QQ

Getting mentally prepared for this year's E3, I was recommended this article as one that highlighted many of the things that made E3 2012 so uncomfortable for me. This is a wonderful read!

Sadly, simply looking through the first page of comments, it seems like many readers missed the point. Some were righteously outraged enough to call the women hired to work these things 'whores' and 'sluts'. Nice.

You idiots

The commenters' ridiculous mentality saturated E3 as well.

Walking through the convention hallways adorned with two-story long objectified Escher-girl posters for a mediocre new DC game, you would often catch a guy openly espousing his hatred, contempt and genuine anger at these women who did nothing but get paid to show off their bodies for money. This is not a crime, and does not permit anyone to call these women derogatory names.

Additionally, many spoke as if it was the 'booth babes' fault for being there, blaming the women rather than the people who hired them.

Idiots

I understand that the ladies make people uncomfortable, but lashing out at the innocent women is a perfect example of the toxic boy's-club atmosphere game culture is rife with. Calling the women names and slut shaming them is unacceptable, and is farworsethen the original problem of having objectified women at the show (or perhaps a disgusting symptom of it). If you are awareand angry these women are being objectified, why would you then proceed to treat them like objects?

It is exactly what is wrong with game culture, and why myself and every woman I know feels alienated by the culture we should be able to identify with.

Thanks for the great article. Here's hoping E3 2013 will not result in the same shameful behavior.