WWYD? Back cover of ds' magazine looks like soft p@rn!

[Ginevra]

DS12 gets "Gameinformer" magazine. It was a perk of getting a benefits card at a gaming store. I tore this back cover off because I saw it and I don't think ds saw it before me. I'm really bothered by the woman depicted. She looks like a porn star/playmate and appears nude, though she has "robotic" graphics on her otherwise-nude looking body. Check it out here.

 

DH felt that we should cancel the subscription. I'm not even sure how to do that, since it is not a typical paid subscription, though I'm sure I could figure it out if I tried. Is that too drastic? Am I a stupid mom to begin with because the mag reviews games and it was possibly inevitable that this "style" of sexy animation might crop up in a gamer's magazine? Other thoughts?

 

ETA: you have to click May 2012 to get the full cover; the back cover portion is towards the left.

[jen3kids]

Have you looked inside the magazine?

 

You will find similar pictures inside pretty much every issue.

[Ailaena]

I certainly don't think you are stupid for not thinking about it.

 

 

However, I don't really think it's any worse than many other images kids see on a daily basis. At least she is not posed in a lascivious fashion.

[Night Elf]

Have you looked inside the magazine?

 

You will find similar pictures inside pretty much every issue.

 

:iagree: They review, or whatever they call it, all kinds of games, lots of them rated 'M' I believe. You could just intercept the magazine when it arrives and throw it away.

[Rhonda in TX]

We also get GI because we have the benefits card. I've been known to edit the magazine, but I've gotten lax about it lately. That particular picture is from the game Halo 4, which I believe is rated M. With those type of games being advertised, you are going to run into that kind of thing in the magazine. (I tore the back cover off that issue of the magazine.)

[Rhonda in TX]

You could just intercept the magazine when it arrives and throw it away.

 

This is what I would do. Maybe if/when you renew your card, you could tell them you don't want the magazine.

[houseofkids&pets]

:iagree:Maybe you could preview it first and tear out articles of interest to your ds??

[Danestress]

when we got a Game Stop card a few years back, I arranged to not get the magazine. I can't remember how I worked that out with the store. They had a copy there, and I could see I didn't want it showing up at the house.

[Lisbeth]

:iagree: They review, or whatever they call it, all kinds of games, lots of them rated 'M' I believe. You could just intercept the magazine when it arrives and throw it away.

 

Another vote for intercept and throw away.

[jen3kids]

:iagree: They review, or whatever they call it, all kinds of games, lots of them rated 'M' I believe. You could just intercept the magazine when it arrives and throw it away.

 

Yup, I intercept it, but I look inside to see if there are any reviews my kids would be interested in and will often tear those out and put them on the table for them to read. My kids are not big gamers so they really don't care too much about the magazine at all.

 

When my kids do see the magazine, they are excited, but quickly realize there is not much in it for them.

[Trish]

We must have some kind of membership that involves this free subscription also. I've paged through a few of them, and they always seem to include pictures I don't think my kids need to see. So now I just throw them out as soon as I see it in the mail. They have never noticed.

[sparrow]

If your son plays Halo, he has seen Cortana:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana

 

Comic books and video games exaggerate the womanly form. It's nothing new, but the current graphics for video games can obviously make things look more realistic. I don't think it's a big deal.

 

 

 

:leaving:

[angela in ohio]

We have the same problem with Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. I have to grab the magazine before ds sees it and remove all the ED ads, "hot women looking for you" classifieds, marital aid ads, etc. :glare:

[MindyD]

I was just looking at that magazine! It was sitting on the table, I noticed the back cover and thought to myself, "hmmm, that's a little bit much." I always throw it out because no one reads it. We only go to gamestop for kids nintendo ds games, and those are rare.

[Jilly]

I set it up to only receive it digitally because the content was so inappropriate. I am not sure how to view it digitally because I, nor my kids, have any interest in it. I am just glad that we don't receive a physical copy of it anymore.

[NicAnn]

Just go to Gamestop and tell them you want the magazine canceled.

 

FWIW, we've been getting the magazine for years (since I worked there as a teenager), and there is a lot of more mature content. The mag has actually toned down quite a bit since they got the new editor.

[Crimson Wife]

I got a free subscription to Elle magazine somehow, and I go through it to rip out anything inappropriate before my giving it to my fashion-loving 'tween. I left the Jessica Simpson preggo semi-nude picture in because you couldn't actually see anything and she came to me asking to remove it. :001_smile:

[Catwoman]

We get the GI magazine, too, and I have to admit that I did a bit of a double-take when I first saw the back cover. (I saw the back cover before I saw the front, because of the way the mailman had folded it into our other mail, so it took me a second to realize it had to be GI.)

 

I don't "edit" our magazines -- I think I would just throw the whole thing away rather than rip out pages due to inappropriate images or content, because I think that, by ripping out offending sections, we end up drawing attention to the "forbidden" aspect of things, which I think can pique curiosity more than either just leaving the magazines intact or tossing the entire things in the trash.

 

That said, ds12 has no interest in reading GI, because he says there's no point to reading about a bunch of rated M games that he won't be playing anyway. I usually flip through it to see if there's anything he might be interested in, but honestly, there isn't usually too much of interest in there.

 

I know there are a lot of gamers who buy the rated M games, but I would bet that GameStop would do very well financially if they were to offer a second magazine option that focused on family games, and kids games rated from E to T (and if they were smart about it, they would put all of the T games in one section of the magazine, so parents of little ones could remove the more suggestive stuff before giving the magazines to their kids to read.)

[Acorn]

Along the same lines, I bought a video card as a present for dh. When it came in the mail, I realized I wouldn't be able to wrap it and put it under the tree because of the well-endowed and well-armed near-naked characters on the box. He laughed when I told him in a card about his gift and told the kids that he couldn't open the real present until he was ready to actually install it. He said that he orders hard drives and video cards at his business and the boxes all have characters from mature games.

[shinyhappypeople]

 

I would bet that GameStop would do very well financially if they were to offer a second magazine option that focused on family games, and kids games rated from E to T (and if they were smart about it, they would put all of the T games in one section of the magazine, so parents of little ones could remove the more suggestive stuff before giving the magazines to their kids to read.)

 

That's a great idea.

[mom2myboys]

I have just thrown it away each month that it came in the mail. I think it started when we bought one of the kids a video game for their birthday. Sometimes the pictures on the cover are so violent and disturbing that I feel physically ill just looking at them. Our subscription is over, thank goodness.

[tex-mex]

Have you looked inside the magazine?

 

You will find similar pictures inside pretty much every issue.

:iagree:

 

Video gaming and comic books for the older audience tend to have the stereotypical view on denigrating women with skimpy outfits and big "bOOks" for decades. One thing I tell my teen son is that in real life, if you are a gamer or comic book geek, it would be really difficult to get a girl who looks like that to be your girlfriend. ;) Unless you were filthy rich.

 

I tend to rip out the pages or use the black sharpie marker to give the girl a decent coverage if that happens. I don't know how to even address the idea that most of this genre for decades is making women look like sl_ts. Yeesh. :glare:

Edited April 15, 2012 by tex-mex

[MomatHWTK]

:iagree:

[Guest submarines]

DS12 gets "Gameinformer" magazine. It was a perk of getting a benefits card at a gaming store. I tore this back cover off because I saw it and I don't think ds saw it before me. I'm really bothered by the woman depicted. She looks like a porn star/playmate and appears nude, though she has "robotic" graphics on her otherwise-nude looking body. Check it out here.

 

DH felt that we should cancel the subscription. I'm not even sure how to do that, since it is not a typical paid subscription, though I'm sure I could figure it out if I tried. Is that too drastic? Am I a stupid mom to begin with because the mag reviews games and it was possibly inevitable that this "style" of sexy animation might crop up in a gamer's magazine? Other thoughts?

 

ETA: you have to click May 2012 to get the full cover; the back cover portion is towards the left.

 

My experience with porn stars is, admittedly, very limited (the only reasonable image that comes to mind is of Pamela Anderson, and is she even a porn star? I have no clue.) but the depicted model doesn't evoke any porn-star vibes in me. I see the woman as a nude, that's all. I think her image is quite tastefully done, and is certainly not worse (and actually, better) than semi-undressed models any boy can see at a check-out line.

[PeacefulChaos]

It looks pretty standard to me... I'm really not sure what I'd do in your position. Just know that that is the standard for a lot of video games* (which I have no problem with, just for the record), and that the magazines cater to their older audiences (which are the ones who are most likely playing those games - or should be, anyway.)

 

ETA: *forgot to say that I mean rated T or M - which is pretty much all that magazines cover. :) We have/had subscriptions to 3-4 different gaming magazines over the years, and that sort of image is the norm - and yes, a little tame in comparison to some.

Edited April 15, 2012 by PeacefulChaos

[Guest]

If your son plays Halo, he has seen Cortana:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana

 

Comic books and video games exaggerate the womanly form. It's nothing new, but the current graphics for video games can obviously make things look more realistic. I don't think it's a big deal.

 

 

 

:leaving:

 

We don't have Halo. I do know the bolded part, but knowing it doesn't make me feel fine with endorsing it. Having the magazine continuing to arrive does feel like endorsing it.

 

We get the GI magazine, too, and I have to admit that I did a bit of a double-take when I first saw the back cover. (I saw the back cover before I saw the front, because of the way the mailman had folded it into our other mail, so it took me a second to realize it had to be GI.)

 

I don't "edit" our magazines -- I think I would just throw the whole thing away rather than rip out pages due to inappropriate images or content, because I think that, by ripping out offending sections, we end up drawing attention to the "forbidden" aspect of things, which I think can pique curiosity more than either just leaving the magazines intact or tossing the entire things in the trash.

 

That said, ds12 has no interest in reading GI, because he says there's no point to reading about a bunch of rated M games that he won't be playing anyway. I usually flip through it to see if there's anything he might be interested in, but honestly, there isn't usually too much of interest in there.

 

I know there are a lot of gamers who buy the rated M games, but I would bet that GameStop would do very well financially if they were to offer a second magazine option that focused on family games, and kids games rated from E to T (and if they were smart about it, they would put all of the T games in one section of the magazine, so parents of little ones could remove the more suggestive stuff before giving the magazines to their kids to read.)

 

Well, part of my issue is that ds12 does read the magazine. He is very interested in reading the reviews and finding out what games are considered great and why. He isn't allowed to play M-rated games and only plays T-rated games with my consent and oversight.

 

If I *do* anything - ie., throw away the magazine, cancel the subscription or edit the mag, I need to have a discussion with him about why I'm doing that. I haven't even decided yet whether or not I need to discuss with him that I tore off the back cover and why.

 

It would be really nice if they had a magazine just for the family gaming.

 

My experience with porn stars is, admittedly, very limited (the only reasonable image that comes to mind is of Pamela Anderson, and is she even a porn star? I have no clue.) but the depicted model doesn't evoke any porn-star vibes in me. I see the woman as a nude, that's all. I think her image is quite tastefully done, and is certainly not worse (and actually, better) than semi-undressed models any boy can see at a check-out line.

 

I see the woman as a nude with the physique of a porn star/playmate. Does that have place on a magazine about video games that is often sent to children? Not IMO. I agree about models on magazines in a check-out line, but I have a different standard for things I'm allowing in my house on purpose as opposed to images in the environment over which I have no control.

 

I don't find her "tastefully done." I'm sort of amazed you would think so. Are bare double-D bOOks tasteful? As a video game character?

 

By following the link posted on who Cortana is, I learn that:

Cortana has been recognized for her sex appeal, believability, and character depth; she was rated as one of the ten most disturbingly sexual game characters[3] by Games.net and one of the fifty greatest female video game characters ever by Tom's Games.[4]

 

Most disturbingly sexual. That seems...disturbing. :tongue_smilie:

[TechWife]

DH felt that we should cancel the subscription. I'm not even sure how to do that, since it is not a typical paid subscription, though I'm sure I could figure it out if I tried. Is that too drastic?

 

Yes, cancel it. Don't think twice about it, trust your husband on this. Do this even if it means letting the game store membership program go. If you can't figure out how to do it, call the customer service number and go up the ranks until you find someone who can do it for you.

[NatashainDFW]

They have it now so you can get the digital edition for free instead of the print. I think the digital is searchable so you could pull up reviews of specific games versus paging through all the M rated reviews.

[mommymilkies]

I would not let my ds read that mag anyway. South Park articles, gun warfare games...not our cup of tea. The back cover is the least of my worries.

[Guest submarines]

I would not let my ds read that mag anyway. South Park articles, gun warfare games...not our cup of tea. The back cover is the least of my worries.

 

:iagree:

[tntgoodwin]

For the record, video games often tend to idealize the male form in a similar fashion.

 

Also, if you find that picture to be soft porn-ish, I recommend not watching the X-Men movies that include the Mystique character. :-P

[Parrothead]

IMO it is more artistic than anything pornographic. I think porn is in some way going to scream s3x. I just don't see it. I even looked twice to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I've seen much worse in the underwear section of the JC Penney catalog.

[Guest submarines]

IMO it is more artistic than anything pornographic. I think porn is in some way going to scream s3x. I just don't see it. I even looked twice to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I've seen much worse in the underwear section of the JC Penney catalog.

 

:iagree: I went to look at it again, I thought I maybe looked at a wrong cover.

[Guest]

IMO it is more artistic than anything pornographic. I think porn is in some way going to scream s3x. I just don't see it. I even looked twice to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I've seen much worse in the underwear section of the JC Penney catalog.

 

:iagree: I went to look at it again, I thought I maybe looked at a wrong cover.

 

Okay. Different point-of-view, I guess. :001_smile:

[Guest submarines]

Okay. Different point-of-view, I guess. :001_smile:

 

The bottom line is, if you are uncomfortable, there's no reason to keep your DS subscribed. :001_smile: There are all kind of opinions out there.

[gardenmom5]

I'd cancel the subscription - you should have a mailing label with information to use for that.

I'd also send a complaint letter to the magazines publisher complaining. I assure you, they didn't have to include revealing pictures from the game for a review.

 

that said - soft porn is fairly common in some types of games.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Get him MaximumPC.

[Catwoman]

Just an FYI -- if you want to change or cancel your subscription, they can do it for you at the GameStop store.

[J-rap]

I don't know that magazine, but my son once had Popular Science (I think that's what it was), and I was really surprised at the lewd ads and articles it had. I ended up going through every issue first and pulling out various pages. Eventually it just didn't seem to be worth all of that work and we cancelled it, while also writing a letter explaining why, of course.