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Eight Women, Eight Responses, and One Dead Island Riptide Statue

A collection of reactions to last week's questionable marketing tactic from a variety of women in the video game industry.

No Caption Provided

Deep Silver likely did not anticipate the intense reaction to its UK-specific Zombie Bait bundle for Dead Island Riptide when it was announced last week. The news came alongside other bundles for the sequel, but the Zombie Bait bundle received attention for a statue of a torn apart woman that featured nothing more than her bikini-wearing torso.

Deep Silver’s issued a questionable apology in response to the furor. The company did not discuss how this bundle even came into existence, and still hasn’t said whether it will be sold or not. One would hope not? I’ve asked the company for further clarification on that point, but as of publication, nothing has come back.

Here's the company's previous statement in full:

“We deeply apologize for any offense caused by the Dead Island Riptide “Zombie Bait Edition”, the collector’s edition announced for Europe and Australia. Like many gaming companies, Deep Silver has many offices in different countries, which is why sometimes different versions of Collector’s Editions come into being for North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

For the limited run of the Zombie Bait Edition for Europe and Australia, a decision was made to include a gruesome statue of a zombie torso, which was cut up like many of our fans had done to the undead enemies in the original Dead Island.

We sincerely regret this choice. We are collecting feedback continuously from the Dead Island community, as well as the international gaming community at large, for ongoing internal meetings with Deep Silver's entire international team today. For now, we want to reiterate to the community, fans and industry how deeply sorry we are, and that we are committed to making sure this will never happen again.”
No Caption Provided

The story featured my own opinion on the subject, as do most pieces of content on Giant Bomb. You might have suspected part of my response, based on previous articles I’ve filed at the site, and the reaction was along the lines of the last conversation about #1reasonwhy. When I was mulling a follow-up, I didn’t want to have the same back-and-forth, and hoped to introduce some new voices.

So, I reached out to a number of women members of the video game community, and asked them to provide their individual reactions. There are voices from everywhere in games, from development to fellow writers. I didn't specifically seek out people who had expressed an opinion about Dead Island, I just figured they had one. Some chose to speak directly to what happened, some didn't. There weren't any rules.

I’m also going to start something new here. I won't guarantee it’ll happen every time, but for big features, I want to make sure there’s a dedicated time slot for spending time responding to comments. It won’t happen until the story has been up for a little while, and people have had a chance to digest it. In this case, it’s going to be for 30 minutes at 11:30 a.m. PST. As always, anything I don’t get to can be addressed in PM, on Twitter, or through my Tumblr site.

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Rhianna Pratchett, writer (Tomb Raider, Mirror’s Edge)

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I’m both a horror fan, and a Dead Island fan. But my initial reaction to Riptide’s mutilated torso was one of shock, bewilderment and confusion. I wasn’t morally outraged. It was more a deep sigh and eye roll of “Oh come on… really? REALLY?” Yes, horror and sex have been intertwined forever, but there was something about the visual depiction of this one that was unexpectedly disgusting for a number of reasons. A mutilated corpse (of either sex) is pretty disturbing, sure. A sexed-up (and there no other way to describe the perfectly round, barely covered up and non-zombified knockers) female corpse, offered up as a reward, has particularly nasty connotations. Especially when combined with the fact that it’s described as 'bait'--a confusing title for what was apparently meant to be (according to the developers) a zombie’s torso, rather than the mutilated and cut up human torso that it actually looked like. Zombies are not normally known for the penchant to chew down on the flesh of other zombies.

I’m accustomed to game companies marketing towards men. But rarely is it quite so blatantly i.e. "Here are some tits!" It’s a mistake to ignore the legions of female gamers out there, who enjoy their zombie killing just as much as the guys. It’s an even bigger mistake to outright annoy them. Believe me, I know this. I’ve got first-hand experience of being caught-up with a video games "controversy" on Tomb Raider, and so I know that marketing and the way we speak about and depict our characters and games is important. Industry and player debate about how we go about this is also valuable.

I was glad to see Deep Silver apologising for this rather large misstep, although I was a little perplexed by the fact that they seemed to use the fact that players apparently do this in the game (or at least have the option to) as some kind of get-out-of-jail card. I’ve done some horrendous things in games. I don’t particularly want to see them immortalised in statue form.

There’s been a lot of talk about whether it would have been okay if it was a male statue. But the fact that it isn’t (and we can only really talk about what we’ve been presented with, not what we haven’t) combined with the way the torso’s been depicted, strongly suggests that the marketeers would never have done that. A sexed-up male torso (and even with a six-pack it’s not quite the same) wouldn’t have appealed to the intended audience (straight men) in the same way. If they’d wanted to keep up this mutilated torso theme then a male torso and female torso, leaning against each other in zombie-baiting harmony, would’ve been a better way to go about it. And, given that the first game had a 50/50 male to female ratio of player characters and a similar ratio in the AI, rather more in keeping with the general tone of the game.

Better still, something like AMC’s Walking Dead collector’s edition head would have been more appropriate and arguably less offensive.

Follow more of Rhianna's work at www.rhiannapratchett.com and on Twitter.

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Clarice Meadows, writer and former sales operation manager at Take-Two Interactive

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When marketing departments come up with various tchotchkes to get people to buy a video game, there are a lot of factors that come into it. Theme, desirability, originality, and more. It's a matter of making something unusual and interesting enough, and yet appropriately themed for the game, that fans will absolutely HAVE to buy it. I like to think that there are focus groups involved in the choice of object, or at the very least more than just a bunch of marketing types being locked in a room for days fueled by caffeine and junk food until they come up with an idea and are let out. Sadly, I am pretty sure the latter is usually the case. The zombie torso created specifically for Dead Island Riptide was, in my opinion, a marketing catastrophe. I've heard many responses to this particular item. From "well women don't play games anyway" to "by getting mad about it and yelling, you guys are giving this company free advertising" to "it's like a classical sculpture of antiquity, but a zombie!" So let's break this down a bit.

1) I am a woman, and I play video games. I am not particularly unusual in my gender group in choosing to play video games. I grew up in the 80s, video games were around, and I liked them. I also happen to know quite a few other women who play games, including games like Dead Island. By ignoring women as a market demographic for a video game, companies are losing out hugely. By assuming women will only buy pink, glittery items or games that are about clothing and boyfriends, these companies are losing money. By putting out a completely sexist and crass marketing ploy, they are losing money. Seriously, isn't the point of triple-A games to make scads of cash? I really don't get making choices that lead to losing it instead, can you tell?

2) By yelling about something offensive, we're making a case that offensive marketing is unacceptable. By not yelling, we're giving silent consent to continuing crappy and cheap marketing choices. And trust me, this is crappy, cheap AND lazy marketing. Oh look, a pair of boobs! How innovative! Apparently these marketers think the only people playing video games are under-sexed pubescent mole men. I mean… seriously? Lazy.

3) The last time I checked, classical sculptures did not have boob jobs. Also, the last time I checked, real boobs did not do that while in a string bikini. There's this thing called gravity… And if we're going to have an argument that this torso is not overly sexed up and has turned a live woman (or live lady zombie) into a bunch of sex organs, then… well… someone is lying to themselves. Is it appropriate? Is necrophilia really acceptable now? Because that's what this feels like it's promoting to me.

Lazy and cheap marketing ploys don't make money, they cost money in PR nightmares and hours of dancing around apologizing. It doesn't take much to be smarter, and who knows? Maybe a new market full of lots of money will open up and be willing to spend that money on video games! I mean, didn't you hear that women have jobs and make money and LOVE to spend it? Think big video game companies. Think about all that cash you're letting slide right through your fingers, and play it smarter.

Follow more of Clarice's work at Plays Like a Girl and on Twitter.

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Kate Lorimer, composer and writer

No Caption Provided

For my part, yes, I found it offensive, it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” (though I am sure it won't be the last such incident) after a year of dodgy marketing (Hitman, Booth Babes, Tomb Raider, Girlfriend Mode, Anita Sarkeesian). And from a personal viewpoint, even a close friend expressing his being fed up with online “outrage” and “Feminist point-scoring pandering” from game websites like Rock Paper Shotgun--his words--and his complete (and somewhat deliberate) misunderstanding of the concept of Feminism (being supposedly more about pursuing Women’s interests above male's, as opposed to actually being about equality for both genders).

Unfortunately, amongst teens and younger players in general (but as Jenny Haniver has shown, far from exclusively) there’s likely to be a kneejerk reaction backlash at the outrage and offence caused by it, as kids love a bit of blood'n'gore, and certainly amongst the heterosexual hormone fueled boys that whole “cor... boobies” thing has an attraction. See: http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/153593/yes-ah-tah

The reasons for it being offensive are obvious to the clear of thought--it's objectification at its worst. Remove the person from the body, inexplicably leaving a pubescent boy’s idea of the perfect female figure, with balloon boobs (mysteriously untouched by hungry zombie snacking) and a peek at a panty enclosed crotch--of course, hiding the vagina within--which would likely be too offensive/edgy to the same boys!

Would the situation have been mitigated had there been an alternative option of a male torso? It might have slightly balanced the equality issue, though of course there is a special obsession with boobies--especially globe-tastic ones on an itty bitty waist! But the fact that it's just a female torso they decided to go with speaks volumes about their marketing, and the usual narrow-minded targeted demographic. It might have been just as grisly but slightly more in line with the zombie ethos to have had a scary looking zombie head?

Follow more of Kate's work at K8-bit and on Twitter.

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Elizabeth DeLoria, staff writer at Gameranx and cosplay photographer

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In September last year, Jill Meagher, a 29-year-old ABC employee, went missing while walking the short walk home from a popular Melbourne street. Thanks to a somewhat viral social media campaign, the entire country began to follow the case, people everywhere wanting Jill to be found alive and well and brought home.

When she was found murdered, buried in a shallow roadside grave after being kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a complete stranger, the entire country went from hopefully to angry. Angry that someone would do this, angry that she wasn't alive and well as we'd hoped, angry that she was minding her own business in her own suburb when she was attacked. People were so angry that when the alleged killer's name leaked, social media erupted with people from every walk of life wanting his head. An entire nation was in mourning, and thousands in Melbourne marched in her honor.

I mention this because we know it's not okay to kill people. We're angered and heartbroken when women are violently murdered (and that's just the cases we hear about.) The news of Jill Meagher, as an example, was devastating to thousands that didn't even know her. Yet at the same time, we're sent these messages that sexualize, glamorize and exploit a woman's decapitated torso. That use violent murder for the purpose of sex appeal and thus profit.

When I see the same people who I saw march for Jill, whose heart sank when they heard the news of her death ask me why this torso statue is "such a big deal," I don't even know how to begin to explain to them how they've come so close to the right thing, yet they sit so far from it.

I'm not really offended, I'm just mortified at how easily we seem to forget.

Follow more of Elizabeth's work at Gameranx and on Twitter.

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Vanessa Hunter, artist and game design graduate

No Caption Provided

We need to start at the beginning if we are to stop the pervasiveness of sexism in gaming culture, and by sticking this statue in a set that will be received by kids and young adults, Deep Silver is reinforcing an already warped attitude toward women held by the gaming community.

If this statue had been reminiscent of Venus de Milo or the statue of David, and posed in a beautiful, creative way, perhaps I could have even admired it. But as a hunk of flesh plopped into a lifeless pose and trussed up in a string bikini, I seriously have to question the thought behind it.

My main reaction to this statue, however, is that it presents a woman as a literal piece of dead meat. It beheads all personality and life and strips away individuality to present the viewer with what is simply a hunk of flesh in a gaudy bikini. This figure gets up and screams "all I am worth is to fulfill your pleasures"

To a woman like me, it's sickening because it represents how some men see real-life women every day.

From someone who has seen firsthand how a monster who holds this attitude can choke the life out of someone beautiful and radiant, this bust is a nightmare come true. And what's worse is that the attitudes behind such an object reinforce this behaviour as okay.

As for Deep Silver's "apology" placing the blame on its fan base, many of whom view them as a role model, teaching them that sexism is okay if someone else has done it before is unacceptable. They need to grow up.

Follow more of Vanesssa's work through Instagram and on Twitter.

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Anonymous

I didn't feel offended by the Dead Island bikini statue. I did, however, find it quite tiresome. I don't think that it can be denied that the statue is an obvious example of sexual objectification--a mutilated torso with perfectly untouched breasts.

Sexual objectification of women is everywhere, and it's impact is a massive discussion that goes way beyond video games. What I found most tiresome about the statue wasn't the objectification but that making a statue such as this suggests a number of things that Deep Silver assumes about their audience. They assume that the audience are young shallow men whose main interests are tits and violence. It's insulting to men and its a common assumption in video game marketing. Women are not even considered as part of the possible audience. It's outdated thinking.

I've been playing video games since I was a kid, and it's probably the main thing I do for entertainment. I have as many female friends as male who play video games. It is tiresome to be constantly excluded--and if I am included then I am considered a novelty. Women who play games are a sizable chunk of the audience and have been around for as long as video games. Objects like this statue show that we are not really considered to exist.

This individual chose not to share their personal information for fear of potential backlash.

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Melissa Cooke, writer for FemmeGamer

No Caption Provided

Personally, I think that it's rather disgusting that Deep Silver decided to sell this. The usage of a female chest and abdomen I assume was originally used as a shock tactic to grab the eyes of the media, obviously this has worked, but what made it sexist in my eyes was the way it was dressed up and the proportions on the body.

The breasts are very unrealistic in the way they're being held up by a string bikini, not to mention that there are no wounds on the breasts, making them all the more obvious.The stomach is also very flat, and the bust looks almost anorexic, which is a very damaging image to promote.

The bust lacks also a face or any other feature that makes this bust look human, which could be interpreted as Deep Silver saying "Look this isn't a human, it's a woman, look how her breasts are positioned for your enjoyment, isn't that cool?"

Overall, this is a rather shameless grab for attention on Deep Silver's part, and all this sort of stunt does is give the non-gaming public the idea that games and the people who are playing them are immature, and push any progress the industry has made back a few more years.

Follow Melissa's work at Femme Gamer and on Twitter.

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Anna Kipnis, senior gameplay programmer at Double Fine Productions

No Caption Provided

It's really hard to approach this topic in any kind of novel way. At this point, it's hard to bring round people who have made their minds up that feminism threatens to ruin their entertainment; to convince them that it's troubling to have games openly revel in dismembering decomposing women in bikinis. Yet I don't believe in censorship, either. Personally, I push this sort of thing into the same category in my brain as boob mugs (which I respect more for at least cutting to the chase and showing actual nudity). I'm not sure why someone would want a headless, bloody, dismembered corpse of a woman's upper torso, with grotesquely fake boobs obscured by a sadly implicated union jack proudly displayed on their mantle, but they're not a person I can imagine seeing eye-to-eye with on many things.

I honestly believe you can have sexiness and violence in games, even at the same time, if that's what you want. I can't think of a great example of a game that has done this particularly well (no doubt there is one), but there are many examples in film. For instance, Quentin Tarantino has made plenty of movies over the years that feature sexy women in violent situations. Even women getting dismembered (Kill Bill Volume 1, Death Proof), and yet it's never felt sexist or misogynist to me. I walk away from the theater generally thinking of those women as role models, not victims.

I think it's on us, game developers, to prevent controversies like this one. I'm a game programmer and I would be pretty bummed if I was working on what was essentially a game equivalent of a boob mug. You're appealing to the lowest, most vulgar aspects of your audience at a time when games are widely criticized for being juvenile, senseless, and immature, only to then complain that the medium is not being taken seriously as an art form. We should strive to treat our medium with the respect it deserves.

Follow Anna's work at Double Fine Productions and on Twitter.

Patrick Klepek on Google+

2527 Comments

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marcusofadown

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Edited By marcusofadown

So many awful, ignorant and plain dumb responses to this excellent article from Patrick. My god, what are some of you thinking?

Yeah, I get it, you don't think this is anything to discuss or even talk about. Yeah, you are tired of it and yada yada. Fine, go away and stop fucking commenting articles on the matter then. Why are you even commenting at all?

This is, actually, a very important subject matter and something that we must always adress if we want the game industry to truly evolve. Equality is key, in all walks of life. How can anyone not agree with that? The breast-torso-horrorshow is just a perfect and tragic example of an industry that needs to grow the fuck up in many aspects.

How can you not understand that making both men and women feel equally welcome and embraced in the gaming community is a good thing for ALL OF US? From a marketing stand-point, from an artistic stand-point, from a gamers stand-point. We all gain something from having our beloved industry become more equal.

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EnduranceFun

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Edited By EnduranceFun

Not convinced one iota this is a sexist issue. It's a matter of bad taste.

Klepek has a distorted world view and allows it to affect his, er, news articles.

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ohnoshinobi

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Edited By ohnoshinobi

@TwoSe7enFive said:

Here we go again ...

WE.GET.IT!!!! Bad taste. Female form bad. Video game marketing evil.

I'm really getting tired of this progressive bull-shit.

No we don't "get it" because it happens all the time.

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Oginam

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Edited By Oginam

I like this format. You should try and use it for non-controversial stuff sometime, although it may be a bit harder to contextualize.

Also, ignore the people making personal attacks against you or calling GB "Kotaku" or any of that nonsense. They aren't worth a response.

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asantosbr

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Edited By asantosbr

These girls need to get a live, and find something better to complain about... There is nothing wrong with the statue.

And please Giant Bomb, Patrick in special, stop with this one sided crappy coverage. Is there nothing better to write about?



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Carousel

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Edited By Carousel

@LikeaSsur said:

"Eight Women, Eight Responses, And Every Response is The Same."

Hey. This is like Watergate.

But is Patrick Woodward or Bernstein?

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scalpel

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Edited By scalpel

@Hobosunday said:

Doesn't Patrick know this is a website about VIDEO GAMES?!

But seriously, anyone who thinks this is a good idea should wonder if it's okay if they decided to sell a man's bloody torso with a humongous bulge in a union jack speedo and sculpted to god-like perfection.

You probably wouldn't think it's a good idea.

You probably would think it was dumb and pointless.

You probably would never put it in your room and feel proud about it.

You might even get angry, saying that this was a real dumb move on the developer's part.

But you think this bloody woman torso was not?

I wouldn't care and I imagine that's the consensus. How could you?

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jbuchan76

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Edited By jbuchan76

I so have a crush on Anna Kipnis..

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Elwoodan

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Edited By Elwoodan

is gender equality an issue in the games industry? yes.

Is it something we need to call out and discuss regularly until we find answers/compromises? yes.

is this, a TORSO. STATUE. a gender issue? no. if you take the time to really stare at that thing, and size up the quality of it's tits, you've already spent way too much time on the subject.

That said, Anna Kipnis is awesome, and continues to be awesome.

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@Brandino said:

Sexist statue? No, extremely stupid idea? Yes, they should of never went through with the torso but it's not sexist.

Oh, well I'm glad you, the master of deciding what is sexist, has declared that a sexed-up boob-heavy disembodied female torso made solely to titillate male gamers isn't sexist. Wow. Awesome. Thanks for that.

He solved it everyone! We can shut down the Internet now.

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CaptainCharisma

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Edited By CaptainCharisma

I don't see why so many people are up in arms about this article. Just don't read it if you don't want to hear what women think about it. Go ahead and complain when there were people that were legitimately offended by the statue. Personally, I just think it's a stupid statue that only weirdos would buy and display. I don't see why people are so offended but I'm not going to verbally lambast Patrick for letting women speak their mind when the issue involves women.

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EnduranceFun

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@Ohnoshinobi said:

@TwoSe7enFive said:

Here we go again ...

WE.GET.IT!!!! Bad taste. Female form bad. Video game marketing evil.

I'm really getting tired of this progressive bull-shit.

No we don't "get it" because it happens all the time.

Who is 'we?'

Ah, I see, this time the argument is whether this is sexist at all. Lets just agree to disagree on that. Some think it is, some think it isn't and it's purely subjective.

Kudos to Klepek for gathering the viewpoints by the way, and not just in Tweet form. Though I think it as it's not sexist in my opinion, it would've been better to phrase it less specifically and talk about issues of crass, marketing and get opinions from non-females in the gaming industry. That would make me happy.

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swordmagic

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Edited By swordmagic

Whats up with all the Patrick hate?

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DevourerOfTime

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Edited By DevourerOfTime

Oh hey, first few pages in the comments are full of hateful, spiteful people. Who would have thought?

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sephirm87

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Edited By sephirm87

@MasturbatingestBear said:

@alibson said:

Giant Bomb is my number one stop for extremist feminist propaganda.

Lets be honest, the statue was kind of moronic on their part.

Your statement is perfectly true except for the "kind of" part.

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deactivated-5d9d6ad3bef93

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@marcusofadown: We're commenting because we love the site, and are dismayed that this particular bullshit story has now been a featured article TWICE. When Anita Sarkeesian is getting death threats, or women inside the industry want to comment on the sexism they face, then yes it is a valid article and subject to talk about. But Klepek doesn't offer that, his articles are pure Kotaku-shit from which he can claim moral superiority without offering any sort of thoughtful discourse on it.

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posh

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Edited By posh

oh my god these fucking comments

"stop posting about real life serious issues and post exclusively about video games, a thing you do all the time anyway!" please know that the vocal majority will just never learn and keep posting these great articles. the comments are full of men's rights activists who seem to forget we've been living in a male dominated society forever, and that the issues mentioned in this article prove that

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PulledaBrad

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Edited By PulledaBrad

Man I really wish GB had a "Editorial" or "OP/ED" section instead of labeling this stuff as "News". I think alot of the bitching would become calmer if it was presented as an opinion piece instead of being passed off as news. Post the article about the sumb ass statue then an accompanying piece about your thoughts on it

I see this as a silly issue honestly, looking at the world today. Case in point is Malala Yousufzai, a Pakistani teen that wrote a blog about providing education to women in her area. Being led by the Taliban, al group of me stopped her bus, called her out by name and shot her in the head. For wanting women to get an education. Thankfully she survived. With stuff like this going on, calling a fucking statue that is a womans torso sexist is the epitome of "first world problems"

http://abcnews.go.com/International/malala-yousufzai-pakistani-girl-killed-taliban-rushed-uk/story?id=17479249

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marcusofadown

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Edited By marcusofadown

@2HeadedNinja said:

Geeze ... I understand that some people dont like that thing, heck I didnt like it ... but some of the comments in the article are downright offensive to me as a male ...

"To a woman like me, it's sickening because it represents how some men see real-life women every day."

really? So when women use a vibrator should I be offended because "thats how they see real-life man every day"?

Yes, that's a perfectly reasonable, logical comparison.

*sigh*

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Edited By LarcenousLaugh

On a more positive note: Thanks for the follow up, Patrick. Maybe one day we'll be more upset that it was a fake cut-up human as a tchotchke rather then just a woman, but at least some of us are still human enough to realize that something about it wasn't right.

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Edited By EvilKatarn

@Zornack said:

Huh, thought I clicked a giantbomb link. How'd I end up on Kotaku?

Not a single opinion, not a single voice, that it's just a statue bust that no one gives a fuck about, just eight paragraphs about how hateful, sexist and misogynistic the video game industry is.

Quality journalism.

Most of those were actually pretty down to earth... compared to Klepek who makes this look like the most vile thing ever and one that'll push video games a 1000 years back.

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Edited By InsidiousTuna

Bunch of people here get that yes, the statue is cheap, crass, and in poor taste. Then they get angry that women are offended by it, and they're angry that we think it merits discussion? Man, I hate the internet sometimes. It's a cheap, crappy, exploitative and violent statue. How dense do you have to be to not understand who it's exploiting, or why that might bum women out? Good post, Klepek, and thanks to all the ladies that took the time to write up a response.

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Shimmy

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Edited By Shimmy

@Fungiefips said:

Hey cool, more Kotaku-level clickbait bullshit from Klepek. About a subject that was slightly crass, definitely out-of-touch, and a shade misogynistic, yet "DONT CALL HIM GABEN - Patrick Tricky Scoops Kleptok" decided it was worth posting another one of his "look at me I'm so advanced with my views about the patriarchy". This shit should have been a complete non-issue, yet Klepek continues to muddle up the front page with this bullshit. But I guess it got a reaction, and since Klepek's only possible value is to push bullshit like this to get page views, I'll have to grow accustomed to seeing more of this shit.

Glad to see you've chosen to take the high road.

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Kohlstream

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Edited By Kohlstream

What disturbs me the most about this statue is that many peoples first reaction was "Thats fucked up because its SEXIST" and not "Thats fucked up because its A FUCKING MUTILATED TORSO WHY WOULD YOU WANT THAT IN YOUR HOME?"

It's a shame Patrick couldn't (or perhaps wouldn't?) find anyone to defend it. Would have made the article 100% more interesting and no so full on one-sided.

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deathbyyeti

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Edited By deathbyyeti

but what does Patrick think?

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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"OMG WOMEN SUCK AND OVERREACT AND ARE RUINING OUR FUN AND THEY SHOULD LIGHTEN UP AND THEY SHOULD SHUT UP WHILE THEY'RE ARE IT THE STUPID BITCHES. AND PATRICK NEEDS TO STOP TALKING ABOUT SHIT LIKE THIS AND START TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL GAME NEWS CUZ THIS ISN'T NEWS CUZ ITS ABOUT BITCHES AND WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK!! WAAAAAAH!"

- every comment on this article.

Congrats boys for proving the gamer stereotype of the sex-starved man-child who is incapable of comprehending the female gender still has reason for existing.

Creeps.

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Efesell

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Edited By Efesell

I just had hoped this was more of a discussion and not just more "Yikes this thing was pretty terrible right?"

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LegalBagel

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Edited By LegalBagel

I'm completely with you Patrick on thinking it was a moronic, sexist promotion, not a non-issue. I don't see why it calls for any more attention though. Call it out and move on. At this point the game has earned more attention through its stupid promotion than they would have otherwise.

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2HeadedNinja

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Edited By 2HeadedNinja

@Fungiefips said:

"DONT CALL HIM GABEN - Patrick Tricky Scoops Kleptok"

Heh ... other than you I like Patrick ... but that thing in the Bombcast rubbed me the wrong way, I have no idea where that came from.

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abendlaender

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Edited By abendlaender

@Fungiefips said:

@marcusofadown: We're commenting because we love the site, and are dismayed that this particular bullshit story has now been a featured article TWICE. When Anita Sarkeesian is getting death threats, or women inside the industry want to comment on the sexism they face, then yes it is a valid article and subject to talk about. But Klepek doesn't offer that, his articles are pure Kotaku-shit from which he can claim moral superiority without offering any sort of thoughtful discourse on it.

OH GOD! TWO ARTCILES? TWO? Oh no, this site is doomed. i'm canceling my subscription right now. Man two, that is like...one more then one!

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etpc

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Edited By etpc

hahah yes, how DARE you be progressive and attempt to make people realize that this gross thing is extremely fucking demeaning and is honestly incredibly disturbing. how dare you do this thing, patrick. i just want to play Slaughering Foreigners With Assault Rifles 46 in peace!!!!!!

if you want games to EVER be taken seriously, learn to look at criticism of how fucking childish our hobby is at it's very core.

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WesleyWyndam

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Edited By WesleyWyndam

Great read, Patrick. Thanks for posting this. Though people want to scream that this isn't a big deal, it's a symptom of a larger problem, and there's no reason articles like this about problems on any scale can't exist.

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2HeadedNinja

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Edited By 2HeadedNinja

@depecheload said:

"OMG WOMEN SUCK AND OVERREACT AND ARE RUINING OUR FUN AND THEY SHOULD LIGHTEN UP AND THEY SHOULD SHUT UP WHILE THEY'RE ARE IT THE STUPID BITCHES. AND PATRICK NEEDS TO STOP TALKING ABOUT SHIT LIKE THIS AND START TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL GAME NEWS CUZ THIS ISN'T NEWS CUZ ITS ABOUT BITCHES AND WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK!! WAAAAAAH!"

- every comment on this article.

Congrats boys for proving the gamer stereotype of the sex-starved man-child who is incapable of comprehending the female gender still has reason for existing.

Creeps.

idk what comment-section you were reading ... but it seems to me that most people just say this thing was blown way out of proportion.

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Ravenlight

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Edited By Ravenlight

@LikeaSsur said:

"Eight Women, Eight Responses, And Every Response is The Same."

It would have been a much more interesting article if there was some variation of opinion/perspective from the ladies whose writings were featured.

It's great that issues like sexism and stupid torsos are being talked about but the article is more of an echo chamber for a someone who's mind is completely made up than a discussion of any kind.

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deactivated-5afdd08777389

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@EnduranceFun said:

Not convinced one iota this is a sexist issue. It's a matter of bad taste.

Klepek has a distorted world view and he lets it affect his 'job.'

Because you don't agree with him, he has a distorted view? Interesting viewpoint.

As a side note: Anna Kipnis is awesome! :-)

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ohnoshinobi

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Edited By ohnoshinobi

@EnduranceFun said:

@Ohnoshinobi said:

@TwoSe7enFive said:

Here we go again ...

WE.GET.IT!!!! Bad taste. Female form bad. Video game marketing evil.

I'm really getting tired of this progressive bull-shit.

No we don't "get it" because it happens all the time.

Who is 'we'

The men on this comment thread deciding what women should feel objectified by. There are eight opinions from actual women, who have a much more informed opinion on what they would find offensive, and those opinions are being marginalized by men.

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deactivated-58513b27f2513

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@Mirado said:

I'm kinda confused about the purpose of this article. Would any woman say that the statue was fine? Would any man agree that this wasn't a stupid idea? This is just "Newsflash: Women think torso statue is stupid at best and offensive at worst...which is exactly what every article on the subject already stated." but with eight people saying it at once.

The only story here involves finding out whatever drugs Deep Silver was on when they figured this was going to work out great for them.

Well, it's for the purpose of highlighting sexism in the industry and in general. Though most people know what this is, so it's kind of repetitive. I appreciate Patrick's article for that, but I felt like I was basically hearing the same opinion from every response. I also understand Patrick feels like that's justified and needed, but why have 8 people basically saying the same thing? That's odd to me if you're going to submit an article like this. It's not very diverse.
 
(just some constructive feedback, Patrick)
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joshthebear

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Edited By joshthebear

And here come the assholes in force to yell as loud as they can. If you didn't find the statue absolutely distasteful and disgusting, then I don't know what to think of you.

Great job , keep it up.

Also:

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EnduranceFun

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Edited By EnduranceFun

@2HeadedNinja said:

@depecheload said:

"OMG WOMEN SUCK AND OVERREACT AND ARE RUINING OUR FUN AND THEY SHOULD LIGHTEN UP AND THEY SHOULD SHUT UP WHILE THEY'RE ARE IT THE STUPID BITCHES. AND PATRICK NEEDS TO STOP TALKING ABOUT SHIT LIKE THIS AND START TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL GAME NEWS CUZ THIS ISN'T NEWS CUZ ITS ABOUT BITCHES AND WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK!! WAAAAAAH!"

- every comment on this article.

Congrats boys for proving the gamer stereotype of the sex-starved man-child who is incapable of comprehending the female gender still has reason for existing.

Creeps.

idk what comment-section you were reading ... but it seems to me that most people just say this thing was blown way out of proportion.

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brandino

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Edited By brandino

@depecheload said:

@Brandino said:

Sexist statue? No, extremely stupid idea? Yes, they should of never went through with the torso but it's not sexist.

Oh, well I'm glad you, the master of deciding what is sexist, has declared that a sexed-up boob-heavy disembodied female torso made solely to titillate male gamers isn't sexist. Wow. Awesome. Thanks for that.

He solved it everyone! We can shut down the Internet now.

Cool story bro.

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Milkman

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Edited By Milkman

No matter is already happening in these comments (I haven't looked) or what's going to happen in these comments, I just want to say that I thought this article was fantastic and one of my favorite things you've ever done on the site, Patrick. Great job.

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DukesT3

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Edited By DukesT3

Remember BMX XXX? Yeaaaah.

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the_dudefather

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Edited By the_dudefather

Shut up Patrick! We need to stop talking about issues like these right now and concentrate what REALLY matters!... Devil may cry getting 5 stars!

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Edited By Darji

@marcusofadown said:

@2HeadedNinja said:

Geeze ... I understand that some people dont like that thing, heck I didnt like it ... but some of the comments in the article are downright offensive to me as a male ...

"To a woman like me, it's sickening because it represents how some men see real-life women every day."

really? So when women use a vibrator should I be offended because "thats how they see real-life man every day"?

Yes, that's a perfectly reasonable, logical comparison.

*sigh*

No but it is as stupid as the other claim.

I feel offended when someone but a chainsaw gun in a collectors edition because it is advertising violence. No other form of media is I am sorry "as butthurt" as the gaming industry. I see troupes in TV shows and sexism in movies all the time but there it seems way more ok than in video games. It is just stupid....

Its not like these people thought. "Yeah that is what a woman is looking to us. Just a piece of meat" It was a reminder to all these horror B trash slasher and Zombie Movies. You could even say it was an homage. It was not a political statement or other bullshit.

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Ekpyroticuniverse

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i concur fuck Patrick Klepek for making us all read this. He forced us all to go online, go to giantbomb and made us read every line. oh wait no he did not. Dont like it dont read it, disagree? fine be an adult and explain your perspective instead of ranting like crazy internet dwelling scum bags.

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Dezztroy

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Edited By Dezztroy

@depecheload said:

@Brandino said:

Sexist statue? No, extremely stupid idea? Yes, they should of never went through with the torso but it's not sexist.

Oh, well I'm glad you, the master of deciding what is sexist, has declared that a sexed-up boob-heavy disembodied female torso made solely to titillate male gamers isn't sexist. Wow. Awesome. Thanks for that.

He solved it everyone! We can shut down the Internet now.

From my experience, there are quite a few women with fake breasts wearing bikinis at tropical locations. I don't see what's sexist about it.

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sephirm87

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Edited By sephirm87

@CaptainCharisma said:

I don't see why so many people are up in arms about this article. Just don't read it if you don't want to hear what women think about it. Go ahead and complain when there were people that were legitimately offended by the statue. Personally, I just think it's a stupid statue that only weirdos would buy and display. I don't see why people are so offended but I'm not going to verbally lambast Patrick for letting women speak their mind when the issue involves women.

@WolfHazard said:

Whats up with all the Patrick hate?

Unfortunately, I think you know what it means.

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Edited By CastleD

Some of these same people who are morally outraged by this statue have also murdered hundreds of thousands of male characters in video games in every conceivable bloody way for years. I'm sure not a peep from them. Actually, they enjoy it immensely.

Why is that?

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Ravenlight

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Edited By Ravenlight

Also, everyone with an opinion about Anna Kipnis is 100% sexist. Monsters.

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TheCheese33

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Edited By TheCheese33

From the reaction in the comments, it's clear that this is an issue still worth talking about.