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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/09/video-game-grope-women-super-seducer-off-sale
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| This game teaches men sleazy seduction tricks. Help me get it off sale | This game teaches men sleazy seduction tricks. Help me get it off sale |
| (2 months later) | |
| This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of PUA Training Limited and Richard La Ruina. | This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of PUA Training Limited and Richard La Ruina. |
| “If you’re not good at cooking you better be real good at sucking dick.” That memorable line is from a new video game released this week, just in time for International Women’s Day. | “If you’re not good at cooking you better be real good at sucking dick.” That memorable line is from a new video game released this week, just in time for International Women’s Day. |
| The game is called Super Seducer. It was created by a pickup artist called Richard La Ruina, a man Piers Morgan recently branded “repulsive” for his views on British women. Take that in for a second. Piers Morgan thinks this man’s views on women are beyond the pale. In the game players are given the option to try out different lines and “moves” on women, like grabbing their breasts … or their bottom. La Ruina, who is also the game’s protagonist, then explains why trying to grab a woman, without her consent, isn’t a good idea. The aim is to hone your skills for real life so you can “win” the ultimate prize: the girl of your dreams. | The game is called Super Seducer. It was created by a pickup artist called Richard La Ruina, a man Piers Morgan recently branded “repulsive” for his views on British women. Take that in for a second. Piers Morgan thinks this man’s views on women are beyond the pale. In the game players are given the option to try out different lines and “moves” on women, like grabbing their breasts … or their bottom. La Ruina, who is also the game’s protagonist, then explains why trying to grab a woman, without her consent, isn’t a good idea. The aim is to hone your skills for real life so you can “win” the ultimate prize: the girl of your dreams. |
| What the game is offering men, apart from “seduction” techniques, is a masterclass in degrading women. It’s currently available on Steam, one of the biggest online gaming retailers. | |
| I don't think Super Seducer should be considered either normal or acceptable | I don't think Super Seducer should be considered either normal or acceptable |
| Don’t let the cringey promo video distract you from how toxic this game is. It literally presents groping a woman as one of a menu of options available to men when dating. It tells men that women are prizes to be won through persistence and psychological tricks. That’s why I’ve started a petition calling on Steam to take the game down. | Don’t let the cringey promo video distract you from how toxic this game is. It literally presents groping a woman as one of a menu of options available to men when dating. It tells men that women are prizes to be won through persistence and psychological tricks. That’s why I’ve started a petition calling on Steam to take the game down. |
| Pickup artists like La Ruina make a living selling men sleazy “seduction tricks” to teach them how “to pull”. Behind the so-called psychology of his methods are some pretty dangerous ideas. That persistence and the right lines are more important than what a woman tells you she wants. Too many of us have been on the receiving end of those ideas. Too many of us have had to deal with men who won’t take no for an answer, convinced it’s a matter of time until we succumb to their “charms”. La Ruina may not know better than to make a living violating women’s dignity, but a company the size of Steam should. They never should have approved this game for sale. | |
| Steam wouldn’t be the first company to back away from Super Seducer. Sony was initially going to release the game on the PlayStation4, but decided against it this week. KickStarter took down a crowdfunder for the game due to its “offensive” content. And it’s not like Steam has never removed games before, it took down Hatred, a game it considered too violent in 2014. So why not take a similar stance on behaviour that degrades and insults women? | |
| The game in a way makes harassment something to aspire to, an achievement like scoring a goal in Fifa, or collecting a star in Super Mario. It’s this kind of casualised, normalised misogyny that prompted me to start Level Up, a community for feminists who want to work together to end sexism. Together we’re campaigning to change the rules, behaviours and attitudes that keep sexism alive and hold all of us back. And that means sending a message to big companies like Steam not to promote products that may violate women’s dignity. | |
| For lots of people, the hardest part of the last year was the sense that there was nothing we could do about harassment and violence. So many people were perpetrators and so many more were complicit. Attitudes that allow women to be treated like we’re less than human are widespread in our culture. We change that by changing what is acceptable and what is normal. I don’t think Super Seducer should be considered either normal or acceptable. | For lots of people, the hardest part of the last year was the sense that there was nothing we could do about harassment and violence. So many people were perpetrators and so many more were complicit. Attitudes that allow women to be treated like we’re less than human are widespread in our culture. We change that by changing what is acceptable and what is normal. I don’t think Super Seducer should be considered either normal or acceptable. |
| I hope lots of gamers will join my campaign. The ones that I know are as tired of the ideas behind Super Seducer as I am, and the image it helps perpetuate of creepy, male, basement-dwelling videogamers. | I hope lots of gamers will join my campaign. The ones that I know are as tired of the ideas behind Super Seducer as I am, and the image it helps perpetuate of creepy, male, basement-dwelling videogamers. |
| This article was amended on 11 April 2018 and 8 June 2018. The article in its original form may have been understood to mean that the game “Super Seducer”, or its creator, Richard La Ruina, teaches or encourages players to sexually harass and assault women. The article was amended to make clear that the game, if played properly, does not do this. At no stage in the game is either sexual harassment or assault presented as the correct option. | |
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