Now that I’m working with elementary school girls, I’m immersed in current girl culture, where tamogochis have been replaced by Miss Bimbo and Barbie looks wholesome next to Bratz.
For those out of middle school, Miss Bimbo is an online game where players create an avatar and compete to be the “reigning bimbo.” According to the site, some of the goals of the game are:

• Become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity!
• Date that famous hottie you’ve had your eye on and show the Bimbo world the social starlet you are!
• Even resort to meds or plastic surgery. Stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo!

Bimbos lose happiness points for eating too much chocolate, and try to get a high-paying job so they can afford boob jobs. It’s like creating paper dolls out of US Weekly or a videogame out of TMZ. And the game is marketed to girls as young as 1^st grade.
The game was created by two guys in England, who have responded to the predictable criticism by saying the game “mirrors real life in a tongue-in-cheek way.” The site has responded to the backlash by posting a warning on the front page, and proudly proclaiming the ability to purchase diet pills with the game has been dismantled.
In the girls’ school where I’m working, some coloring sheets of Bratz dolls flashing flirtatious in black and white were confiscated from the lunch room this week. Bratz are scantily clad dolls, with strange alien-anorexic bodies and “a passion for fashion.” These dolls were designed for girls aged 4-8, and have been criticized for promoting a “sexualized image of girls.” They now sell more than Barbie.
It seems everyone has forgotten age 8 = kid and kid = child, not a market. Seeing more landmines in the path of girlhood saddens and angers me….things are tough enough in the way of self-development, compassion for self and other, and learning to value brains over passive beauty without adding fuel to the raging media fire. I witness so much inspiring energy, curiosity, and will for positive change in the girls I meet…so many young activists and artists who are passionate about the world around them. I hope their energy doesn’t get misdirected
*p.s. I’m sure things aren’t great in boy-media, either, but I don’t get to hang around it everyday…