Being a Woman in a Man's Game World

Would you buy this product?

I was skimming the 'Net the other day, reading my usual plethora of gaming sites that I keep track of, and I came across something that made me stop and almost do a double take. Atop GameSpy.com was the above banner, an ad for computer cases, of all things, with a rather anorexic-looking young lady draped across it wearing nothing but a skimpy little bikini. This really got me thinking about just how biased the computer and gaming world is when it comes to men.

This banner is obviously targeted at the males in the world, as I know very few women that would take one look at that scantily-clad girl and say "You know, I really need a new case for my computer" and click on that link. I do, however, know a few men that would follow through. This, combined with the sheer number of "Booth Bunnies" at E3 lead me to only one conclusion: this is a male industry. 

Chances are, the person that made the ad was a man, and the people that put it up, probably men too. People hiring booth bunnies? I'd say mostly men. How many banner ads do you see with buff men in speedos trying to sell you a case fan? I'm not saying I want to see this, because honestly, I don't think seeing some sexy guy shakin' his tight lil butt around is going to make me buy a Cyrix over a Pentium 3. 

I find it degrading as a woman, and especially as a woman in the industry, to see fellow ladies objectified for the sole purpose of selling a product to what is commonly believed to be an almost exclusively male world. The entire reason behind the booth bunnies is to grab the attention of the men to incite further interest in the product, and I'm going to take an educated guess and say the majority of those women pimping the products at E3 aren't part of the team that makes them. Honestly, all you men out there, ask yourself this: Would you buy Daikatana if plastered all over gaming pages and magazines was an ad with a scantily-clad Stevie Case holding the Daikatana box provocatively between her legs, regardless of whether or not it's a good game?

On another tangent on the same topic, it makes me wonder how men feel about these ads and blatant attempts to sell using sex appeal. I can't help but think that if the tables were reversed, I would be insulted that a company believes they can sell me something simply by placing a half-naked member of the opposite sex in the same photo as their product. Is that not insulting to the integrity and intelligence? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know, but it sure seems to me like the gaming world is being portrayed as being inhabited soly by horny little geeks and the odd butch woman. I see I'm going off on a tangent here, as the sole purpose of my little rant here is supposed to be about women, but I felt the need to toss in a little point to ponder.  

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