In the past, I was much more tolerant than I am now. I used to ignore the messages in computer gaming magazine advertisements that demeaned women and targeted men, because I wanted to read the reviews or learn more about the games. I did not let the ads get to me. After tackling the task of determining why game magazine readership amongst women is sitting at 5% (1), it really started to hit me: computer gaming magazine advertisements are pathetic.
Nearly half of gamers are female (2), yet very few of them read gaming magazines. But what do you expect when you open the latest gaming magazine to a voluptuous blonde with a hardhat and a white cut-off halter-top, standing naked behind a broken TV? Since it would be illegal for me to post examples of advertisements without the permission of the companies, let me describe some of the ads I ran across:
Type of Advertisement: Action Game
Description: This ad contains a picture of a men's bathroom, complete with a condom distributor. Instead of distributing condoms, the machine appears to distribute the female game character in this particular action game. The first slot has a tough, beefy looking woman hugging her rocket launcher between her breasts with the caption "Rocket Wrap." The second slot shows a male soldier and a female soldier from the game in an embrace. She is being swept off her feet, and the caption reads, "Close Encounters." The third slot has a voluptuous character in tight leather garb with the caption "Wild Vixen." Finally, the fourth slot shows a picture of a cyborg with the caption "Hard Steel - Make a Little Go a Long Way!" On the wall is scrawled "If you want to spank a stranger, first learn to play with yourself." Computer wires have been fed through the bottom of an occupied stall with a "Do not disturb" tag hanging off, and the writing on the stall door reads, "It's just as stimulating when you are alone."
Type of Advertisement: Game Distributor
I also found a disturbing ad for a game distributor, which was even more disturbing to me since it featured my favorite local game retailer.
Description: The ad looks back from inside the computer screen out to the room of a teenage boy. A girl who looks like she's 14 years old (definitely not over 16) is draped in a sexy pose over a chair wearing short shorts and a red tube top. The guy is grinning back at the computer screen while gripping his joystick. The caption for this ad reads, "You know you're going to score."
Type of Advertisement: Strategy Game
Description: In this advertisement, an evil-looking, sexy woman is staring back at you. The caption reads, "This is all the action you can handle."
Type of Advertisement: Hardware - Joystick
Description: A very phallic joystick fills up this page, and the stick is replaced with a stick of dynamite and the label "Handle with Care."
Type of Advertisement: Hardware - Computer System
Description: A smiling buxom blonde in a hot pink bathing suit sunbathes across a large rock with the company logo carved into it. The caption reads, "It's not what you play ... It's what you play it on."
Sexist advertisements and ads that use sex to sell their products are not the only ones failing the female market. Other types of ads that are geared towards males, and therefore ignore the female market, also alienate women. For example, a boy and his mother are standing together on the front steps of what appears to be a school. The boy is holding up a sign that reads, "My brother is a victim of bad graphics" and the mother is holding up a sign that reads, "My son is a victim of bad graphics." These type of ads target males by focusing on the male gamer, and do not depict female gamers at all. This reinforces the stereotype that males are the only ones who play games.
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