Chinese Gaming Expo Bans Booth Babes

[The Wooster]

Chinese Gaming Expo Bans Booth Babes

A Chinese model was banned from this year's ChinaJoy gaming expo for showing too much skin.

Tired of having to wade through a sea of exposed mammaries every year, the organizers of ChinaJoy 2012 have implemented a strict new dress code for this year's show. The new rules ban bikinis, backless clothing and low riding hot pants and miniskirts. Underwear is no longer optional.

"Because adolescents make up our primary audience, we do not want to send them the wrong message," event organizer Yu Kun told the Global Times. [http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/724018.shtml]

The expo, which has been running since 2004, tasked 30-40 staff members with patrolling the convention floor space in search of semi-naked rule breakers. Any model found displaying too much flesh was removed from the premises, and event organizers have stated they intend to "fine" the companies that hired the models by withholding a part of their event deposit.

Model, Li Ling - who can be seen in the above right breaking at least three of the aforementioned rules - was booted from the show after she took to the stage in a somewhat minimalist interpretation of Athena's dress from Saint Seiya. The 22-year-old model was promoting Legend of Saints for developer, ZQGame, and probably didn't choose her own costume.

"Today, after my first performance finished, I was told by the organizers to leave immediately and that I am forbidden from coming back tomorrow and the day after," she wrote. " It happened all so quickly and I don't know what to do now. I was just doing my job... Being a booth girl is hard: while it looks like we may be basking in the spotlight, we're really struggling. Keep going everyone, you have 2 days left...though I have to go home earlier than planned."

In the US, PAX already has a similar ban on overly-revealing costumes. At this year's PAX East, professional model, Jessica Nigri, went through two different Lollipop Chainsaw costumes before finding one PAX organizers deemed suitable. [https://twitter.com/ojessicanigri/status/189022964841332737/photo/1]

Source: The Register [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/02/china_joy_bans_bikinis_gaming_expo/]



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[Fasckira]

I wouldn't have said shes dressed that bad there, but I guess if thats their new rule system then they need to follow it to the letter otherwise you'll find people starting to push the boundaries.

 

[TomWiley]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a banning booth babes.

 

[JediMB]

Feel a bit bad for the model, Li Ling, but rules against overly sexualized booth babes is certainly a good idea.

Hopefully she'll get more gigs where she doesn't have to wear what looks like a pajamas with a corset-belt.

 

[TomWiley]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a ban. Banning is never a good thing.

I don't think you actually mean that. I don't think it's hard to come up with example of things in our society that simply should always be banned or illegal.

 

[marurder]

I do feel bad where China is being split in two directions. The party is creating more and more policies and enforcing them to prevent the spread of western 'decadence'. That said I do agree that sex shouldn't be used to sell things to adolescents and I agree that this needs to be enforced (despite it being relatively trivial). I feel sorry for all the models too. But it is a different culture here where games are frowned upon and do regularly lead to death.
The pressure these kids here face is terrible. There is simply no comparison to the west.

 

[Orlake]

......this actually isn't all that bad? It's been getting a bit depressing when you start wondering whether they're promoting a game or selling you a car, what with all the scantily clad models they parade around each booth. It diminishes the artistic value of the game when it's blatantly obvious that they're pandering to hypersexualized male values...I'm looking at you DA:O. It's even worse when you realize most of these "booth babes" know little to nothing about the game they're dressing down for, and likely care less about.

This goes for cosplay as well, as when the accuracy of the costume is sacrificed to show more T&A.

On the other hand, the model above isn't what I'm talking about. She's actually probably wearing one of the more conservative costumes really...

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Only kidding. I do think strutting around in underwear is a bad idea and shouldn't be allowed, but really? What has this girl in the picture done wrong? I see girls at work (workers!) dressing as exposed as this.

 

[ScruffyMcBalls]

I hate the concept of booth babes. It might be a valid line of work for the model, and I'm aware how difficult that is to come across so power to them. But it just trivializes the product they're selling and sends out a message similar to "our game sucks, but if you buy it... boobies!".
I don't mind having models cosplay to show off a game, if anything I think it's an awesome idea! But most booth babes aren't even dressed in anything that ties them to the game other than by the most tenuous link. And why do they almost always have to be women? Especially when the majority of video game protagonists are men, you'd have thought male models would be more applicable, further showing the shallow nature of the practice.
But any blame should fall on the company that hires the model and provides the costume, not the model herself.

 

[Legion]

I find the Lollypop Chainsaw one more amusing.

The first picture on the left is the actual outfit worn by the main character, so saying that's too revealing is saying a lot really.

 

[Naeras]

That's a somewhat misleading headline right there. =/

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a banning booth babes.

I don't think you actually mean that. I don't think it's hard to come up with example of things in our society that simply should always be banned or illegal.

I don't see how booth babes are egregious enough to be lumped in with murder. Banning them is just silly.

 

[TomWiley]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a banning booth babes.

I don't think you actually mean that. I don't think it's hard to come up with example of things in our society that simply should always be banned or illegal.

I don't see how booth babes are egregious enough to be lumped in with murder. Banning them is just silly.

Well the post I replied to was:

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a ban. Banning is never a good thing.

I certainly thing that there are a great many things that should be banned or outlawed, and I don't agree with the notion that banning is never a good thing.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a banning booth babes.

I don't think you actually mean that. I don't think it's hard to come up with example of things in our society that simply should always be banned or illegal.

I don't see how booth babes are egregious enough to be lumped in with murder. Banning them is just silly.

Well the post I replied to was:

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a ban. Banning is never a good thing.

I certainly thing that there are a great many things that should be banned or outlawed, and I don't agree with the notion that banning is never a good thing.

Sure, nudity should be banned from cons. But making your dress code so draconian that it really restricts actual cosplayers is a terrible idea.

 

[TomWiley]

I think it's great. The whole expo babe thing is just silly and doesn't belong in the gaming community.

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a banning booth babes.

I don't think you actually mean that. I don't think it's hard to come up with example of things in our society that simply should always be banned or illegal.

I don't see how booth babes are egregious enough to be lumped in with murder. Banning them is just silly.

Well the post I replied to was:

Yeah, it's silly. But not as silly as a ban. Banning is never a good thing.

I certainly thing that there are a great many things that should be banned or outlawed, and I don't agree with the notion that banning is never a good thing.

Sure, nudity should be banned from cons. But making your dress code so draconian that it really restricts actual cosplayers is a terrible idea.

Absolutely. I think the problem is that due to the clothing of some video game characters, or rather the lack of clothing, it can be hard to make a clear distinction between what's constitutes as booth babes or a girl who's just hired to dress like a bikini-wearing video game character promoting a game.

I think we can all agree on that there is no place for the former in any serious game convention. The problem arise when we have to discuss where to draw the line.

 

[BoogieManFL]

It doesn't look THAT revealing. I agree it something to be addressed, but with a fine touch and not a sledgehammer.

 

[theblindedhunter]

There is some good in this, but there is bad as well, and I feel like they might cancel one another out.
It's good that the industry and community are maturing, and concerned about presenting games as more than just a pastime for hormonal young males. That is not the limit of what games can do and can be, but that's the impression a lot of the time.
It's bad that they are obviously restricting what games can do, and how women can display themselves. It isn't good for all of gaming to pander to horny boys, but I don't think games that do should be demonized out of existence, and I don't think women should be limited in what they can wear.

I would much prefer a community that is comfortable with sexuality, not either drowned in it, or driving it off.

 

[Hagi]

I don't really see the big deal.

This is just a ban by an organisation, not a ban by the government or whatever. It's not like anyone is turning it into a criminal offence...

This is a games expo. About games.

Car booths are probably banned as well by the rules. As would make-up booths. In fact every single booth that doesn't relate to video games is banned from that convention.

Pets are likely banned as well. No dogs, no cats, no monkeys, no cows. All banned. Every single animal is banned from that expo.

Putting stickers on random things is also banned, at PAX at least.

Handing out your own flyers is often banned as well!

Toy weapons that don't meet certain standards are also banned!

Likely there are tons more things that are BANNED! All banned!

Horrible isn't it? If you don't like things being banned you should probably stay far, far away.