Objectify This

Hat tip to mparham for this article from the Austrailian periodical The Age which details Dolce & Gabbana’s cancellation of an advertising campaign which ostensibly promoted violence against women.

The image depicts a man holding down a woman’s wrists as other symmetrically-featured, oiled men look on with what appears to be mild contemplation.

Is this really the biggest target in the fight against violence against women?

In video games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, violence against women is part of the game strategy: as a thug in San Andreas, you have the option of killing prostitutes and taking their money after, or instead of, having sex with them. The game has a rating of M for mature, although, according to Wikipedia, the utility of such ratings has been called into question, since “90% of teenagers say that their parents never check the video game ratings before allowing them to rent or buy computer or video games.”

In an antiquated LA Times article, Michael McGehee writes, “PlayStation 2 edition of the game does indeed include a sexually graphic minigame, which plays almost exactly the same as the Hot Coffee mod. It begins inside a bedroom with Denise, wearing only a pink thong and a cutoff T-shirt bearing the Rockstar logo, performing simulated fellatio on CJ, who is fully clothed in jeans and a ‘wife beater’-style tank top.”

Not only does this sexual exploitation exclude girls from a chance to enact their repressed violent fantasies in a virtual

world without reinforcing a misogynistic paradigm, but it also promotes misogyny as an acceptable outlet for male aggression.  The game thus reinforces sex roles of men as active and aggressive and of women as passive and submissive. According to the Wikipedia article on the subject, the public dismay expressed about the game actually increased sales.

The American Psychological Association summarizes, “Psychological research confirms that violent video games can increase children’s aggression, but that parents moderate the negative effects.”Craig A. Anderson has testified before the U.S. Senate on the issue, and his meta-analysis of these studies has shown 5 consistent effects: “increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behavior.”

I’m not opposed to talking with kids about sex, or even letting them enact sex through video games, but I think considering the statistics on rape and sexual assault in the United States  – that one in four women is raped in her lifetime – there should be some responsibility placed with game makers to promote a culture that’s sexually respectful. If we believe that the environment in which our children are raised has any significance, maybe we shouldn’t let them kill prostitutes and take their money.