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The controversial new My Minx Web craze has outraged parents' groups. Credit: Tim Stewart News / Rex USA
The "My Minx" Web game encourages young girls to buy condoms and engage in all kinds of scandalous virtual antics, London's Daily Mail reports. They also can visit an "adoption agency" -- where orphans are named after the adopted children of celeb parents such as Jolie -- to choose a child as an accessory to make their avatar more fashionable.
The paper goes on to report that 4-year-old Zahara is said to be Ethiopian and a fan of eating guinea pigs, while Maddox enjoys cockroaches. Actor Ewan McGregor's adopted Mongolian daughter, Jamiyah, doesn't escape unscathed, either. She, apparently, prefers a diet of rats.
Chris Evans is the founder of Blighty Arts, the UK-based company that created "My Minx." He tells ParentDish that the game is intended for users ages 11 and up. He says the kerfuffle over the Web site is the work of "rogue journalists" who don't have their facts straight.
"It is not aimed at children," Evans says. "This is for teens or early 20s. When you register, you can't register if you are under the age of 11, and even so, there is nothing on there that would offend any child who might play the game."
When we signed up for our personal "My Minx" character, we were able to select from a drop-down menu description that included "single," "unhinged" and "horney [sic.]." We were unable to shop for fashions in the game's "boutique" section, because the game requires users to pay for the privilege of dressing their characters. Boys can play, too -- a male avatar is available.
A page from My Minx. Credit: Tim Stewart News / Rex USA
Any kid with a PayPal account can buy "pounds," which can then be used for purchasing "anti-baby pills," condoms and lingerie. When pressed on these facts, Evans maintains that the average age of "My Minx" users is "19.1" according to Blighty Arts' database.
"This is a stylish game for stylish ladies," Evans says. "This is a fantasy world and there is no way that we are going to get customers that young. I can't see how an 11-year-old would have any interest in it."
He adds that the company has no intention of lowering the minimum age requirement and points out that the site is closely monitored. "I don't think there is anything on that site that [a child] would be damaged by," he says. "We have a strong team of moderators making sure that there is no bullying going on, and if anyone is causing trouble we ban them."
It is, he says, "a responsible site."
Blighty Arts has been criticized in the past for its "Miss Bimbo" game, which lets girls give their virtual characters breast augmentation and diet pills.
Parents' groups in the UK are outraged, according to the Mail. Andy Hibberd is the spokesman for parents' rights group Parentkind. He tells the paper that parents won't have "any idea" that their kids are playing the game and that they are too young to appreciate its irony.
"Having them getting virtual condoms or morning after pills will not make them any less promiscuous," he tells the Mail. "As regards child adoption, this game encourages them to think that they don't need to worry about morals or ethics."
According to the Web site, "My Minx" is a beta version of the game. What will the final version include? Evans refused to answer, calling the update's features a "secret."
Related: Girls Hide Their Geekiness Behind Wall of Shame
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 4)
1-31-2010 @ 6:47AM
natosha said...I honestly dont know what to think about this. Im more on the no side because things like this are not a joke or a game. example. about 10 years ago I worked at a convience store right across the street from a middle school. school gets out and everyday the kids come in and get a soda and snack. one day a couple boys came in wanted condoms. my first thought was to not sell them to the kids who couldnt have been over 12 or 13. but there is no law against it. so I sold them to em...30 minutes later a very angry mother came in and started screaming at me like a banshee(sp) I let her rant and rave. finally I cut her off, and said you know what? most kids his age buy them to make water ballons th at wont pop..BUT if your son is having sex. wouldnt you rather him not get someone preggers, or get aids?! talk to your son, not to me. she walked out after that.
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1-31-2010 @ 4:34PM
monica said...oh damn. thats wow....but its funny because after this, i sort of wanted to see myself, so i went on the web and made one !
but ya, you did/said the right thing
1-31-2010 @ 6:35PM
Joe Papierz Jr said...Great answer. Congraulations. Too bad you had to listen to a lot of crap first though.
1-31-2010 @ 7:41AM
susan said...with all these spam posts, no wonder the creators think this is a "good idea" for a game! i mean, look at the adults on here that have found the ultimate dating, weight loss, s*x tapes of stars, or work from home sites! they are the parents after all!
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1-31-2010 @ 11:13AM
Tim said...There are no ADULTS left, only unruly little kids with burnt out brain cells.
1-31-2010 @ 8:41AM
Greeko said...This is absolutely terrible. Just another example of irrespondsiblity and wrecklessness of a company trying to make a buck.All the taboos to make a character will make this a popular site unfortunately,we have enough to worry about as parents!
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1-31-2010 @ 7:23PM
Mary said...I'm nineteen and I think the game is stupid. However, I think it is the parent's responsibility to know what web sites their children are going on. Or if they can't do that, then ban them from using the computer. Too many parents expect the t.v and the computer to keep their child entertained. If my mother can manage to keep my brother and me in line while working a full time job, there is no reason besides laziness and lack of motivation, for a parnet not to take care of their child in every aspect needed. If the parent does their job then corporations can go ahead and make their games without having an affect on younger generations.
1-31-2010 @ 8:29PM
wtfever said...I totally agree with Mary, I'm 17 I think this site is stupid, but part of this thought came from good parenting. My parents are divorced and I may be (admittedly) a strange person, but my parents were, and still are, extremely responsible and talked to me about certain descisions in life as well as how to make my own opinions( /descisions) and build my own morals. The world is a scary place, and the internet is no exception. Talk to your kids. Sheltering them won't change anything.
2-01-2010 @ 12:45AM
CandaceP said...It is the parents responsibility to be sure that what their children do online is kosher. To be honest, children probably learn worse stuff on X-Box live, as has been my experience. The web has a lot of venues for young children to learn to be adults, but it doesn't have any kind of safety net because it is international.
My problem is that parenting isn't for the government or some other agency to deal with, it's for parents. If your children are having to go online and pretend to be someone they're not, this is a simple answer, START TALKING with them about their days; our society isn't so fast-paced we can't be sociable humans.
Just remember one thing: Your children never got to chose to be here, so it is your responsibility to protect them.
This leads me to another question:
What kind of parent gives an 11-year-old or younger a paypal account, and doesn't have it linked to their own?
By the way, I'm 22.
2-02-2010 @ 1:10AM
nadia said...Hey, at least it encourages condom use.
1-31-2010 @ 8:50AM
maxiesmom067 said...What, no pint sized puppies in 50ct diamond collars? I am not a card-carrying member of the "P.C. Police", but the utter tastelessness of this game has me floored! I will admit, it is a pretty accurate and very sad statement about what Hollywood is offering up to us as "talent" these days. You can no longer expect to see the words 'talent' and 'role model' in the same sentence. The only positive I see is it's definitely a slap in the face to Branjolina, Madonna, et al.
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1-31-2010 @ 9:46AM
Angiebaby said...Chris Evans contradicts himself when he says the game is intended for girls age 11 and up, but then goes on to say the game is for girls in their teens up to early twenties. This is much too mature for girls, and it seems very immature and uninteresting for young women in their twenties. Choices like"single," "unhinged" and "horney" are grossly inappropriate for young girls.
I don't have any problem with the food facts. Yes, they are included for "shock value", but people in other countries eat lots of things we Americans do not consider food, including bugs, guinea pigs, rats, larvae, etc.
I judge a girl's readiness to play this game by the PayPal method, too. If you are old enough to support and maintain your own PayPal account, not use mommy & daddy's, then you can play the game.
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1-31-2010 @ 11:06AM
b26g116 said...I am a parent of 3. I am also smart enough to see why parents don't like this game. It is too real for them. This is reality. This is what is going on. Too many parents let their kids use killing games, but they can't face the truth? Tell your kids why it is wrong, don't just say because I said so. Children need things explained. They are children! I don't know who is raising children anymore the parents or the children. Lack of morals and no conchens equals our reality now. Adults can turn their heads, but then who is going to stop this? You are responsible for how your children learn to love themselves and others so do something.
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1-31-2010 @ 7:37PM
sandi said...I totally agree. The fact that no one has mentioned parental monitoring on the computer has me worried. My grand daughter is 12 and not allowed to sign online without her mother's approval of the site. She is also not allowed to use the computer in her bedroom. She must use it in a family room so she can be monitored. She is a very good kid and a very good student but that did not just happen! She was given guidelines, rules and reasons for what was right or wrong. It is time for the parents to become parents again!! Maybe own one less car or boat or whatever and spend the time raising your children.
1-31-2010 @ 11:19AM
mesaman said...We are definitely in the era of the "geeks". Since the nerds bamboozled us into entering the PC world we have been subjected to sci-fi/medieval movies, weirdo dorky TV commercials, on and on, and now the mind of a miscreant has come up with "minx". After he is castrated, they should parade him through the towns and hamlets (leave out urbania, it is the stomping grounds of the ganstas) of America, then make him play the stupid game till he croaks.
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1-31-2010 @ 11:28AM
Tim said...First there has to be someone that can be the ADULT and know what that means. Then that ADULT has to not always be the childs friend but also the one to control the child. I guess that the kids that portray them selves as ADULTS need to wake up and think about how they want to start being the ADULT instead of the childs big sister or brother. Wake up world, smell the roses and HANG ON cuz it's almost over for ALL of us as a sane society unless we start to change it RIGHT NOW......
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1-31-2010 @ 11:27AM
MrSqueakums said...Well it's just another online game that you have to pay for to really get anything out of it. It seems that it's more of a satire against the celebrity trend of adopting children and the rise in younger citizens using birth control. Not a game encouraging these acts to children, it's probably more like one of those little flash games on Adult Swims website, just something silly to pass the time.
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1-31-2010 @ 11:39AM
Tim said...Yeah Mrsqueakums, it really sounds like you got the whole thing rapped up in a nut shell. Why with more people like you we all could sleep better at night knowing that we don't need any one out there to protect our morals or values, just turn a blind eye to it all and get PASSIVE. That's the whole idea isn't it Mrsqueakums, just, "squeak", your way thru life and ride on someone elses misfortunes, huh?
Reply
1-31-2010 @ 4:38PM
Melanika56 said...When you want to make fun of celebrities, you have myriad ways of doing it. You do editorials, or on line blogs. Or caricatures of the stars themselves. You don't exploit children even by proxy in racist fashion, suggesting they like eating 'guinea pigs" or "cockroaches." This has nothing to do with celebrities adopting children and everything to do with a sick demented racist mind using a video game to express deep seated hatred. And it is aimed at primarily black children and women. This is a sociopath who relies on the cowardice of a public so numbed and desensitive by centuries of racism and decades of horror flick programming, and an "anything goes" world, they are no longer human but automatons. It has been well said the civilization of a society is best determined by how it treats its women and children. So hello to the return of barbarism.
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1-31-2010 @ 12:06PM
XxRosexOfxSharyn said...Stupid, pathetic, and distasteful.
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