The totally awesome and not at all insulting to
- women who resent being viewed as a walking support system for attractive curves and to
- men who resent being viewed as a random collection of lustful urges
EA advertising campaign is attracting a bit of attention.
Zubon at Kill Ten Rats has a modest proposal.
Since the approach is apparently, “any publicity is good publicity,” I’m just not going to mention any EA games for the rest of the year unless this is somehow made right.
Sorry, Bioware! A commenter at Ars Technica has some experience, being an actual attractive female company representative at conventions. You know.
Have any of you BEEN a “booth babe”? No? Then STFU. Myself, I’ve been a “booth babe” at many comic, scifi and anime cons for the last several yrs. I was also the training manager for ALL employees, running the booths and overseeing the product of two major companies. I also happen to be attractive and enjoy wearing costumes. I have a four-yr degree and my day-job is in the comic industry. But I guess I’m ASKING to be groped because I’m one step up from a hooker, right? Even if I WAS a fucking hooker, that gives no one the right. I can walk around in a thong and pasties and it’s nobody’s license to touch.
The irony: this has happened before. Last year we had legendarily creepy LiveJournal ‘celebrity’ “The Ferrett” announce that you know, it would be a better world if he could just walk up to random strangers at ComicCon and feel their boobs. And being a totally Aspergian geek, he MADE IT OPEN SOURCE.
We talked about this. It was an Open-Source Project, making breasts available to select folks. (Like any good project, you need access control, because there are loutish men and women who just Don’t Get It.) And we wanted a signal to let people know that they were okay with being asked politely, so we turned it into a project:
The Open-Source Boob Project.
Why would anyone take offense at this? WHY GOD WHY? Oh.
This sort of thing happens frequently at cons. Don’t believe me? Ask isako or purpletophat. Women who wear skimpy outfits at cons or even slightly flesh bearing outfits at Cons hear this all the time. Or worse, people just go ahead and do it. I’ve slapped many a fanboy hand.
The idea that you can touch whatever on display is not body positive. It hearkens back to the common plea: “Well officer she deserved it! She was wearing a mini-skirt! She asked for it.” That idea is frankly repugnant. To be fair, I think however that this is more the writer’s salivation than the project’s.
To be fair, I don’t actually believe that the EA marketing droids that came up with this juvenile drivel thought for a moment that they were encouraging the mauling of female convention-goers. Given the history of the marketing for their project, they were really just pulling a Madonna and dancing in front of a burning cross because, hey, fire pretty. Thoughts about consequences? That’s for lame-os!
That doesn’t make their ‘I’m sorry you were offended by our witty marketing, oh, and please buy our game!’ standard corporate straight-from-image-management pseudo-apology any less disgusting.
We apologize for any confusion and offense that resulted from our choice of wording,
And I apologize for any confusion in how I worded my belief that your marketing team was devoid of common sense, views its female employees as sexual objects, and reflects poorly on our entire industry in its juvenile pursuit of attention.
and want to assure you that we take your concerns and sentiments seriously.
How nice for you.
I wish I could be surprised. Unfortunately – not really. Really, the only way this sort of complete and total nimrod idiocy will ever get addressed is if the industry as a whole starts actually, you know, hiring women and promoting them, so that at some point the fratboy “huh huh” atmosphere breaks down and sexual harassment isn’t viewed as a clever in-joke.
#1 by Raethys on July 29th, 2009
Listen, if I went out and committed “Acts of Lust” every time some marketing campaign encouraged me to do so, I’d be beaten, in jail, or worse.
This mentality of “Oh, the TV told me to do it! Oh, Harry Potter influences our children to engage in satanic worship and black magic! Oh, the song on the radio said I should go bust a cap in his ass, so I did! It’s not MY fault!” is pure bullshit that reeks of censorship endorsement and dangerous presumptions that none of us are capable of thinking for ourselves.
Personally, I have my own mind, thanks. I know when an ad campaign is tongue in cheek, and I know that you’re not supposed to feel up the model, regardless of what it says. Blaming the company, the media, or anything for your own lack of discretion is the cry of irresponsibility that endorses the kind of government policies that don’t hold individuals accountable for their own actions.
It’s as simple as this: Grope the babe, get bounced for not knowing better. It’s nobody’s fault but your own.
#2 by Freakazoid on July 29th, 2009
@Dblade
If a stripper didn’t have to worry about some men having misogynic views on skimpy dresses, why does she need to be prudent when she steps out in her skimpy dress? Unless… there ARE men who would grope women who look like strippers! And being “prudent” means covering up. Covering up means giving in to the misogynistic male oppression and kissing women’s rights goodbye forever.
#3 by Darury on July 29th, 2009
@Jeremy Preacher: Kudos for trying? Really? Do you also applaud drunk drivers who miss their offramps and plunge into the river?
Is there really a need to drag Ted Kennedy into this?
#4 by Jeremy Preacher on July 29th, 2009
*snicker*
#5 by geldonyetich on July 29th, 2009
You didn’t get it.
#6 by Iconic on July 29th, 2009
The only thing I would say to the booth babes is:
If you think that by prancing around half naked, that you’re being seen as anything other than a sexual object, then you are a moron and deserve some sort of wake up call. In fact, you’d have to have a severe learning disability in order to think that you are somehow inviting people to get to know you better as a person, or somehow better representing your brand by putting skin on display.
That doesn’t mean that it’s okay for horny idiots to grope you.
That doesn’t mean that EA isn’t absolutely retarded.
At the same time, what you’re doing is classic manipulation, using sex to get attention and possibly sell things that have nothing to do with sex. If some one gets confused about what is being offered, part of the burden is on you for deliberately creating that confusion in the first place.
#7 by geldonyetich on July 29th, 2009
@Iconic
That’s probably the most even-handed way of looking at the situation, really.
It’s not that I’m saying women (or LGBT) don’t deserve the respect of common human decency or anything, it’s just that all this righteous indignation is not very logical. When push comes to shove, it’s less a problem with EA or of a victimized individual, but rather a certainly revealing undercurrent of unresolved societal delusion.
Sex was never designed to be a toy, or an object to glamorize, but that nonetheless are popular roles for it in western culture.
#8 by Gx1080 on July 29th, 2009
@Iconic
You win the thread.
#9 by Dblade on July 29th, 2009
Freakazoid:
I think you are putting too much emphasis on rights in a situation which is more about safety situationally, or about the reality that some people will do bad things. Some men are like that, and you really can’t tell, and there’s times where it is more important to be safe then loudly proclaim your liberation.
I think of it more as “There are times when you shouldn’t flash around a large wad of cash or you risk robbery.” You can talk about how that mindset endangers property rights or oppresses people with a climate of fear, and how the criminal views of people that would steal are horribly wrong and need to be corrected, but the reality is you cave in or you risk robbery.
There’s insisting on rights, and there is taking a needless risk, and my point on prudence is more of the latter. Like it or not, that’s the way the world works.
#10 by Mox on July 29th, 2009
Did you realise that it’s still robbery even if that dude was totally asking for it, flashing his wad around like that? I don’t think the Judge is going to throw the case out because the plaintiff was gratuitously wealthy in a public place, or something.
Perhaps EA should have gone balls-out on this one? “Grab a double-handful of D-cup and win a free night in a Police cell! You too could meet a Judge and even get your name on the sex offenders’ register!”
#11 by dartwick on July 29th, 2009
Well one problem is incorrect terminology.
Its not sexual harassment thats the issue.
Its assault or sexual assault.
#12 by EpicSquirt on July 29th, 2009
Newsflash: sex sells.
Did I miss something?
#13 by geldonyetich on July 29th, 2009
They probably figured that, so long as people kept it within the cons, there’s be no potential for this because the guards would keep things in hand.
Which, of course, is drastically underestimating the depravity of random_internet_denizen_498145.
As a penalty, EA should fit the bill of additional danger pay for all booth babes for the duration of this contest.
#14 by J. on July 29th, 2009
My main problem with booth babes (before the ‘contest’ and groping business came up) is that ultimately, it telegraphs a failure of the marketing team to come up with any better way to draw attention to their product than the most base of attraction. If “hey lookit the purty ladies” is the only message you can think of to present, then you’re not getting your money’s worth from your marketing team.
I’m also not opposed to stunts, either. Nintendo Wii dumped a few hundred tons of sand on Times Square to do a simulated beach scene. Corny? Yes. Encouraging rape and sexual depravity? No.
#15 by Alex on July 29th, 2009
Much like strippers, booth babes are paid to wear less clothing than they normally would, and tolerate attention that they normally would not. Much like strippers, you’re not supposed to touch them.
#16 by Outlawedprod on July 29th, 2009
Shake it baby.
http://twitter.com/georgeb3dr/status/2823439912
#17 by geldonyetich on July 29th, 2009
That’s it, Broussard, ride that bad publicity pony.
#18 by Anticorium on July 29th, 2009
George Broussard is almost as good at understanding the issue as he is shipping sequels on time and under budget.
#19 by Jeff on July 29th, 2009
I agree with Lum completely, but at the same time I think we can rule out any possibility that his new job that he has not been able to tell us about is at EA or EA Bioware. lol
#20 by Iconic on July 30th, 2009
I hate the way feminists and wimps are always ruining everything. Soon, they’ll insist on equal rights for women, laws to prevent rape and harassment, and all sorts of other wimpy feminist crap.
Good thing that women don’t have money and aren’t allowed to make purchasing decisions, or else all this macho posturing would really seem like a stupid marketing strategy for a mainstream business to embrace.
#21 by Trevel on July 30th, 2009
You know, I don’t object to booth babes in general. They sign up, know what they’re being paid for, and hopefully enjoy at least some of it. Maybe some Booth Boys would be nice to even it up, if there aren’t any already … but in the long run, it’s impossible to get too upset at someone for objectifying themself.
.
That is not, however, the same thing as having a major company run a contest to objectify them. And encourages sinfully committing acts of lust against them. One is done BY them — the other done TO them — and in some cases by a company they don’t work for.
.
But I’m also largely annoyed at the thought that, as a young heterosexual video-game playing male, the ad was supposed to be aimed at me. How insulting is that? Is that really who EA thinks we are?
#22 by geldonyetich on July 30th, 2009
A cursory bit of googling determines that there, indeed, booth boys. Though they would probably be considerably harder to engage in “acts of lust” considering the gamer look for guys is apparently full body armor.
#23 by Rawrasaur on July 30th, 2009
Technically, I believe the term should be “Booth Hunk”, not “Booth Boy”. Anyway. what really needs to be done regarding cons and sexual harassment is to have an active no tolerance policy for it. Most of the cons have very stringent rules on costumes, but little or no defined harassment policies. If I walked down the street and people made catcalls or some such (without touching), I couldn’t really sue them for sexual harassment and win. However, if it was at a convention with clearly defined rules, I could notify security and have them expelled.
You’d think rules like that would already be in place, but they are sadly not. There’s a group that’s trying to get those rules changed, however. http://www.cahp.girl-wonder.org/
–Rawr
#24 by Cedia on July 30th, 2009
Maybe I’m just as much of a sicko as the EA marketing people, but I think it wouldn’t be half bad if they added a line that said “choice or male or female” to the list. I mean, then every sex and sexual preference would be covered there, right?
I guess I’m just too used to sex being used to sell games to be outraged at that anymore. The inequality still gets to me, though.
#25 by CvG on July 30th, 2009
You need to lighten up.
All of you.
I mean who freakin’ cares?
All this blogging about it? Aren’t there bigger problems in the world to blog about?
Seriously … you are so easy to agitate.
OMG they wrote something on a poster. Poster baaaad, must show my discontent.
What really would have been funny is when nobody, freakin’ nobody wrote or said anything about the contest.
- You heared about the latest EA contest?
* EA contest? Nope.
- It’s supposed to be real nasty.
* Don’t know, don’t care.
Voila. The end.
Now hush and go watch your porn. Hypocrite.
#26 by Reg on July 31st, 2009
Phew! For a while there I was concerned that stupid people weren’t getting to express their views on this issue. Glad to see we dodged that bullet!
#27 by geldonyetich on July 31st, 2009
I was watching porn with full awareness of the hypocritical aspect, but nonetheless, “don’t know, don’t care” is never a pillar of unbreakable logic.
#28 by JuJutsu on July 31st, 2009
“…“don’t know, don’t care” is never a pillar of unbreakable logic.” No, but it’s the foundation of much internet idiocy.