Written By: Maureen Ahmed

Sex sells. That’s an understatement.

Apple started banning approximately 5,000 applications for its iPhone, especially those that feature sexually indicative material. Pictures of women in bikinis and lingerie and applications that can make a cartoon woman’s boobs bigger with the touch of the screen are now no longer available.

Or are they? Many application developers are confused about Apple’s screening process because apps from such conglomerates as Sports Illustrated and Playboy are still very much available for purchase. Other apps, such as “SlideHer,” a puzzle that allows iPhone owners to reassemble a photo of a scantily clad actress, and “Sexy Scratch Off,” where you can whisk away at a woman’s dress at the push of a finger, have been purged away. In a response to customer complaints, Apple started turning off the button on certain applications they deemed “inappropriate,” as reported by the New York Times.

But how do you define what’s “inappropriate?” Women have complained that the content has become too degrading and objectionable while parents are concerned that their children might turn on the screen on their iPod Touch and find a barely dressed woman on the screen. But how is Apple figuring out what to get rid of?

On its Web site, “Chillfresh” said that an Apple representative told the developer that the App Store policy will not tolerate applications that include the following: “images of women in bikinis, images of men in bikinis, images of skin, silhouettes indicating that the app includes sexual images, sexual connotations or innuendo, and sexually arousing content.” It was stated that no applications will be approved if they imply sexual content.