The new iPhone Purity Ring app has been making the media rounds, so I won't repeat the full report here (via Violet Blue). Instead, here are a few things that stand out for me:
- The company selling it claims that the 99 cent sale price is not for profit, but merely to cover costs. The specific wording is quite revealing as to how people perceive commerce--note how a relatively low price is conflated with no price. "We're not charging for the idea. We're just covering our costs. It's all about reaching a new market. If you wanted to buy a purity ring, you could spend as much as £100."
- Nonetheless, the company claims that the digital ring is merely "compliments (sic) existing Purity Pledges and is not seeking to replace traditional Ceremonies and Rings."
- "The application may also allow school pupils to circumvent uniform rules banning jewellery. In 2007, Lydia Playfoot lost her high court battle to wear her purity ring at school when a judge ruled she had not been discriminated against."
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