Tessa G.S. sent in a link to the online game Miss Bimbo. Here are some images from the game:
Tessa says,
In this case, you build a “bimbo” by placing your character on diets, getting plastic surgery, shopping for clothes, attending a-list parties, dating handsome men— all with the aim of becoming the most popular bimbo in the game…[According to the website] MissBimbo is an educational tool, a social meeting place and a hot pot of bimboism. It is free to enjoy bimboland.
An educational tool? Really?
According to CNN, parents have expressed concern that pre-teen girls are playing a game that encourages them to have their characters get breast implants and facelifts, as well as go on diets.
The game also reinforces the idea that girls are always rivals, whether competing for popularity or men (or the perfect wedding, as the movie “Bride Wars” shows).
While we’re on the topic of video games (sort of), Burk M. told me about Sexy Beach 3. In the game, you get to pick a female character, what she’s wearing, which of several beach-related activities she’s involved in (playing tag, “playful floating,” limbo, etc.), the location (beach, reef, waterfall, and so on) and the time of day. And then you can take the role of a disembodied hand that rubs various parts of her body while her nipples get hard and she moans in delight and eventually appears to orgasm. Here’s an example (found here; it’s Not Safe for Work):
Sexy Beach 3 ‘Ticklegasm’ video
In this one (found here), you get to squirt white sun block all over her, which she apparently finds very arousing:
Sexy Beach 3 ‘Transparency’ video
Sexy Beach 3 just cracks me up for some reason. The boobs are so rubbery and bouncy, and the women’s response so dramatic–I mean, those must be some hands, particularly in the first video…I dunno. For whatever reason, I find it less objectionable than Miss Bimbo, maybe because I assume it’s not young kids playing it and so at least not providing such negative messages to girls about what they’re supposed to care about (being popular and buying lots of stuff) and how they’re supposed to think about men and women (as prizes to fight for and rivals to fight with, respectively).
I could make some big argument about how I posted these as examples of objectification of women or something, but really I did it because I’m procrastinating, as I am desperate to do anything but grade the two sets of finals awaiting me. More than anything I want to use a random number generator to just assign grades to them. Does anyone want an internship as a Soc Images grader? It’s unpaid, but I’ll write you a great letter of recommendation.
As another example of video games that socialize girls into gender roles, Ryan pointed out the video game Imagine Babyz (image found here; it’s sometimes spelled “Babies” instead):
A description of the game (from Play.com):
Entertain the babies – Play with them and their toys, play music to make them dance and take them into the garden to play on swings and other garden toys.
Exchange information, photos and clothing with other players through Wi-Fi.
Keep the house clean – Use fun mini-games to create a welcoming home for the babies: wash up, clean and vacuum, paint the walls, mow the grass, trim hedges and drive away spiders!
Make the house to your own taste – Use the money you earn and the vouchers you receive in succeeding in your missions – buy items at the shops to decorate the house…Embody a young student who visits her grandmother’s house for the summer. Your grandmother leaves to go on holiday and leaves you in charge of her house. During her absence you will have to maintain the house and even decorate it to your taste. In order to do this you will need to earn money by taking care of all your neighbour’s babies, where you will find your vocation – babysitting!
So you start out with fat girls, but eventually get to move up to the hotties. You get access to hotter women by getting bigger balls. And apparently your name is Butt Man. Also, according to the “history” section, Mormons colonized the island of Bonetown and there’s Jew Magic. I really don’t know. Part of your goal is to protect sexual liberation from “corporate conservatism.”
This photo was used to illustrate how sex in the game is about pleasuring women, not just men:
Uh huh. Nothing gives women more pleasure than giving men oral sex.
There’s a lot of interesting racial and gender stuff going on there. I’m not even sure what to do with all of it. I kinda giggled at the pure ridiculousness sometimes.
NEW!
Matt K. told us about the game My World, My Way, which centers around a female character who is spoiled and bratty and gets her way by using “pout points” and being selfish. The object of the game is to get a boyfriend, of course.
“Change the world to get what you want. Selfishness is your power!”
Nice.
NEW! (Mar. ’10): Joe F. sent in a short video showing some scenes from the video game Mass Effect. He points out that in the game the romantic/sexual options include a heterosexual couple or a lesbian option, but not one for gay men. One scene allows the male protagonist to bring a woman back to his room, where among other things you can make her perform a sexy dance while you, the player, look at her basically through the eyes of the male character. There is no option for the male character to dance for her. The dance starts at around 1:45:
