evil Bastard!! Just when I was having to start worrying about MySpace here comes this crap for me to keep away from my daughters. Thanks for the info Tracee!

I already told you how I felt about this in an email. To sum up: Ick.

This does make me ill. Why is this fun?

Off topic, Tracee, but is Tracee Sioux your real name? Or did you choose it? If so, how?

B/c my fist and middle name is Kacie Sioux, really, and I have never met anyone else with "Sioux" as their name ('cept Siouxsie Sioux, I suppose)let alone somone whose name who rhymed with mine!!

Kacie - I've never met anyone else either. My naming is only slightly more complicated than yours. I wrote al about it here: http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/08/name-identity.html

Thanks for coming by -come again.

I keep thinking that myself "why is this fun?" Do we believe them when they tell us that "being their bimbo is fun?" The Girls Next Door make it look pretty fun. As do Paris and the others.

Our girls believe it will be as fun as it looks. We need to tell them the truth. No one takes a bimbo seriously. It's pretty fun to be taken seriously.

Tracee,

Ditto what you said on this:

We have consumer power.
We have voting power.
We have Love.

I'm glad the media attention is messing up their bimbo website!!!

Jeanne

Tracee, did you see the article on "MissBimbo" on Headline News' Showbiz Tonight Sunday night? They interviewed the "creator". He looked like a 20-something geek, and wouldn't comment that Paris Hilton was the inspiration for the "model" Bimbo on the game. Like he had to reply..... uggghh

I think that is low. The boy who created miss bimbo is just good at marketing. I bet you hate Myspace too. (Don't try to say that Myspace and MissBimbo are completely different when Myspace exposed your children to way more than Missbimbo) And that is really sick that pedophilia is your first conclusion. You all must be mothers of some kind when I am barely out of my teens, but I guess I can speak for the kids who don't. (Most importantly, all anyone is doing is telling those creators of missbimbo, "You're disgusting," "You're an idiot," "You're a geek," When perhaps they are influenced by the same things your children are influenced by. What everyone is disregarding is that those boys have some talent, and with encouragement, maybe they will use their talent for something better. Instead of playing their enemy, you all should be playing their mother!!!

"good at marketing" there's the excuse for tricking 9 year olds into believing they should be bimbos. I don't think it is "good marketing" as much as exploitation of children frankly. This man is an adult and should be held accountable.

Because you can doesn't mean you can without criticism.

FYI - I am 30 and I play both MissBimbo and MaBimbo (the French version). It's mindless fun for grownups. Parents should be supervising their children on the internet and then they won't be on sites like this. I know I supervise my child. As a parent, I am more worried about sites like myspace and juicycampus and facebook.

I don't know what a 30 year old woman is getting from playing Miss Bimbo.

But, this game is not called Mrs. Bimbo or Ms. Bimbo, implying an adult - it's called Miss Bimbo and is being marketed to and played by 9 year old little girls.

I expect manufacturers of games, toys, websites and computer programs to do everything they can to protect everyone's kids.

This includes age requirements for use, requiring credit card information that small children generally have no access to to, etc.

If they do not I'm going to react with consumer outrage and parental education via articles like this - it's one of the tools I use to protect my kids and yours too.

It's a legitimate tool.

How do you know its for 9 year old little girls? Did the creator say that or did you say that? Maybe it was intended for teenagers or young adults. Young adult want to be thin, they want to get breast implants... BTW if YOUR kid wants breast implants and diet pills, than you have alot more to worry about than some online game. Lot's of teenagers are into dolls and cartoon characters from Disney. It's a major fad in America.
I had said this before I heard about miss Bimbo but we were discussing MMORPGs, (Massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) We were discussing how the games that take place in modern time are very limited as far as what the player can do. (Walk, talk. walk, talk) Someone shouted the idea of being able to own and perform in a strip club. We all agree (whether you do or not) It would sell more than most other games because of the freedom it allows. My point being, that's what the creator was doing, allowing more freedom. He's not the first one to think it, he's just the first to make it.
(PS. Your younger generation is probably under the influence that "Bimbo" Is a stupid person, not a sex object)

"Allowing more freedom."

Freedom for whom?

Young girls are told they are judged by their breast size, beauty ideal, weight, etc. They then cut on themselves, reconstruct their bodies, and pop pills to meet this notion of the beauty ideal.

If this is your idea of freedom it's a very narrow one.

True freedom would be the freedom to look how you look via biology. True freedom is being allowed to eat food without being judged, true freedom is understanding marketing and being able to resist it.

Your friend, the maker of Miss Bimbo, has no creative or worthy ambition - his ambition was to make money via manipulative and fraudulent means. I don't have any obligation to be in favor of filling his pocketbook. His freedoms to not supersede my own or my kids.

This isn't about creative play by adults. If it were, it would be restricted from children. An age would be required. Credit Card information would be required to play. Children don't have credit cards.

Instead the maker of this game opted to use a manipulative text messaging pay method - one that the naive and immature will use. Do children even understand their choice to text message?

It's the same as those 1-800 to Santa of the '80s. After a bunch of kids called it and their phone bills charged their parents hundreds of dollars the phone lines were outlawed.

Here's the thing - you can have all the freedoms and rights you want - but they can't infringe on mine or my kids'. If they do, expect a protest.

P.S. everyone knows that a Bimbo does carry sexual connotation - even my 6 year old daughter.

I seriously doubt that EVERY kid knows the slang meaning of Bimbo. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bimbo. The first definition is a stupid person.
I was saying that the less censorship on a game the more people are willing to play it. That has nothing to do with, "True freedom."
I don't know the creator of MissBimbo, but who are you to judge him? Do you know him? Do your friends? No, you don't. All you know is that he created a game that was granted instant popularity. For all you know, it was meant for his peers. It was meant for his friends to laugh and giggle at society’s faults, at society’s shallow perceptions. And it's not like he lured them in by calling it, "Come play with Smiley Sally," No, he called it MissBimbo, a word that would grab the attention of parents so they would take a second look before allowing their children to play. If you neglected to watch your children's movements on the web, then that is YOUR fault, not his. So I have a solution for all of you mothers who don’t want their children to play MissBimbo… Block it.

Didn't he judge girls' first?

With the diet pills and the plastic surgery - as in women/girls/Bimbos aren't "the best Bimbo" the way they biologically are.

Don't tell me I don't have a right to judge based on a game that is ALL about judgment in it's directive to compete to be the best bimbo.

If this guy has creative talent - which you seem to admire - I am sure he can find better uses for it. Make a game that doesn't sexualize and minimize girls and women.

To your "watch your kids" comments - I do my damndest to watch my kids. It would be a hell of a lot easier if so many people like the creator of this Miss Bimbo would mind their manners and stop putting smut out there and marketing it to kids. Put some protection on your site if you want it to be for adults.

Many, many filtering systems require that you KNOW about the danger first. You have to enter a key word or rating or code. To stop advertising porn on this site through Google I have to enter a specific URL or code or name of the site I want to block - how likely is it that I know the URL, name, code, etc of every pornographer or pervert who associates the word "girl" with "for sale?"

For instance I never have to use my password on the TV for reality television on the E Channel. To create a "block" they have to submit a rating - they left it "unrated" to allow children to watch.

I'm unwilling to accept that Marketers do not have to accept some responsibility to not be disgusting.

Didn't you get my last post? WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS TRUE INTENTIONS WERE. To me, as a teenager, it’s funny. It's a big joke. I don't think kids were supposed to find it. So he probably wasn't judging anyone. And I really must have hit a nerve; did your children find the website? Did you? Or did you get second hand resources from the gossip girl club?
I don't agree what message COULD and WAS interpreted, especially in the UK, (It's not too popular in the USA, We tend to stick to MySpace) But I am not defending the game, I'm defending the boy who made the game. (And by the way, I'm a chick so I am just as offended by Bimbo, as you are. And I would be just as angry if my children came to me asking me about breast implants and other questions that involve cutting up the body for self improvement (physical appearance). It is clear that the game is not suitable for little girls and little boys for that matter. But I have to say, you would be a little naive to think that the creator didn't have these thoughts in mind as well. I don't want to speak as a woman; I'm speaking as a person about his age. I can see him and a bunch of his computer friends sitting around the computer saying, "Add this, make her breasts bigger, give them the option of giving her diet pill." I can see all of his friends going to the extremes of our society’s flaws. I am convinced that it was for his friends and peers and other teenager, not kids, that's sick. And if all that I claim is true, than at least you know that he has an awareness of these flaws in our society and he makes fun of them too.
By the way, they do have computer games that run about $100.00 and more for you to take a picture of yourself, put it on a naked body and change the appearance of yourself by making yourself thinner, and bigger breasted, and change your nose. (I have a face program that does that) These are all indications of cosmetic surgery, that’s the game I would fear most for your children, all of your children. And the scariest part, is that the person you are changing, is yourself, not a bimbo, you.
(PS. I do believe the creator said something about making the bimbos a lot like Paris Hilton. I’m not sure about people in the UK but in the USA, We think Paris Hilton is a joke.)

I don't CARE what his intentions are.

I care what the effects of his actions are. The effects of his actions are BAD FOR GIRLS.

I know people are angry about the game and the effects, but telling this guy that he's a pervert and he's the enemy is wrong. Period! You want someone to blame for women's insecurities and hanging this boy is not the proper way to hide your kids from inevitable information. It's definitely the way to tell them that if they do something wrong, they'll be hung too. Imagine your son, (if you have one) explaining to you why he made MissBimbo. Imagine you calmly explaining how that might effect many families, not in a good way.

The game is wrong, and you don't care that maybe the creator's intentions are not what they appear to be. And that's normal, and no mother is a bad mother for using force (not literally) to banned the easy access to an ill percieved website,
But he's human. So kill the site not the creator!!!

Wake up - this guy had a giggle and a wack off at your expense.

Why do you think men want girls to get boob jobs and take diet pills and wear revealing clothes? What motive could a grown man have in wanting little girls to play his game where he makes them compete in this way?

All the reasons I can think of involve his need to get laid and his wallet.

It's "wrong" for me to understand that? To question his motives?

I'm fine with being "wrong" then. In fact, it's my responsibility as girl advocate and educator about the sexualization of girls to be "wrong" in this way.

BTW he's been interviewed and he was brazenly not understanding how or why his site would be bad for girls. He did not proclaim the "innocent intentions" that you persist in believing in.

All I hear you saying is men want this, and men want to get laid, but it really sounds like you are trying to blame men for your own insecurities. To tell you the truth, it's not fair to him. And from that news report, we really didn't get a lot of information, did we? It really sounds as though you were waiting for someone to slip up, so you can crucify them. You don't care; you just like to hear your own voice. It sounds as though you hold high regard to yourself.

Let's do it your way, Let's ban missbimbo, myspace, block plastic surgeries online, no weight loss pills online, lets censor the ones who speak of it, no IMVU or any chat, lets take out all groups that don't have to do with home gardening or new and improved low calorie dinners in 30 seconds, Ugh. We can’t have Pornography, oooh, block all sites with models (Armani, Vercace), (they are all a bad influence) No books, no music, no lyrics, no poems, not even sex education, no youtube or Instant messanger... You know, let’s shut down all computers. Oh no, oh wait, those kids, they are all in danger of being exposed to all these things in libraries, from friends. I know lets shut down libraries, home school our kids and lock them in the basement. (Censorship causes blindness, so while you kids lay dumb in a closet, shut out the lights.)

offtopic
Now, instead of focusing all you attention to MissBimbo, why don’t you stop websites that advocate racism. Why don’t you stop Humantrafficking? What about THOSE little girls? What about those pornography websites that advocate sex with a minor? What about them? You speak for them. When they ask me why, what do you say? No when a middle class child comes to me and asks, “Have you played missbimbo,” I’ll say, no, but you sure are lucky.”

Thank you so much for being an advocate... I can see where you stopped the "real" badguys.

Now... Don't you feel compfy in your texas house, sitting in that chair behind you computer? Safe... cause the real victims sure don't!

"Real bad guys" convince girls that they are their boobs, that they don't measure up without diet pills, that their ambition should equate to being "the best Miss Bimbo."

I also write about Human Trafficking and Racism and exploitive violent pornography. This is but one of my articles.

What are YOU doing to make the world a better place? To raise awareness on sexualization of girls, to improve the self esteem of girls and women, to encourage girls to believe the are worth more than being some dude's Bimbo?

Trying to convince me it's hard to be a pimp?

I bet you do, I bet you do all you can do to feel liberated, to hear you opinions repeated back to you. What did I do? I lived there, I am very aware of the stuff you try to censor people. More so than you!!!

What I wish for you - and for all teenage girls - is for you to understand that you do not have to be minimized and devalued and sexualized to have worth as a person or as a female.

When I was a teenager - looking back - I am astounded at the sexism, the blatant devaluing and the put downs, inappropriate touching, minimizing, etc that I accepted from the boys and men my age.

I didn't know I had another choice. I thought by laughing at their jokes, accepting their games, or telling myself "they don't mean it" that I would gain their approval and acceptance and love.

I can't even believe what I used to put up.

I hope you know that you don't need to participate in the sexualization and minimization of yourself.

I hope you know that you have value beyond being someone's Bimbo.

I understand that completely, I'm a lesbian!!! But you have to understand that the creator had a choice to create the website, he did. That is his right. 1st ammendment. Now, it's up to those kids, it's there choice to view that website. Harrassing the developer is sending the wrong message no matter how wrong you feel he is. And I shouldn't say that I am defending the developer,I'm defending his right to create, and run his site in the USA.
If someone were to take down MissBimbo, someonelse could take down your editorial pieces due to the "disturbing" content. I know what your thinking, "But my editorials are not disturbing," That kid thinks the same thing you do.

I have now visited your site and have sampled your article on hatred toward women. Randulph Hearst would be proud of you.

His 1st Amendment right to put the site up, in no way negates my 1st Amendment right to criticize it.

I have serious questions about whether the 1st amendment applies to marketing inappropriate to children. I want to see some boundaries and some ethics.

Social and public criticism is a perfectly legal and valid way to put pressure on free market companies that act in a negative way towards women and children.

Perhaps you're confused. You do understand my website has no power to make laws?

This website:

A) Educates parents about gender bias. (Miss Bimbo)
B) Educates parents about clear and present dangers to the well being and self image of their daughters. (Miss Bimbo)
C) Gives parents action steps to stop direct inappropriate marketing with discriminatory and negative messages to children, especially girls. (Miss Bimbo)

I've in no way harassed or violated Mr. Bimbo's rights by doing any of these things.

It's interesting that you think a fully grown man needs a teenage girl to defend his rights. He doesn't appear to be equally invested in your best interests.

He is twenty three, that is not a full grown man and I'm not fightng just for him, I am going to generalize the situation. If, tomorow, a series of websites sprung on the internet, (IE. "How to be anorexic and hide it from your mother," "How to be a stripper and show your friends at school," There is nothing you could do. Because it is the creators right to put up these websites and blogs. You can whine, kick, and scream all you want but if you tried to shut them down, they would surely shut you down. If the English boy was in America, he wouldn't have to modify his creation, but you know, he probably would because he saw how much it upset the mothers and he didn't mean for that to happen. Check it out, he even wrote an apology letter and everything. And you call him a pervert.
By the way, I googled your name, I couldn't come across a link without you talking about yourself.

Thanks for taking time to consider my position on Miss Bimbo.

Have a nice day.

I am a 13 year old girl.

I heard about missbimbo from the news - and my dad was absolutely fine with it when I asked him if I could play it. Is my dad a bad parent? No, on the contrary. My mum was fine with it too, before you get any more sexist ideas.

I play missbimbo for entertainment. I like to think I am cleverer than you seem to believe the whole world's population of kids are.

I am old enough to see the irony in the game, and if other children are not, then it is purely up to their parents or guardians to keep them safe and moniter their internet use.

I am a down to earth girl. I have introduced the game to many of my friends, who see it with the ridicule I do.

But unfortunately, the girls I recommended the game to have, well, become anorexic, and they um... well, they got a disastrous boob job.. they've turned into absolute tarts, they are utterly shallow, their schoolwork has taken a massive dip, they regularly pop diet pills, they go out to clubs and kiss numerous guys one after the other..... yeah, the game has seriously messed them up.

Not.

"Parents uniting and getting something done about it?"
No thankyou! Do you mind? This is my entertainment you're trying to get rid of. Compared to some of the really sick sites that may be out there, this is nothing. If you have such a problem with it, then simply don't let your kids play it. Let people do what they want to do. Let parents decide if they want their child playing it. If they don't, then the solution is extremely simple. Don't let their child play it.
It's not up to you, or any other of these crazed parents.

Maybe it was naive of the guy to create something that would obviously make such an uproar. But he's about 23, and he's doing what all businessmen do: making a successful business. In fact, I credit him. I know a fair bit about web design, and what he's created is quite commendable.

The fact that the game is called "miss bimbo" does not imply that it is aimed at young girls. I do not know where you have got your logic from. Do you think the game would have the same sugary pink image if it was called "Mrs Bimbo?" I don't think so. I mean, Mrs Bimbo just really doesn't fit.

So, I'm glad for you that you have managed to find something to get unnecessarily worked up about. I hope you have fun while it lasts.
But if you really want to protect young girls, then don't waste your time with this.

"Men want women to get breast implants, pop diet pills, get face lifts..."
No, you're wrong: WOMEN want women to get breast implants, WOMEN want women to pop diet pills and get face lifts. When was the last time you picked up a Vogue magazine?

These days, women are far more sexist than men.

Fay.

I realize Miss Bimbo is just one part of the Onslaught of minimization and sexualization of girls.

Please watch the short video at this link. It eloquently describes the onslaught of images and messages we're subjected to http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/10/onslaught.html

And Fay, it's very perceptive of you to realize that girls and women are the biggest participants in their own self-sexualization.

It doesn't make you parents bad at all. and Fay, you are absolutely right. Women want those thing, way more than men and I'm really glad that you see it that way. By the way, Do you live in America or the UK. I want to know if you know what Bimbo means and where you are at might influence the definition taught to you. (Like I am in Oregon, I was taught that "Bimbo" Was a stupid person, and that's it. What do you think?

A lot of you are acting like frenzied sheep, chasing after Frankenstein's monster with torches and pitchforks in hand. Get real people...Miss Bimbo is a silly, FREE, tongue-in-cheek game that takes itself a lot less seriously than any of you are. You're giving the game and it's creators FAR too much credit.

Don't even get me started on the misinformation in this thread.

First off, the game doesn't target young girls...or boys. It doesn't target ANY particular group. Are you all seeing the Saturday morning television commercials or cereal box ads for Miss Bimbo that the rest of us are missing? Are there rotating ad banners for the game on the Disney, Nintendo or Nickelodeon websites or something?

Have ANY of you haters even played the game, or bothered to investigate it beyond what you've read in Miss Bimbo hate blogs like this one? Contrary to what's been suggested, you absolutely DON'T have to pay anything to play the game. You don't need to pay money at any point if you don't want to. You can get several jobs (and boyfriends) in the game to supply you with virtual cash to spend as you see fit. And even if you did have to pay to play (which again, you absolutely don't), instead of blaming the game for kids spending their parents money, why aren't you parents you know...PARENTING, instead?! Everyone wants a scapegoat now-a-days. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions or lack there of.

Parental discretion should be exercised for ANY media. Books, films, games, music, etc.. If you feel that the game is a bad influence, explain this to your child and take measures to control the content your child is exposed to without going after the the things that aren't even meant for them in the first place. Do you folks get up in arms about every CD, website and comic book that you dislike? Do you work yourself into a frenzy about every action movie Hollywood puts out? Do you freak out if your kids read books filled with graphic tales of misogamy, polygamy, infanticide, genocide and murder; like, you know...THE BIBLE. :-/

Do you blindly attack other media just based on someone's word, and nothing more? It's ironic how people can be so shallow and two dimensional when criticizing things like this silly game for being exactly that. Shallow.

I shudder to think of the inevitable 'Grand Theft Auto IV' hate blogs that will be congesting the net in the ensuing weeks.

With all do respect, get over yourselves. Unclinch people, and apply your attention to 'REAL' problems. Like complaining parents who are too lazy to stop their children from playing games with mature themes.

unaeducated wisemann, I live in England, and I was taught that "bimbo" meant a blonde, shallow woman, normally obsessed with her appearance and boyfriends, etc. so really the meanings we were taught are quite similar.
I think it has other meanings aswell though, some of which are quite degrading and rude.
Tracee, I watched the video you suggested, and I totally agree: girls are surrounded by pressures to conform to the "thin and beautiful" kind of idea, and the pressures come from women alone.
I just think that the missbimbo came is a really mild form of this; whereas the messages put out by the magazines, models, and fashion & beauty companies are where the real problems lie.

Fay

It's interesting to me that it's completely okay with you for a man to call women and girls a "Bimbo" which is basically calling women "stupid, promiscuous, image-obsessed, shallow, sex object" - whatever your definition it's not a positive one.

But, you're offended when I call the guy doing the name-calling a pervert trying to get rich by exploiting sexuality of women and girls.

It's interesting to me which one seems harmless and "no big deal" to you and which one seems offensive.

You keep saying that those are his intentions but I don't think they are... It's disgusting how easily you can come to that conclusion. Deja Vu!!! But I completely accept that no one can change your point of view...

We obviously view the world in different ways.
You see it as MALES and FEMALES.
I don't see it that way, the fact that there are two different genders doesn't control the way I think.

You seem to think I am offended when you call the guy a pervert: let me make it clear that I am not offended by anything here - I'm just trying to tell you my opinions.

It's interesting to me that you have accused me of being on the male side in some sort of way.
Did you know that the first usage for the English word bimbo was to imply a stupid man?
I never saw them getting worked up about that.
Fay

If it's not a gender issue Fay then where is Mr. Bimbo with his need to take Viagra and and his need for a penis implants?

You'll notice boys have better things to do than participate in your glorified paper dolls game.

There's not even an equivalent word for a male Bimbo.

Addressing a few of the gender points raised:

For the record, lots of guys play the game too. I'm a guy and I play the game. You can see whether a player is registered as male or female (and how old they are). Roughly a fifth of the players I've seen are guys, and maybe 40% of them were registered as being under 18. Not surprisingly, the largest group appears to be females between the ages of 16-28, but they're certainly not alone.

The argument that the game and/or term 'Bimbo' is gender based is true, but it's arbitrary. There are a ton of games (thousands in fact) that are centered on male characters and offer a stereotypically masculine, macho experience. Having a stereotypical gender-centric theme doesn't, in itself, make a game good or bad.

Also, speaking on the whole weight issue; the point/focus of the game isn't to be anorexic or anything. Granted, you are given a competitive edge in the game if you maintain your weight, but it's hardly the focus of the game. The whole diet pill (non)issue stirred up a good deal of the controversy, and that was mostly after it was removed. What wasn't addressed is that there's also exercise equipment that can be purchased, gym memberships that can be acquired, and you can control which foods your character eats, all of which affect on your character's weight and happiness.

You can eat things like steak and chips, chocolate, ice cream and cola which will make your girl a lot happier than eating vegetables and water will, but you'll also gain more weight. You can work off the weight by exercising. You could lose it faster still by using diet pills (the same way you could in real life), but it really wasn't a big deal.

What's also worth mentioning is that you're rewarded at the 8th level of the game for gaining enough weight to be a plus size model. The games stated 'target weight' of 127 lbs. (your character is 5'6") is almost generous by todays standards (though that's still pretty tiny to me, as I'm partial to chunkier women).

Let's be honest here; the reason that most of people who take issue with 'Miss Bimbo' are up in arms about this game is because it has a controversial title. I'm sure if some of the people who complained about the game actually played it a few times, and where completely honest with themselves, they'd admit that it's really no more offensive than watching a romantic comedy.

The game has lots of cheek and stereotypical situations and behavior, but it's purely satirical. Your character starts off as what people would typically consider a 'bimbo' -- a girl who's not very bright, that has little going for her besides sex appeal. Ideally you want to change that by making her smarter and more successful. You can raise your Bimbo's I.Q. by solving daily interactive puzzles (like Concentration and Sudoku) and by sending her to the library to study for so many hours a day. The smarter your character becomes, the better the jobs she qualifies for. The better the job she gets, the more money she makes, which you can use to make virtual purchases (clothes, groceries, medicine, a dog or cat, pet supplies, etc.), and to pay rent.

Success (i.e. a good job, a decent boyfriend, a nice home, etc.) improves your character's attitude (that's given a numeric value), which is one of the three factors that determines the outcome of 'challenges' against other players. The others factors are appearance and style.

In the end, it IS a glorified paper doll simulator, but it's a very clever game...albeit extremely an extremely buggy one. It's really not the boogie-man it's being made out to be; it's just a clever and entertaining bit of interactive satire.

I've got nothing against games.

I do think it's interesting that satires about females are perfectly okay in society.

You would not be playing this game if it was designed to "improve upon black people" and it was titled something derogatory like "My N." for instance. because it would be considered offensive and condescending to send your black virtual paper doll off to college or do puzzles to improve their deficient brains. To monitor their food and give them plastic surgery to make better looking "My Ns."

It is equally offensive to do this about the female gender. One is blatantly racist the other is blatantly sexist.

In short, it may be satire but I don't think it's funny.

Secondly, I'm thrilled he took out the diet pills. Take out the plastic surgery - even better.

Thirdly, put some age restriction on it and I don't care what the game content is.

My issue is that it's available for young, impressionable girls who are developing a self - who win points by being thinner and sexier taking diet pills, monitoring their food intake, getting surgery to be more desirable. Being condescended to about their brains.

That's a straw man. Satire about men is perfectly fine as well, and is just as common, and you know it. Watch virtually any film staring Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Rob Schneider, Shawn William Scott and the like, or watch any given episode of 80% of the sitcoms aired since the 90's and you'll see tons of it.

Almost all of them portray heterosexual men as being selfish, tool, women, beer and sports obsessed pigs; and where is the outcry? Men being stereotyped isn't titillating enough, so it's not splashed across the MSN's homepage when 'Home Improvements' or 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' chases SpongeBob Squarepants on Nick at Nite when young impressionable boys are still up.

Let's give humans a little more credit here. It seems your argument is that girls aren't able to make informed intelligent decisions about what's important and appropriate because they're impressionable. But then, why is it that a silly game (riddled with bold red printed warnings and advice about reality being different from the game, discouraging actual cosmetic surgery) is more of an influence on the young girl than that girl's parents, teachers, and (for those who are religious) spiritual leader are? You know, the ones who actually raise her, and teach her right from wrong.

I asked about other media before, but I didn't get much of a response. Are you all just as hard on books, magazines, romantic comedies and sitcoms?

First the game was attacked with misinformation, then the game's creator was attacked for being an evil, misogynistic pig, and now it's a question of young children having access to (at worst) PG rated material?

We've even advanced to comparing Miss Bimbo to a game about blacks. You've even gone so far as to give me my opinion on said game. For the record, I am black, and I wouldn't take offense to such a game. Moreover, if it were anything like Miss Bimbo, I'm sure I'd play it. The same way that millions of people play 'Grand Theft Auto' franchise, and those games aren't even free. I personally don't care for the GTA series at all, but I don't complain about how it's somehow diminishing children's capacity to make the right decisions in life, or about how they view themselves.

You're "thrilled" that the diet pills have been taken out of the game, that's fine. Not surprisingly, you want the cosmetic surgery to be removed as well. What's your issue with it exactly? And do you also want celebrities who've had cosmetic surgery banned from media that children can be exposed to as well? Can you name more than a handful of adult celebrities who haven't had some form of cosmetic work done? Again, Miss Bimbo isn't Pornography, or Devil worship...it's satire. It's a clever slice of tongue and cheek social commentary. It's not marketed to children, as previously (wrongly) suggested, and it's not meant to raise, rear, educate, nurture or otherwise mold your child. Neither is 'The Drew Carey show', 'The 40 Year Old Virgin', or 'Wonder Woman' comics...that's what PARENTS are for.

I'm assuming you're a woman -- if you don't mind me asking, what was it like growing up for you with regards to sexually charged media? Do you feel it damaged you, or did you think any less of yourself because of the images of women on bill boards and on MTV? I'm not asking to be a jerk, I'm honestly wondering if your arguments are indicative of something you've experienced personally. Your concerns (while valid) seem a little extreme to me.

About the idea of an My N game - I don't believe you. I think it would piss you off, at least piss off most of your contemporaries.

This is but one of the articles I write against sexism and objectification of girls and women.

To your argument that it's parents' responsibility to influence girls
1- I am doing that by educating parents that Miss Bimbo sucks for girls via this blog.
2- I would never let my kid play that game.
3- Don't you really just love this argument so you can be as disgusting as possible without any personal responsibility?
4- I don't believe corporations have a free reign - there are responsible ethics of the marketplace and I expect more from the marketplace in the hopes that I will get more.

To your argument that sexism goes both ways I would say - then turnabout it fair play. This blog criticized what I think is wrong and by calling the creator "a pervert looking to get rich off girls' sexuality" is perfectly okay by your own logic - it's just turn about. Call me a bimbo I get to call you a perv. Fair.

Also I wrote ONE article about this. I don't consider that extreme or going overboard as you suggest.

Yes, I think it is unfair to expect girls who are in their childhoods or teens to exhibit an adult maturity when playing games like this.

Lastly, YES, as a woman I feel minimized and sexualized and objectified by the media all the time. And THIS is what I choose to do about it.

I don't know where Mr Bimbo is, all I know is that it probably wouldn't be a very interesting or popular game.

I'm not able to explain things as well as "an informed reasonable adult", so I'll simply let him do it.

I'll just say one thing: I play missbimbo for fun.
What is the point of life except to have fun?

Nice talking to you,
Fay

Well, when you're 13 fun should be your purpose Fay.

As a parent and a more mature woman, I wish your fun weren't tainted with boob jobs and diet pills and a quest to be the best "Bimbo."

Tracee, you really hold high regard to yourself. YOU ARE NOT RIGHT! Everything you say is your opinion and Fay can fend for herself, she doesn't need YOUR tainted outlook!!!

This is my opinion and I have a right to state it on MY blog. You came looking for me, not visa versa.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comments and your view.

Good, at least you understand that your word is just your opinion.

I would think you would like my opinion of you over the creators' of Miss Bimbo, uneducated.

I think you're a precocious and intellegent young woman worthy of respect. He thinks your essentially a stupid slut preoccupied with your looks.

Interesting which opinion you respect and prefer.

How many times do we have to go over this? We don't know him!!! We don't know what his intentions are. I guess it really depends on your age.

Maybe it is an age thing.

As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like Bimbo it applies to ALL women, including myself and my daughter.

When you hear it you seem to believe "doesn't apply me."

Once again, since you seem to need me to repeat myself, I don't care for the word nor do I think the game is a good idea, but you are way overreacting as far as when you criticize the boy. I think you just want to feel self righteous but your bra burning days ended in the 70s.

You've basically resorted to calling me a liar. That's not cool. :O|

I suppose you know better than I do what I find offensive. I don't know how the rest of us have managed all this time without being told what we should think about ourselves. I'll tell you what I do find pretty offensive; people assuming they know what I think and feel based solely of the colour of my skin. Especially in an intelligent exchange. And as far as my contemporaries go, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but in the real world, not all blacks (or women, or men, or children) have the same opinions on everything. Moreover, have you ever listened any Hip Hop? Watched or read comic strip/television show 'The Boondocks'? What about Def Comedy Jam? Do yo have ANY ideas how many N-bombs are dropped on any given episode?

Hey, I respect your right to believe what you want, and even to mount a high horse to tell me how I actually feel about things. If you want to believe that I would take offense at a (clever and entertaining) game about black guys that happens to have 'the N word' in the title, fine. If you want to believe that parents aren't capable of making informed decisions about media that you dislike, that's also fine. And if you want to believe that children don't know the difference between a video game and reality, I won't challenge your perception there either. Just know that you thinking this stuff doesn't actually make it real.

I won't pretend to know anything about you besides what I've read in this blog. You should probably extend me the same courtesy though. Neither of us know the person(s) who made this game, either. But those of us who actually play it, know a lot about it than those of us who don't. I'm not saying that you, or anyone else should waste your time playing it, since it's obviously (and understandably) not your cup of tea, but you really should keep it real, and be open to the reality that you don't know much about the game, it's players, or it's designers, besides the fact that it's got a controversial title and some admittedly low brow humor. And as far as this comment:

"As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like Bimbo it applies to ALL women, including myself and my daughter."

Hey, I can do that too! Watch:

As a mature person I understand that when I hear words like jerk/sexist/pervert it applies to ALL men, including myself and my son/father/brother, etc..

It's right there in text on the Internet, so it most be true, right? Again, that's totally a straw man, that I don't think anyone here is buying it. You seem like an intelligent person, and I'm sure you have enough real concerns and issues with the game -- you don't need to resort to that sort of argument.

Let's keep it civil.

If the shoe fits. . .

23 year olds are not "boys."

We're talking about a full-grown man - both under the law and in the eyes of society - who is bright enough to create a business. I think he can take the heat.

I wasn't even wearing a bra in the 1970s. Much to my mother's disdain I didn't start wearing a bra until the mid-90s.

Being 23 soes not make you full grown, 23 makes you responsible for your actions and in some states being 12 you are responsible for your actions. Does not mean that he understood the direct harm the game sent out, doesn't mean that he understood how it may effact other people. I bet he thought it was just a stupid funny game that poked fun at people's shallow perceptions. MY GOODNESS, I feel like a broken record. By the Way, The bra burning thing wasn't literal, you don't actually have to be in the 70s to burn your bra, you don't technically have to burn your bra to burn your bra... All you have to be is a, i don't know, a reporter from texas who shows extreme cases and acts as if it's the norm and then crucify people for misuderstandings!!!!

One blog post educating parents about this game does not a crucification make.

If it were a simple misunderstanding he would change the game to be unoffensive.

I appreciate that he took off the diet pills. I'd appreciate it more if he took off the plastic surgery. I'd appreciate it even more than that if he required an age limit of say 16-18 to prevent impressionable 9 year olds from playing the game if he's going to leave that stuff on.

Here's the thing, we don't want diet pills and plastic surgery to be "normalized" for our young daughters.

I know it must seem insane to you - but, we'd like for them to love and accept themselves as they are without resorting to Dr. Frankenstein measures.

Anything that interferes with that - and I agree Miss Bimbo is just one small part of a huge cultural problem - is a bad influence.

This blog educates and informs parents. It's a valid and important thing to do. Without education and information parents aren't even aware the game exists and can't protect their kids from it's influence.

I think it's a bit off that you are wanting to set a good example for your kids yet everyone here is commenting that the creators are geeks he might be a bit of an ass but your setting a bad example for your children yourself by calling website creators geeks because they hae a job that requires some level of intelect.

Lots of evil or bad things require a degree of intellect.

It's a question of how we choose to use our intellect don't you think - whether for progress and goodness, or for bad: minimization and objectification of human beings.

Reading these comments, i think it is quite stereotypical of you to think that just because it was a twenty-something man that made the website, that it is for a sick reason.personally i think there is nothing wrong with the site.it does warn that it is only a Game on the page with plastic surgery and that if you are considering it, to talk to your parents!!also, the site is not really encouraging girls to be "bimbos", it is encouraging them to be responsible.for example, you have to get an apartment and go on a training course to get a job!i think all you are doing is being biased and not reviewing both sides of the story.