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E3 Games

Sexism Still a Problem At E3 737

An anonymous reader writes "Now that E3 has wound down and the big product announcements are out of the way, its time to take a step back and look at the culture represented by the giant gaming show. 'The presence of scantily clad women hawking games and gizmos seemed in particular contrast to a report released this week by the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the gaming industry's annual trade show. It found that 45 percent of the entire gaming population is now women, and women make up 46 percent of the most frequent game buyers.' While there are fewer 'booth babes' than in earlier shows (and while some are trying to bring balance by adding 'booth bros'), the conference organizers are happy to let exhibitors make their own policy. By contrast, the Penny Arcade Expo forbids 'booth babes,' a controversial but widely lauded stance. A recent article in Kotaku about this year's E3 notes, 'For every confident cosplayer who might do the job at a con, I am seeing dozens of companies trying to sell me hundreds of women. They are not drawing my attention to the content of their games, or to their tactics or techniques. They are drawing my attention to thigh-high boots, to low-cut shirts, and, frankly, to the hard work of a really expensive bra. So much of what I see here at E3 is aimed directly at the lizard hindbrain of a 13-year-old boy. But you have to be 18 to get into the show, and it's nominally for industry professionals. Perhaps someday we—men and women alike—can all be treated like the grown-ups we theoretically are, and be trusted to judge a game by its content... not its double-D cover.'"
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Sexism Still a Problem At E3

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  • If the industry's most prominent trade show looks like it was organized by teenage boys, it's not going to do much to dispel the stereotype that games are just something for teenage boys.

    • by Xenx ( 2211586 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:01PM (#44015891)
      Lets be realistic... Be it 13 or 30... most guys would still be interested in attractive women. Most at 30 are just smart enough to act otherwise.
      • by fyngyrz ( 762201 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:17PM (#44016059) Homepage Journal

        Most at 30 are just smart enough to act otherwise.

        Most at 30 are just smart enough to pretend otherwise to avoid arousing politically correct morons.

        FTFY

        • by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:22PM (#44016101) Journal

          Ooh, 'politically correct'. How about "Most at 30 are just smart enough to handle the concept of 'situational relevance'"

          • I don't think that's a real thing man.
            • by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:51PM (#44016843) Homepage Journal
              No doubt.

              Geez, what's the problem. Gaming is *still* according to the numbers, a male dominated interests, what is wrong with catering to your main audience? No matter how old a (straight) guy is, he is never going to get tired of looking at scantily clad women. Doesn't matter if your 13 or 63, we still like looking at tight, cute asses.

              Not everything has to conform to political correctness. What's wrong with letting guys be guys, and enjoy things men like?

              When the women outnumber the men, are we going to complain then that there are too many booth bros?

              • by LihTox ( 754597 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @09:46PM (#44019175)

                First, I take exception to this remark. I'm a 38-year-old straight guy (I find women WAY more attractive than men), but this sort of transparent ploy just seems pathetic to me. It is not a turn-on to see women desperately flirting with me when I know all they want is for me to buy their product. People like to talk about sexism towards men: THAT Is sexism towards men. "Oh, put a sexy lady in front of him and he'll do anything we tell him to." Ugh.

                Second, did you see the numbers above? "45 percent of the entire gaming population is now women, and women make up 46 percent of the most frequent game buyers." It is *not* a male-dominated industry any more.

                (I'm not even going to get into the use of women as decorative objects because someone who complains about "political correctness" isn't going to see anything wrong with that anyway, I figure.)

        • by girlintraining ( 1395911 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:16PM (#44016577)

          Most at 30 are just smart enough to pretend otherwise to avoid arousing politically correct morons.

          That's a new definition of "Fixing it" of which I was previously unaware. How does advocating treating women as people instead of objects turn them into politically correct morons? Do tell. And everyone else, grab some popcorn. There's about to be a roasting.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by Freddybear ( 1805256 )

            Who is treating them as objects? Could it be the ones who are using them as pawns to score cheap political points?
            Because after all, nothing says "you're a real person" more than acting offended by the fact that *some* women can make money by being attractive and pleasant.

          • Because, while most men are respectable individuals - Family men, husbands, boyfriends, parents - We're also about 1% away from being sexually-driven monkeys. If I were to post a link below to a nude picture of Zooey Deschanel, everyone would click it, and then ones who would claim they hadn't would either be lying or gay. Your boyfriend is likely a great guy, but never underestimate what's lurking below the surface for the vast majority of men... Political correctness is what keeps us in check.
            • by girlintraining ( 1395911 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:49PM (#44016831)

              Because, while most men are respectable individuals - Family men, husbands, boyfriends, parents - We're also about 1% away from being sexually-driven monkeys.

              Maybe you are. The fact that you sometimes, or even often, want sex, doesn't make you a "sexually-driven monkey"... not anymore than when I look at a guy and then fantasize about the size of his cock means I'm about to just spazz out, rip off his clothes, and scream "Fuck me now, man-beast!" But I'll fantasize about it.

              The thing is, everybody is like this -- only our social expectations differ. If you walked up and grabbed my ass, you'd get slapped with sexual harassment and everyone would publicly denounce you. But privately, you and I both know, there'd be elbow ripping and some "Yeah, we understand." On the other hand, if I walk up and grab your crotch and suck on my lip, you're not going to file for sexual harassment, you're going to follow me to the bathroom and fuck me silly.

              Same desires. Different roles.

              • by Anonymous Coward

                "If you walked up and grabbed my ass, you'd get slapped with sexual harassment "

                No. Not with me. You'd just smile and follow me.

                You hair looks great, by the way.

    • by Intrepid imaginaut ( 1970940 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:09PM (#44015967)

      Perhaps some day we - men and women alike - can act like the grown-ups we theoretically are and not get offended by the sight of the human body. The US had a shit fit over the sight of a tasselled nipple at a sporting event but regularly enjoys media which features vagabond refugees shooting 'dead' people in the face. The endgame of extremist feminists looks very like that of extremist religions, with women chastely covered up and seperated from the lecherous menfolk for fear they will be overcome by their urges.

      These backwards puritans are why US society is as demented as it is. Sort yourselves out.

    • by girlintraining ( 1395911 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:13PM (#44016015)

      If the industry's most prominent trade show looks like it was organized by teenage boys, it's not going to do much to dispel the stereotype that games are just something for teenage boys.

      Most trade shows look like this. There's an old adage in marketing: Sex sells. It doesn't matter if 46, or 48%, or even 51% of the population is women buying video games. We have a culture that endorses the objectification of women, to the point that women aren't making purchasing decisions based on the endorsement of a scantily clad woman -- but they aren't not making a purchasing decision on that basis either. And that's the crux of the matter. Sex sells games to men.. and for women, well... as long as it isn't driving them away, who cares?

      Yes, the 600,000 polygon "realistic boob bounce" graphics are in many games... but we'll play them anyway because hey, if we can't escape the blatant sexism everywhere else... why would video games be different? Not to say I wouldn't appreciate a knob or switch in the options to say "Disable 13 Year Old Boy Mode", but I'm not going to go all "Achievement Unlocked: Raging Bitch Mode" because of it either. And that's what we inevitably are labelled should we ask for realistic looking women, heroes, etc., rather than the "armor bikinis" and the boobs bigger than their heads...

      Again, not to say it's right, just that, as a woman gamer... I pick and choose my battles. And if I had one wish I could cast upon the entire video game industry, it wouldn't be "and make girls in games realistic and playable"... but to bomb Square Enix and it's peripheral companies into oblivion because if ever there was a plague of locusts to descend upon everything we love and enjoy in the world... it's Square Enix. x_x

    • by icebike ( 68054 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:22PM (#44016109)

      If the industry's most prominent trade show looks like it was organized by teenage boys, it's not going to do much to dispel the stereotype that games are just something for teenage boys.

      Lets face it, teen age boys don't have the attention span to organize much of anything.

      Contrary to the rantings in the summary above (as well as yours), it is the demographics of the attendees that determine the character of the show.
      When there start to be 45% females in the attendance the situation will change.

      All you need do is fire up Google image search and look for E3 show floor images and you will find it looks surprisingly
      like a Muslim street scene, with hardly any women in sight.

      I'd say the show knows its audience very well.

      Besides, the whole rant is based on the assumption that most women disapprove of having scantily clad women
      running around, and there is almost no place other than a church service where there is any evidence
      of this.

  • This is bullshit. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15, 2013 @12:54PM (#44015829)

    Every industry does the same thing, it's just the gaming industry folk live in caves and don't have any clue what happens outside their cave.

  • This is stupid (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Squiddie ( 1942230 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @12:54PM (#44015835)
    They are just pandering to the target audience. Maybe you are very mature, but let's face it, most gamers do act like 13 year old boys. It's all in good fun. E3 exists to show off games and try to get people into the idea of buying them, not to pander to feminist sensibilities.
    • by overshoot ( 39700 )

      E3 exists to show off games and try to get people into the idea of buying them, not to pander to feminist sensibilities.

      It so absolutely makes business sense to repel half of your target market (and more than that of your potential target market) in order to pursue a small marginal edge in your existing customer base.

      Well, that or maybe the corporate management are indulging themselves at the expense of the business itself. But we know that that never happens.

      • Women aren't half the market. Don't fool yourself. Women aren't suddenly going to start buying more games because E3 stopped using booth babes. I fail to see how that would actually stop anyone from buying games. It's not like you have to fondle a booth babe to get the damn things.
        • by misexistentialist ( 1537887 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:29PM (#44016189)
          Judging by women's magazines, women like looking at pretty women too. There also an element of schadenfreude, criticizing celebrities' "plastic surgery" and "anorexia", playing to women's envy. Which is what is really going on here. The women aren't demanding the addition of "booth studs" or appearances by Justin Bieber, they want the women who look better than them to lose their jobs.
      • by Aranykai ( 1053846 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `resnogls'> on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:15PM (#44016041)

        Pardon my ignorance, by why is it repulsive to see attractive people at product promotion booths? As a man, I buy products all the time with attractive, often partially clad men advertising them all the time. Personal grooming products, cars, clothing, sports equipment etc.. all promoted by over idealized men. Why are women so offended when they see over idealized, attractive women advertising products?

        I don't hear cries of sexist when Wendy's advertises their latest salad offering with a shirtless man at poolside on national TV. Pick one ladies, you cant be both "equal" and more-than-equal at the same time.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by artor3 ( 1344997 )

          Why are women so offended when they see over idealized, attractive women advertising products?

          First of all, it contributes to the objectification of women. The pervasive idea in our society that women are pretty things to parade around, and if you're really successful, then you'll get one of your very own to show off to your friends. This hurts men too, by the way -- it pushes the idea that your value as a man is directly proportional to your ability to attract a beautiful woman.

          Your analogy to using attractive men to sell, e.g., clothing doesn't work. In those cases, the message is "Buy our prod

          • First of all, it contributes to the objectification of women. The pervasive idea in our society that women are pretty things to parade around, and if you're really successful,

            Just like people with homosexual tendencies are often the loudest homophobes, I suspect people with sexist tendencies are often the loudest crusaders against sexism. So don't generalize from your own dysfunctions to the rest of society.

            Besides, weird as that may seem to you, people actually enjoy being objectified occasionally, and the

        • by Coryoth ( 254751 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:02PM (#44016487) Homepage Journal

          Pardon my ignorance, by why is it repulsive to see attractive people at product promotion booths?

          It's not, and as one of the linked articles pointed out, the ban on booth babes at PAX didn't stop some companies having attractive women there to sell stuff -- the difference being that said women were dressed normally, and actually knew all about what they were selling (that is, they were regular salespeople for the company that happened to be women). If you can't see the difference between that and booth babes then you are part of the problem.

        • by KGIII ( 973947 ) <uninvolved@outlook.com> on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:28PM (#44016685) Journal

          Feminism has never been about equality. Equal Rights Movements were about equal rights. The two aren't the same.

          Some 45% of gamers are women. They don't care. This is a small vocal minority that is complaining. You can (and should) ignore them.

          I believe in equal rights for all. No special rights for anyone.

      • Except it doesn't repel half their target market.

    • Re:This is stupid (Score:5, Insightful)

      by _xeno_ ( 155264 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:09PM (#44015969) Homepage Journal

      Not to mention that the PAX ban doesn't, well, work. There are still booth babes in the expo hall. As far as I know, they have to be able to answer questions about the game/games being demoed at the booth, and then they "aren't a booth babe" any more.

      So you wind up with a whole bunch of costumed female presenters who "aren't booth babes" in the PAX expo hall, and PAX can act all self-righteous.

    • Maybe you are very mature, but let's face it, most gamers do act like 13 year old boys.

      Maybe the 13 year old boys are acting like 13 year old boys, but that just means they are acting their age. But for the rest of the people out there that play video games I doubt that statement is really that valid any more. Don't forget that the Atari 2600 came out in 1977 and that means that even if you were born the same year it came out, you would be roughly 36 years old. Those that grew up playing that console are likely in their mid-40's at this point!

      I think the problem is that we really need a bet

    • If the industry's most prominent trade show looks like it was organized by teenage boys, it's not going to do much to dispel the stereotype that games are just something for teenage boys.

      The average gamer is in their late 20s to 30s and despise 13 year old boys... usually either because it's a twitch game and they're being douchebags or have no lives outside the game (there is, afterall, no method yet of creating public servers that match people based on skill automatically... and attempts to create tiered servers have been a cluster-fuck of fail...), or because their maturity is so blatantly painful that it's only really tolerable with large amounts of beer and/or marijuana... which seem t

  • Problem? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by theNetImp ( 190602 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @12:55PM (#44015853)

    I have no problem with scantily clad women. I know many women who have no problem (and rather enjoy) scantily clad women. Just cause it's a problem to you doesn't mean it's a problem to everyone else.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by overshoot ( 39700 )

      Just cause it's a problem to you doesn't mean it's a problem to everyone else.

      Or alternately, just because it's fine with you doesn't mean that it's cool with others. I notice that you're stuck speculating because apparenlty you've never actually, like, talked with (or more to the point, listented to) women on the subject. Hmmmmm.

      • by Kohath ( 38547 )

        Or alternately, just because it's fine with you doesn't mean that it's cool with others.

        Why do their opinions matter more than those of anyone else? Why do naysayers get to decide?

      • by Arker ( 91948 )

        "I notice that you're stuck speculating because apparenlty you've never actually, like, talked with (or more to the point, listented to) women on the subject. Hmmmmm."

        Huh? He said specifically he knew many women that were fine with it. I do too. Yes, it's sexist if you want to look at it that way, but primarily against men (presuming that we are brainless idiots who will buy crap simply because there is a healthy young woman nearly nude associated with it.) The girls are getting paid outrageous amounts of m

      • Re:Problem? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by theNetImp ( 190602 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:34PM (#44016251)

        Actually, you're wrong. I have many female friend active in the cosplay/costuming scene at conventions. Many of them dress in revealing costumes of their favorite characters. I have had discussions with them about this subject and they think the women who make a big deal of it are self conscious and whiney. I have many other friends are well educated who also think that the whole thing is blown out of proportion. So I have talked with and have listened to many women on the subject. If you don't like it then don't buy their games/products, it's that simple.

      • Re:Problem? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by girlintraining ( 1395911 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:28PM (#44016681)

        Or alternately, just because it's fine with you doesn't mean that it's cool with others. I notice that you're stuck speculating because apparenlty you've never actually, like, talked with (or more to the point, listented to) women on the subject. Hmmmmm.

        While I'm in the difficult position of being a woman speaking up on this subject and, of course, feeling in no small way like I have to represent all of womankind when making these comments (guys -- you ever have that problem? Didn't think so)... I'll simply say that, as a general statement, women don't have a problem with other women dressing slutty publicly... they have a problem with it privately. Probably because we're jealous, insecure, and petty on the whole and any woman more attractive than we are is a threat that must be managed or eliminated... the inevitable source of so many cat fights. So it's not dressing slutty to attract men per se that's the problem... or rather, it's not the men's reaction to slutty dressing that causes so much grief... but rather other women's reactions to it.

        Not to say that there isn't a wide diversity of opinion... because let's face it: There's more variation within the genders than between them... and it's hard to make generalized statements at all without finding a significant portion left out. But, that said... as a general statement, I'd stand by what I said. See also: Halloween.

        • Err, in general, when discussing differences between sexes, you are always a sort of an ambassador of your gender.

          But, yeah, it intensifies when there are great numerical differences.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by artor3 ( 1344997 )

      Conversely, the fact that it's not a problem to you doesn't mean it's not a problem to everyone else.

      But this is Slashdot, a website dominated by young, wealthy, white men. So of course sexism is NEVER a problem. Ditto racism or classism or any other -ism. No matter what happens, you can always explain it away and get modded insightful by your peers.

    • Re:Problem? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by TheLongshot ( 919014 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:14PM (#44016557)
      Scantily clad women itself isn't a problem. It is when it is seen as a predominant role for women at these functions that it is a problem. We are talking some gender equity. Not just with "booth hunks", but in other roles as well. Have some acknowledgement that your audience is larger than the male 20-something demographic.
      • Re:Problem? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by girlintraining ( 1395911 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:29PM (#44016699)

        Scantily clad women itself isn't a problem. It is when it is seen as a predominant role for women at these functions that it is a problem.

        Bingo. Give this man a medal, he's just hit the nail on the head. Welcome to gender studies 101... you just earned yourself an 'A', dude.

  • There are no pics of scantily clad women at all in the article.

    The funny thing is the author of the second article seems to actually approve of this sort of thing [kotaku.com].
  • "Perhaps someday we—men and women alike—can all be treated like the grown-ups we theoretically are." Men and women who spend enormous amounts of time living vicariously through a video screen. Grown up? Not my any definition I know of.
    • Men and women who spend enormous amounts of time living vicariously through a video screen. Grown up? Not my any definition I know of.

      Fun as it can be to talk smack about /.ers, the reality is that there are plenty of adult (as in, actually socially functional, with families, outside social relationships, etc.) gamers.

      Which is one reason why this kind of "marketing" is pretty damned stupid. When a fair bit of your target market is people who have the incomes to support a hobby like gaming that takes a fair bit of money -- especially if you're supporting your spouse, children, and even grandchildren doing it -- it's incredibly dumb to pis

  • by stevegee58 ( 1179505 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:06PM (#44015935) Journal
    They're just buying Fallout or Modern Warfare for their boyfriends.
  • At least given the very appropriate banner ad [googlesyndication.com] I was being served along with this story.

  • by Bob9113 ( 14996 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:12PM (#44016007) Homepage

    While there are fewer 'booth babes' than in earlier shows (and while some are trying to bring balance by adding 'booth bros')

    Now that is a solution I can get behind. I'm not a hot guy. But I'm not full of shit either -- I know that straight women like hot guys, just like straight men like hot women. There's a hundred thousand years of evolution behind it. Pretending it is not true is stupid. Women are naturally drawn to men with a pronounced V shape from their waist to their shoulders -- a trait I do not posess. And men are naturally drawn to big chests. That is reality.

    You can argue that it is not sound economic policy, because it directs consumer spending in ways that are not reflective of product quality. Fine, let's talk about that, and maybe start by making advertising not count as a business expense for tax purposes. But if you are upset because it is objectification (or, more realistically, because you are, like me, not hot) -- you've got to get over it. Pretending it is not true is just lying to yourself. It will not change reality.

    • I'm more of a leg man myself.

  • Until it doesn't, anything attempting to sell you a product will rely on it.
  • I mean, look auto convention :

    http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/01/sexism-fashion-models-start-returning-to-us-auto-shows/1 [usatoday.com]

    Sexism at comic book convention :

    http://everythingstheworst.wordpress.com/tag/sexism-at-comic-book-conventions/ [wordpress.com]

    And tehre are similar stuff for gun convention (one of the weapomn show had sexy fashion model on their tank), I even saw it at downright other normal book convention.

    I am not saying it is good, It annoy me too, but game convention are not
  • by fyngyrz ( 762201 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:15PM (#44016039) Homepage Journal

    It's a perfect match. Tweaking the libido is entertainment. Games are entertainment. The age group here is largely young adult, sexually aware.

    So, several things. First, the idea that the female psyche isn't tweaked by up front sexuality? That's dead at the door. It's a social thing right now to pretend that sexuality is "mommy magic" and shouldn't be in play, but that is, and has been for decades, just a toxic result of radical women's lib propaganda. Now that is not saying that women shouldn't have equal opportunity in jobs, salary, medical care, marriage, etc -- not at all. Equal opportunity in matters that are not themselves tied to one's sexuality is good (I don't need equal access to an obstetrician, women don't need equal access to a dick doctor. Few will hire a fellow to strip for other fellows, likewise few would hire women to strip for other women. Etc.) But it is saying that the sexes are different, and that's a good thing, and an interesting thing, and altogether something to be celebrated, elevated, emphasized and above all enjoyed.

    Next, and standing all by itself, there's *nothing* wrong with marketing one's natural advantages. We do it with minds that are able to wrap around programming and engineering. Athletes do it with bodies that are able to excel under the stresses of sports, pro and amateur. Actors and models do it with looks that please the audience. And so on, ad infinitum. What's absolutely disgusting is when some idiot steps in and decides that some characteristic, sensuality and looks being perfect examples, isn't "appropriate" for someone to use, either personally, or by employing a third party to "bring" it.

    Do people with natural advantages have an easier time going down various roads in life? Yes, they do. Do we have *any* right to say that they should not, or cannot, use those advantages to travel those roads? No, we don't -- there's nowhere to derive such a right from.

    Here's an important tip on the term "liberation": When you find yourself saying "sure, you can choose to do that if you like", most probably, you're engaged in something along the lines of liberation. However, when you find yourself saying "you can't do that", you really need to look hard at what you're saying because most likely, what you're engaged in is repression, probably direct and senseless repression at that.

    If there's something to question about the marketing here, it might be raised as, "Where are the handsome guys as marketing tweaks for the ladies"? If the buying audience is truly equally distributed between the sexes, then if the game companies have any sense (debatable, where's my new MechAssault?) then they'll hit the women in the same nerve centers. You think they don't enjoy interacting with hunky guys? Oh, silly, silly you. :)

    And of course, if good looking people, highly sexual people, or people with moles offend ye, then avoid them, by all means. Just don't tell the rest of us what it is we can, should, or will enjoy.

    I raise my glass to those who make personal, informed choices.

    I raise my middle finger to those who would interfere with them.

    Now, let the politically correct bunk commence.

    • Next, and standing all by itself, there's *nothing* wrong with marketing one's natural advantages.

      There is nothing wrong either with using one's natural advantages to make money with activities such as porn or prostitution.
      Yet if you ask people around what they think of prostitution, they'll think it's disgusting and that those women are whores.

      • by fyngyrz ( 762201 )

        Yet if you ask people around what they think of prostitution, they'll think it's disgusting and that those women are whores.

        For some values of "people", yes. For this person, no -- on both counts. Society at large is pretty dysfunctional when it comes to these issues. That's why such confusion about sexuality in general, paid or not, reigns in the minds of many.

        There's a truism that always rises to the top when women claim such behavior is "beneath" them, and that they'll not engage in sexual behavior unti

  • Sexism Still a Problem Everywhere
    Fixed that for you....
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • can someone explain? (Score:4, Informative)

    by stenvar ( 2789879 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:19PM (#44016083)

    Apparently, it's sexist when hired female sales staff ("booth babes") wear T-shirts, makeup, and big hair. But apparently it is OK to use your feminine wiles if you declare yourself a feminist and a female technologist [wordpress.com] (and apparently, you don't actually need to know much about technology to do so [linkedin.com]). Can someone who is well versed in the intricacies of sexism and political correctness please explain who is allowed to wear revealing clothes under what circumstances, and who is not?

    • I almost got into an argument w/ a coffee shop owner over this. She wanted more male models on the Price is Right. For what? People, even women, like seeing attractive women pushing products they use. Don't believe me? Check out any magazine's advertisements.

  • by osu-neko ( 2604 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:30PM (#44016213)
    Microsoft's little rape joke [blogs.com] and the fact that this ever even saw the light of day shows a lot about gaming culture...
  • Male or female, makes no difference. Women's magazines sell with pictures of women. Men's magazines sell with pictures of women.

    Feminist ideology says people are sinful for being attracted to women, and capitalists are especially sinful for capitalizing on this fact. But if you don't happen to share their religion, there's nothing to see here but a brute fact of human preferences that no one needs to feel shame over.

  • by SuperBanana ( 662181 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @03:11PM (#44016983)

    So much of what I see here at E3 is aimed directly at the lizard hindbrain of a 13-year-old boy.

    Is that some new, clever, more-polite way of saying "aimed at men, who think with their dicks?" 1)Men don't think about sex any more than women do. 2)Men are not interested in promiscuous sex, by and large. 3)Men are not only interested in sex, either. 4)We have agency, and that agency is not controlled any more by our dicks than your agency is controlled by your vagina, thank you very much.

    All of the above has been proven with research and studies, which stand in stark face to the crap that just falls out of the mouth of many a feminist in the same breath as complaints about sexism. It's perfectly acceptable to say men think with their genitals and to call them pigs for being interested in sex while calling women interested in sex "empowered." Female nudity is celebrated; male nudity is controversial and rarely if ever portrayed or shown. We're told that women's sexual feature are beautiful, and men's genitals are gross, disgusting, etc.

    Furthermore, I am not responsible for content or marketing aimed at my demographic any more than women would be held responsible for content or marketing aimed at them. This is particularly true given that any time this subject comes up with other men, the responses are that it is: cheesy, annoying, eye-roll inducing, and in many cases, not what any of us consider attractive. I don't find blonds with giant breasts to be attractive. Sorry. Don't. Tell that to a bunch of women on a "sexism in the game industry" panel and the response will be some strong variant of "You don't know what you're talking about." Actually, we fuckin' well do. We know better than you are. But it's not convenient to your little rant; what's convenient is to portray us all as drooling over booth babes with hard dicks.

    You want equality? Great. So do we. Stop insulting us. Stop repeating sexist, made up bullshit. Stop dismissing us when we tell you you're wrong about prevailing attitudes.

  • by __aaaehb3101 ( 610398 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @04:31PM (#44017397)
    Almost all sales/trade shows are like this. Car shows, tools, sporting goods, or even pet supplies; they are are all pretty much the same with model/actress/whatever standing around using sex to promote a product. I don't see why electronics/computers should be different. But it seems to be acceptable to bad mouth the "industry" about it. If this offends stop going to the shows, most major companies stream their events. Also pressure your suppliers and business associates not to go as well. But remember, the "booth babes" were banned before and E3 almost went under because no one went.
  • by s0nicfreak ( 615390 ) on Saturday June 15, 2013 @09:45PM (#44019157) Journal
    If the booth babes thought it was sexist they would not be there. IMO saying booth babes should not exist, is saying that women can't be expected to make wise choices about their own lives - and THAT is much more sexist.

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