EA encourages you to sexually harass their boothbabes
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/07/ea-puts-sexual-bounty-on-the-heads-of-its-own-booth-babes.ars
Ugh... I'm really not one to go on about feminism, but is this in awful taste or what? Having booth babes is one thing, but to explicity encourage and reward disrespectful behaviour and 'acts of lust' towards them is another...
thoughts?
Ugh... I'm really not one to go on about feminism, but is this in awful taste or what? Having booth babes is one thing, but to explicity encourage and reward disrespectful behaviour and 'acts of lust' towards them is another...
thoughts?
Replies
This might even be seen to break the laws by a some. EA marketing sucks and treats the gamer like a stereotype hormonal teen. Remember the brass knuckles?
whaaatever
Get a giant crowd of people you can't stand together and surround them with porn and comics. Good god
but even if they are, theyre still encouraging "participants" to get pics with ANY booth girl, not just their own.
has noelcower been ramblin about this again?
1) The promotion material was horribly done and droves of comic geeks will take this way to far, to the point of sexual harassment which is regrettable.
2) The steps really shouldn't have those titles to go with them but just the text below. If you leave the titles out of it then it is easy to see that they are not asking you to take explicit pictures with the women.
The real steps are:
1) Take photos with us or any booth babe
2) Twitter post or email the picture of you with the booth babe
3) "Find" more babes for more chances to win
In that respect they are not asking you to commit sexual harassment, just take pictures with as many of the booth babes and EA personnel that you can find.
The description of the date/party night you will be going on if you win is also just a play on words which is linked with the game that is being promoted, nothing more. You will probably just be going to some after parties which are always accompanying any convention.
I've got a very dirty mind and no filter...
What a bunch of horrible over reaction to something so trivial. I'm sorry but I can't consider something sexist when the women effected choose to participate, fully understand and accept what they are getting into.
Now watch them end up banning boothbabes from comic con like they did E3 cause of "sexism".
You can argue that the contest play on words may not have been the wisest decisions since some may take it too literally. Which is apparent from the hundreds of comments on Kotaku thinking this is gonna get someone laid.
Anyways taking pictures with booth babes is nothing new and I highly doubt anyone is gonna try and rape someone while 1000's of people are walking around.
"judge's reserve the right to disqualify any submission that are "inappropriate for any reason, including without limitation, for depicting or mentioning sex, violence, drugs, alcohol and/or inappropriate language."
I'm gonna laugh when its just couple escort models that accompany you to a party or sit by you when you get to play a build of the game.
/rage
WTF I need to go to more of these conventions
And the fake religious protest? Great job, guys.
Just because there are women who are ok with it doesn't mean it's not sexist. That's like thinking you are free and clear to make racist comments because you have a black friend. Somehow their presence is a magic get-out-of-jail-free card.
I feel like most people only think of racism/sexism in extremes and overlook the commonplace, everyday forms of it (especially in terms of sexism). That said, I find this to be more creepy and lame than anything else.
Fact: If the worst thing they do is get their picture taken by a bunch of nerds that day, they'd probably consider that a pretty good day.
I'd guess most of them are models or actresses but since you prefaced it as a fact I guess I can't argue.
I doubt any of them would take the job if they had a serious problem with it, though.
I'm sure addressing all the model and boothbabes in the world to quit their jobs to reduce the projection of this image they put out into society of women as objects would have a far greater impact in reducing sexism...
That is if their were any more actual sexism here than normal, Which if anyone on the billion of websites who had actually ran this story would know if they had read the contest rules.
1. How to Enter. Visit Comic-Con International ("Comic-Con") at the San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101 between 10:00 am Pacific Time on July 23, 2009 and 11:59 pm Pacific Time on July 24, 2009 ("Photo Period"), and take a photo ("Photo") of yourself with a costumed EA booth spokesperson (hereinafter "Spokesperson") or any other costumed spokesperson at Comic-Con or outside of Comic-Con.
6. Prizes. (a) Grand Prize: Grand Prize Winner will receive an invite to an invite-only Comic-Con event (the "Event"), to be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, where Grand Prize winner will be escorted by two costumed representatives. Approximate Retail Value of Grand Prize: $595.00.
Taking a photo with a costumed spokesperson is nothing unusual and I never heard people going on about it before.
Everyone saw a contest with the words "Commit act of lust" and "boothbabe" and decided to draw incorrect conclusions and act like the world imploded.
Too many people trying to find offense with something they completely ignored the thousands of times it occurred before.
Right? Guys?
...
Just checked this out. Was never exposed to many comics, but this one was pretty fun
And who cares if in their fine print they outline that what they only REALLY meant was for people to take pictures with their representatives-- does that negate the fact that the entire way they went about it reeks of douchbaggery? No, not to me. There has to be other ways of promoting games without alienating the female audience.
I'm not trying to promote/enforce feminism on you all or anything, but it'd be nice if one less industry, particularly the one I'm part of, didn't disrespect my gender so blatantly and then continue to shrug it off like it hasn't done anything wrong.
How is yours a fair analogy? I used an example of someone expressing objectionable ideas/attitudes, which is what this is about - not physically violating someone.
Anyway, it's true that this single story is pretty trivial, but it's still worth talking about since sexism is particularly egregious in the games industry.
edit, i like this picture better. fallout babes!
it gets worse, they're running through the 7 deadly sins...next up is a burger eating competition with pictures
You hit the nail on the head. Next!
I love topics like this because I despise government and those who 'might' endorse ideas that the government should "step in".
It comes down to this, do you believe in freedom of choice or not? Freedom shouldn't be ideas that only you approve of OP. In a free society EA can do what they wish. And the girls getting paid can choose to go along with it or not.
When you defend freedom and you defend freedom of choice you can't be picking and choosing how people use those freedoms.
My advice is to "turn the other cheek". I personally get a bit squeamish with the topic of homosexuality. A lot of people secretly do without saying anything. But you can't be an advocate for freedom and the constitution while trying to limit someone elses freedoms; like banning gay marriage. I may find it morally repugnant but I as an individual should have no say in making that kind of judgment for another individual.
When people start endorsing the idea that government should protect people from themselves is the moment you plant the seeds for a tyrannical state.
Personally I think EA is just trying to make Dante's Inferno so ridiculously against the spirit of the original book that we can finally see if spinning in the grave is actually possible - if Dante won't come back from the dead in anger of this, zombies are proven to be 100% impossible. It's science.
Then Mickey Mouse is big trouble, all those kids...
The part that gets me is not so much the "act of lust" but the prize for the winner. "We will hook you up with a limo and 2 hot chicks (who wouldnt touch you with a 50ft pole but we are paying then so its cool), the rest is up to you". No doubt it wont have a happy ending, but its kind of a slam to the booth babes and the guy who wins. Whats the matter guy cant get your own limo and hot chicks?
Sweet you win a pity date!
Since when did Dante ever give out pirate swag "chest full of booty?" who writes this stuff?
Second of all, yours isn't valid because these women have been paid to do this, knowing full well what the job was. It is not at all analogous to making a black joke because you have a black friend - that's you setting up a straw man.
Anyway, I'd be pretty surprised if any of this marketing bullshit EA is pulling will even work. I don't know anything about this game, and all the fake protest and this booth babe stunt have done is make me think the game must be crap if they can't advertise it based on its own strength.
Whether knowing it or not, you make a underhanded implication that any women who do have issues with this are 'ugly". Wow. That's a great way to keep the status quo. Keep them quiet or be afraid to be singled out.
God I hate Patriarchy archaic viewpoints. The ones that don't even realize what they are doing.
As for the rest, I do not agree nor disagree. Its something that does not belong in this thread. No one mentioned making laws afaik. There has been mention this could be potentially legally troublesome depending on the outcome with existing laws.
Here is something for you. Why are there not booth hunks at EA as well? Why is the target audience again and again the prepubescent male? Why cannot a female get her picture taken while "lusting" over a male.
Oh thats right, because as has been said, the inmature majority of this field are grown little boys.
Anyhow.. Sorry. Got ranty.
*Goes and plays with his TMNT action figures..
The game industry is so juvenile.
Again, I pose, if we have gender equality, why are there not booth hunks available as well for this PR event?
My point is that we have no reason to be something that is soo gender specific. We are growing global media and communications resource. As I have said, that's half the population. Its ourselves keeping ourselves from growing up as it were.
If the women are willing, paid participants, what is the problem here
If you can look at the pictures I posted and see something other than base objectification, I would question the fundamentals of your position
Because whatever your idea of gender equality is, the marketing people don't give 2/5s of a goddam. Objectifying hot women works! Or at least marketing thinks it does, which, honestly, probably means it does - remember, this is their job
Anyway the point I was trying to make up there is that everyone always says that games are overly targeted at the teenage male demographic... well, let's be honest. Plenty of stuff caters to that demographic, and a lot of it is far older than our industry. The problem here isn't video games. It's systemic.
Because for one, its not a private club. This is a general audience event. People cant sign there rights away, if some sexually repressed picture taker or winner goes too far, there will be legal repercussions. Did Marketing even really show legal how they were going to term the contest?
There is total objectification. My point is if you have one, then you should have both. You make an assumption I am against objectification. No, I am more against patriarchal objectification. Which means objectification that does not objectify both sexes for the gratuity of the other. Your pictures wouldn't be this type because the woman are in submission to the male models. Most other species its the male that has to beauty themselves up to attract a female.
There is anthropological historical evidence that there used to be more matriarchal societies. But patriarchal ones have buried these. Sometimes by making the goddesses from the matriarchal the demons or evil dooers of the patriarchal society.
Or its a marketing staff without any original ideas left.