Rebutting the rebuttal
Miss Bimbo is an online virtual fashion game. It was developed by Blouzar Ltd., London and the subject of a great deal of controversy last year.
If you recall I wrote a blog post (Boycott Miss Bimbo) back in March of 2008 stating that I hoped they closed the website down. I wasn’t the only one. The Women’s Forum Australia condemned the MissBimbo game, calling for the site to be shut down. (Controversial website.)
Well to my surprise a fellow blogger has rebutted my post in one of his recent posts.(Why doesn’t that surprise me?) Maybe he should of blogged about Beckie Jordan, a 23-year-old woman who started a Ban Miss Bimbo group on Facebook.
His opinion was basically for me to mind my own business and that I shouldn’t go as far to advocate that a game should be banned just because of the way I perceive it.
(I just love it when someone reads a post of mine and jumps to assumptions.)
He mentioned the fact that I’m a Mother in his post, because he wanted to show that one should not advocate banning a website just because they have kids who might use the site.
What he did was write a bias post created on his assumption that my reason for boycotting Miss Bimbo was because my daughter might use the site. (You know what they say about assuming.)
First of all, my daughter is almost 19 years old. She is a grown woman with her own opinion.
I haven’t chosen to boycott Miss Bimbo, because I’m a mother. I have chosen to boycott it, because I’m a woman.
We constantly see women portrayed as sex objects in media. In my opinion, a game like this just ads to the ever growing problem in our society.
Miss Bimbo target demographic is what’s upsetting the most. The site isn’t targeted to women. It’s targeted to young girls.
Now the blogger in question is certainly entitled to his own opinion and I have no problem with him rebutting mine. I just wish he didn’t influence his readerships view in what I see to be an unfair way.
What also ruffled my feathers a tad came from one of his commenter’s that not only called me a stupid woman for having an opinion that differed from hers, but went on to state “I bet her daughter will grow up to be a real life bimbo.” (Quick someone write a parody of Trisha Yearwood – Real Live Woman. Call it Real Live Bimbo.)
What does my daughter have to do with my opinion on a website that I feel ads to our ever growing problem of sexualisation of girls and young women? Sexualisation that ‘harms.’ That is really the subject of my opinion.
What’s your opinion? Is Miss Bimbo harmless or an outrageous influence?
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6 responses so far ↓
Wrote: May 2, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I have no problem with people stating their opinion on their posts, for or against, freedom of speech.
What I do have a problem with was the commenter saying nasty things about you and your daughter, it just goes to show you when someone has no valid debate points they generally resort to snide personal remarks.
btw I went to the site and thought the same way you did about it.
Wrote: May 2, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I think this is an outrageous influence, because I am a woman, a mother , and a grandmother.
Wrote: May 5, 2009 at 8:09 am
Well, if this person spent any time reading your blog (other than that one post) they would find you an intelligent, witty person.
I am against anything that serves to keep women as a sex objects. I don’t even like the play makeup that mothers buy for their little girls. I think that sends a message to the child that she can’t be beautiful without makeup.
Wrote: May 5, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I happen to agree with Bob’s response. A reprehensible site at best, but I’m afraid the best we can hope for is that it will simply go away.
Wrote: May 15, 2009 at 2:51 am
I have no problem playing ‘dress up’ with my daughters, but I do have a problem with people playing ’sex up’. The main difference is that ‘dress up’ is harmless play. ‘Sex up’ can lead to serious problems down the line.
I haven’t looked at the site yet, but just from the name Miss Bimbo, I can tell you I’m not crazy about it. I think it would depend on how the parents of the users perceive it though. If a parent talks to their daughter about what is a game and what isn’t, then the site could be harmless fun, but unfortunately the game/reality line gets blurred a lot in real life.
Comments, especially about people you don’t fully know, or even know at all, should be kept ‘nice’. That’s not to say people shouldn’t be called out for their stupid things, but they shouldn’t be abused because of it. Especially by people who don’t even know the situation. The commenter saying nasty things about your daughter obviously has a deep fear of her own daughter becoming a real life bimbo. Either that or she plays the game all the time and thinks it’s great! I guess it takes all kinds!
Wrote: May 21, 2009 at 3:27 pm
It may not be appropriate to certain people but a boycott? I think your boycott will just draw attention to missbimbo and promote it. Some of the other commentators have visited the site, as have I.