In our current digital age, apps are being churned out everyday. And while some of them reach great heights and significantly improve our own digital experience, other are just, well, inexplicable.
One of these rather questionable apps, is a Barbie doll-inspired plastic surgery app. The app, which caused immense controversy after it was listed on Apple‘s App Store, is mostly aimed at children – although it‘s hard to understand why anyone would want to expose children to the offensive subtext of this “œgame“.
The game allows players to be a “˜plastic surgeon‘ and help an “œunfortunate girl“ become “œbeautiful and slim“. The so-called unfortunate girl is an overweight, unhappy looking figure that has gained so much extra weight that “œno diet can help her“.
It then gives you tools to (graphically) cut and sculpt the girl by making incisions into her body and then, literally, sucking out fat from her “œproblem“ areas. I‘m sure you can see the controversy in this.
Launched only last week, the app gained widespread social media backlash, fueled on by a Twitter campaign calling on Apple to pull the app.
It‘s description in the App Store is nothing short of hair raising – especially taking into consideration that the game is aimed at kids 9 years and up.
“This unfortunate girl has so much extra weight that no diet can help her. In our clinic she can go through a surgery called liposuction that will make her slim and beautiful. We’ll need to make small cuts on problem areas and suck out the extra fat. Will you operate her, doctor?”
No question that that paragraph alone would have parents and feminists alike gasping in shock.
The Twitter campaign was mostly spearheaded by The Everyday Sexism Project – a Twitter account that documents experiences of sexism and harassment. The group has also successfully campaigned for similar apps and games to be removed from iTunes as well as the Google Play store.
The internet was a buzz, with hundreds of tweets urging Apple to remove the app. And it seems as though the power of social media proved it‘s power yet again, as the app was removed a few hours later.
While the app may have been removed, the widespread social media attention has opened up another can of worms; what is being done to protect our children from sexist, racist or emotionally damaging apps and games?
We know that smartphones and tablets have become a staple in the world of the children of the digital age. Parents allow their kids to play games online or download them from various places, because at least it keeps them entertained for a while.
However, should we not be more cautious of what our kids are being exposed to? Yes, there are many websites and online stores that require age verification before a game can be played or downloaded – but the kids are getting smarter, and, in light of this case, the apps are getting scarier.
Living in a world where women and beauty are being objectified in almost every possible way – whether it‘s through digital media or print – it is of the utmost importance that we teach our children (and especially young girls) to be accepting of who they are.
This is why games like these, objectifying a girl, and instilling a mindset of “˜beauty being the key to happiness‘, shouldn‘t even be developed.
The digital age is as dangerous as it is magnificent. But we have to remember that kids are still kids – no matter how proficient they are on a smartphone.
Source: Mashable
