Don’t Blame the Bimbo

Although ignored by many gaming sites and bloggers, Miss Bimbo is creating quite a stir in the mainstream press. Combining the pet maintenance
routine of a Tamagotchi toy, with the faux-girl power attitude of the Bratz
toys, Miss Bimbo allows players to create a young female avatar. Upkeep is regulated
to keeping your avatar skinny, tanned, and includes the requisite breast implants
an emerging diva needs.

The site itself is pink and lacy, reminiscent of the girl’s
toy aisle at your local Wal-Mart. Herein lies the problem some have with Miss
Bimbo; much Like Southpark or even the Simpsons, the site is clearly adult
parody masquerading as children’s entertainment. Media analysts are lambasting the
site and its 23-year-old male creator, citing the message it’s sending to young
girls.

Perhaps, these media outlets are missing are few points;
such as why impressionable young girls are allowed to surf the internet
unsupervised. More importantly, activities on the Miss Bimbo website are just
an articulated extension of advertisements and concepts of body image
perpetuated by these same outlets.

Has the level of critical thinking in the mainstream
press sunk so low, that they cannot distinguish crass commercialism from satire?
Looking at the front page on the site, one should be able to infer a sense of playfulness:

“At this time we would also like to remind
players that the Miss Bimbo team assume[s] no responsibility or liability for
any fashion faux pas, hair style disasters or boob jobs incurred in real life
as a result of playing the Miss Bimbo game.”

When will the mainstream press (and politicians)
stop resorting to knee-jerk reaction journalism? Clearly, Miss Bimbo is a reflection
of the beauty-obsessed, plastic-surgery enhanced images the media give us. Maybe
Bimbo creator Nicolas Jacquart can add one final satiric comment. The ultimate goal
of the game should be to become a news weathergirl- the kind that look eerily
similar to the Miss Bimbo avatars.