A plastic surgery app targeted at young girls has been pulled from the Apple and Google app stores following a flurry of online criticism.
The Barbie-inspired game, titled "Plastic Surgery & Plastic Doctor & Plastic Hospital Office version for Barbie", encourages the user to "operate" on a cartoon image of a girl in an attempt to improve the way she looks.
On opening the game, children are presented with an image of an obese woman, who vaguely resembles Barbie. The blurb under the image states that this "unfortunate girl" is very overweight and that no diet can help her. The blurb adds that she can have surgery called liposuction "that will make her slim and beautiful", before asking the app user, who is now playing doctor, if they are willing to operate.
The steps involved in taking the cartoon figure from fat to fabulous target Barbie's problem areas by injecting anaesthetic, making incisions and suctioning out fat with a pump.
The creator of the app, who does not appear to be linked to Barbie manufacturer, Mattel, has several similar surgery- and makeover-themed games available for download and is identified only as "Corina Rodriquez".
The backlash saw Twitter users, led by @EverydaySexism, calling on iTunes to reconsider marketing the app, dubbing it "distasteful" and "appalling" for sending out the wrong message to young boys and girls.
"It is just so sad that we are sending that message to children as young as nine that the ideal body is all that they should be aiming for and that the way to get it is cutting their bodies apart," says Laura Bates, a spokesperson for Everyday Sexism.
And Everyday Sexism didn't stop there - it also campaigned against a similar plastic surgery-themed game, called Plastic Surgery for Barbara. This app explains that Barbara likes to eat burgers and chocolates, which make her ugly. But with the help of a plastic surgeon and a few operations to her body and face, Barbara can regain her "cute look". This app has also been pulled.
A Google spokesperson noted that while the search engine giant does not usually comment on individual apps, it is willing to remove content that breaches its guidelines.
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