iOS game lets you beat your boyfriend

[Farseer Lolotea]

*shrugs* I'm assuming this is made for a very specific niche audience, more power to them i guess.

Really get the feeling ive walked into someone elses fantasy, so don't see this as being reflective of sexist trends or whatever. If the behaviors portrayed in the game were glorified or portrayed as being desirable irl, maybe i'd be able to summon some outrage, but as it stands the only really curious thing about this game is its a paid app rather then a free game you find on those hentai fetish game sites.

It's not about sexism; it's that it glorifies domestic violence, and that's fucking disgusting.

I mean, maybe it was made by someone who gets a kick out of being slapped around, and who couldn't give less of a damn for the usual BDSM watchphrase. That doesn't mean it isn't still creepy.

 

[Cheesepower5]

Mostly pretty reasonable stuff.

With a few exceptions here and there.

Way to cut out any context, dude. If I'm not getting my conversations mixed up, she had already made threatening comments and lewd photoshops of him. I'm not saying that totally justifies what he said, but it's obvious who you're trying to paint as a villain.

Dude... no amount of context will ever make that statement anywhere near "pretty reasonable".

But hey, if you think rape is ever reasonable then I guess we're pretty much done here. Not really much to say to that...

Do I need to repeat myself? Where did I say rape is reasonable? I said his videos in relation to feminism are mostly pretty reasonable, getting too sure he was right that girl was faking and saying some horrible shit doesn't instantly invalidate my agreement with anything else he says, if you reflexively disagree like that grow the hell up.

 

[Hagi]

Mostly pretty reasonable stuff.

With a few exceptions here and there.

Way to cut out any context, dude. If I'm not getting my conversations mixed up, she had already made threatening comments and lewd photoshops of him. I'm not saying that totally justifies what he said, but it's obvious who you're trying to paint as a villain.

Dude... no amount of context will ever make that statement anywhere near "pretty reasonable".

But hey, if you think rape is ever reasonable then I guess we're pretty much done here. Not really much to say to that...

Do I need to repeat myself? Where did I say rape is reasonable? I said his videos in relation to feminism are mostly pretty reasonable, getting too sure he was right that girl was faking and saying some horrible shit doesn't instantly invalidate my agreement with anything else he says, if you reflexively disagree like that grow the hell up.

And I said not everything he says is reasonable, giving an example... To which you reply that it's completely ripped out of context and apparently partly justifiable?

Again, no amount of context will make what he said acceptable in any way, shape or form. Not everything the guy says is pretty reasonable. Simple as that.

 

[Living Contradiction]

Leaving aside the debate of rape, abuse, tastelessness, and general disappointment, I'm going to say I loathe this game, this developer, and iTunes in general for something that nobody seems to have noticed.

First, head over to the game in question on iTunes (here's a link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boyfriend-trainer/id445601028?mt=8) and take note of the following on the left side of the page where game information is listed: This game came out in October of last year. It took until the end of January before anyone in the media noticed it. Let's hear it for the speedy reaction, Internet!

Now look a little lower and take a good long look at the rating given to this game: 4+

Translating that from Apple rating into ESRB, this game has an E rating. That means a child can purchase this game for a buck and play it.

Mmmhmm.

Let me repeat myself with a bit more emphasis: Fuck you, Boyfriend Trainer. Fuck you, Games2Win India. And a hearty heigh-ho fuck you very much, iTunes, for giving those who hate games and everything games are a perfect example of how video games expose kids to content that is offensive.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

If you want I can take something you've once said, ignore all context and pretend you think the same thing about this game.

Sure, fill your boots! Whatever I can do to make your day go by a little faster is fine by me. If you can deliver it in the same gravely serious tone that you replied to my post with I'd appreciate it.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

http://www.destructoid.com/ios-game-lets-you-beat-your-boyfriend-until-he-s-perfect-243517.phtml

As someone who was a victim stuff like this, I'm a bit saddened. Saddened that women beating men is considered cartoonish and that if it was a man beating a woman, the press would be all over it like flies on shit.

Anyone got any thoughts on this?

First, I am terribly sorry you had to go through something like that. No one, regardless of gender should be abused by their partner. It does seem like a double standard. That is a no win situation for the male. He does nothing, he gets his arse kicked and probably is derided for being weak, allowing a woman to beat him up etc, but if he defends himself, he is seen as a woman beating arse-hole, even though he was attacked first and just defending himself.

 

[QuartzQuadreant]

I too was a victim of domestic abuse, but to be honest I'm hesitant about pulling it from the shelves. I don't expect things I get offended by to be condemned universally, and I don't want to ruin anyone else's picnic. I seriously doubt this will encourage anyone to begin their own crusade against inadequacy within their own relationships, and I'd rather people used this app to de-stress after an argument or whatever than actually do it.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It is just baffling that you think "If it was a woman being abused no one would care!" carries the same weight as the reverse. In a culture that places a taboo on hitting girls at a young age you really think that they suddenly consider hitting a man the same as hitting a woman?

If you makes you feel better, Father, I consider both sides of that argument utterly ridiculous.

I too was a victim of domestic abuse, but to be honest I'm hesitant about pulling it from the shelves. I don't expect things I get offended by to be condemned universally, and I don't want to ruin anyone else's picnic.

I'm not sure that app is anyone's idea of a picnic. It looks pretty low-rent.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It is ridiculous to say that nobody would care, but less ridiculous IMO to say that significantly less people would care in one example.

No, they are both ridiculous.

To start a conversation about violence against men, how it's a problem, why it doesn't get the attention it deserves, etc, is perfectly justifiable. A noble endeavor. I will support that day and night.

To jump into a conversation about violence against women(men) and start carping about how it happens to men(women) too is juvenile and absurd. It's a perpetuation of the absurd "us against them" dynamic that permeates every thread where gender is a factor. And a lot of it gets issued with the seeming expectation that existence of violence against men somehow negates violence against women. As though it were a rebuttal, and not just a second crime.

True story, I have a similar screen name on an MMO and one woman thought I was actually a dad. She seemed kind of disappointed and it turns out she was a mother.

If we repeat it enough maybe we can get some people thinking you are a priest.

 

[DementedSheep]

Not cool. Female on male abuse is actually serious issue and its gets ignored or made light of far too much.

Gender stereotypes are harmful to both genders. I think the belief is that woman are weak, innocent, non violent and lack agency whereas guys are meant to be strong, in control and perverted so when a guy gets beaten by a woman the assumption is that he must have been the one to instate it somehow (by cheating usually, cause, all guys are controlled by their penis apparently), that she is too weak to any real damage and so if the guy does get hurt by a woman it?s his fault because he has failed as a man and clearly he must be very weak.

Anyone who thinks woman in general are innocent or non violent must not know many woman well. Even when an abuser is weaker than person they are abusing it doesn?t matter if they are far more aggressive and the partner can?t or won?t defend themselves. Woman being weaker than men is on average, not always true especially (this many sound racist so I?m sorry if I offend) with Polynesian woman who are often big and quite strong. The idea that a guy can?t ask for help and anything bad that happens to them is there fault and a sign of weakness really needs to stop.

I know we defend video game violence in most games on the grounds that it?s not real but I don?t think this sort of thing is the same. Video game violence generally doesn?t feel real, it?s often for a no real choice type situation, not necessarily indicative of a particular mindset and involves the protagonist being in a situations that you are likely never going to be in anything even remotely similar too. Sexism (especially like this one), homophobia and racism however are everyday problems in our society. It?s often more subtle, pervasive and something you might not even realise you?re doing so I think it?s more damaging.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

An ex of mine used to punch me in the face whenever I said anything that could be remotely construed as disagreeing with her. It's funny when couples play fight, that's perfectly normal. But REAL abuse, regardless of gender, is not funny, and this game is in poor taste.

 

[LetalisK]

Huh, looks like a shoddy imitation of a game. Like something Zynga would put out.

 

[Grottnikk]

That's fucking ridiculous :/

 

[Nexxis]

I am going to sidestep the sexism issue and condemn this purely because it depicts an abusive relationship in a positive light for no artistic reason. I am not saying it should be banned or that it shouldn't have been made, I'm merely saying I do not enjoy positive depictions of abuse.

I agree with you to an extent. When I looked at the article, my first reaction was "Da Faq?" followed by "Why does this even exist?" I understand that it's cartoony and the like, but depicting any domestic violence as funny or a good thing is just tasteless, no matter who is on the receiving end of it. Personally, I think it should be banned, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Cheesepower5]

Mostly pretty reasonable stuff.

With a few exceptions here and there.

Way to cut out any context, dude. If I'm not getting my conversations mixed up, she had already made threatening comments and lewd photoshops of him. I'm not saying that totally justifies what he said, but it's obvious who you're trying to paint as a villain.

Dude... no amount of context will ever make that statement anywhere near "pretty reasonable".

But hey, if you think rape is ever reasonable then I guess we're pretty much done here. Not really much to say to that...

Do I need to repeat myself? Where did I say rape is reasonable? I said his videos in relation to feminism are mostly pretty reasonable, getting too sure he was right that girl was faking and saying some horrible shit doesn't instantly invalidate my agreement with anything else he says, if you reflexively disagree like that grow the hell up.

And I said not everything he says is reasonable, giving an example... To which you reply that it's completely ripped out of context and apparently partly justifiable?

Again, no amount of context will make what he said acceptable in any way, shape or form. Not everything the guy says is pretty reasonable. Simple as that.

Again... I did not say that. I said I disagreed with his statements in that post. That doesn't mean you weren't quote-mining in the worst way. I never said everything he says is reasonable, I specifcally used the term "mostly." You then fish out the worst thing you can find him say totally out of context to make it seem like he's this horrible person who attacked a poor girl unprovoked. It doesn't really matter, dude, you can dislike The Amazing Atheist if you want. I don't want to start a flame war over YouTube content providers.