Bella Girl App: when apps regress feminism

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Not many apps make me face-palm, and I have seen a lot of them in what you might call the “fart” genre. This one does though, and it gets our occasional prize for A Piece of Technology That Regresses Feminism.

In many ways, the Bella Girl Beauty app is just an average beauty app, helping you do your beauty things on the go. I think it’s just the way that it’s marketed that makes me go all ragey. Here we go:

“Bella Girl was developed specifically for the smart ladies who require a set of beauty tools to help them manage their beauty care needs on the go. The app includes a BMI calculator, a calorie counter, a beauty treatment timer, a size converter for rings, shoes and bra, a period and ovulation estimator, and smart compare for those avid shoppers.”

I think it’s the use of the word “smart” that annoys me. Then there’s naming the ovulation tracker as a ‘Private Calendar’.

The app also gets the “On The Go” prize for suggesting several weird things you could – but probably wouldn’t want to – do “on the go”. Why would you need to time your facial “on the go”, or estimate ovulation on bus. I don’t know, but you now can.

Anna Leach