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Uncategorized Wednesday, June 20th 2012 at 2:10 pm

The Lingerie Football League Video Game Isn’t Just Degrading to Women

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Well folks, I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t think that it could get any worse than the LFL, the Lingerie Football League. I was proven wrong this morning when WWE developer, Yuke’s announced a video game using the LFL license. We need to recognize this upcoming game for what it is: Degrading to female athletes and degrading to gamers.

Let’s face it, people don’t but Leisure Suit Larry for the rich gameplay or the compelling story; in the same way, people don’t watch the Lingerie Football League for the football. The League, in which women wear only underwear and football pads, began in 2003 as a pay-per-view event airing annually on Super Bowl Sunday. In 2009, the LFL had its first 20-week season and has been growing since then. Businessweek estimates that it is one of the fatest growing sporting events in North America. Despite its success, the league does not provide health insurance for the players and, since 2011, does not pay them. Most of the athletes just want to play football and will do or wear anything to participate professionally in the sport they love. The LFL makes women into sex objects, does not compensate them for injuries sustained in a full contact sport, tells them that the only way for a sport to be interesting is to play in their underwear, and now, after all of that, hopes that lingerie football will be considered a legitimate sport by releasing a video game.

The upcoming game degrades its target audience almost as much as the LFL degrades its athletes. First and foremost, I can only imagine what the multitude of female gamers will think of this title; I imagine that they will feel isolated and embarrassed. In addition, associating the LFL with video games supports the stereotype of gamers as being sex-crazed adolescents or socially awkward losers. This game will simply tarnish the public perception of people who play video games; we do not need to give our critics another reason to look down on us. So many people have fought to bring video games to a wider audience and, thereby, eliminate the stereotypes brought on by games like Leisure Suit Larry and Custer’s Revenge. We are better than this.

I can see no good that will come from the LFL video game. It supports an organization that insultes its players, it supports a long-held stereotype associated with gamers, it isolates female gamers, it sets back video game culture and prevents it from being accepted by the public at large, it tells female athletes that the only way to make a sport interesting is for them to take their clothes off. Gamers, I ask you, please do not stand for this. Do not support the Lingerie Football League Video Game.

(LFL 360 via gamesradar)

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  • http://twitter.com/_20below 20below

    oh come on they play of their own will if you don’t like it don’t watch it…
    “men made to code in cubicles while wearing business casual – told it’s the only cool way to code and aren’t compensated for coding related injuries like permanent virginity and white night syndrome”

  • Rebecca_billy

    You hit the nail on the head. It’s garbage.

  • Dr Coene

    Women, like men, happen to be objects. We’re people, and objects, at the same time. We’re faceless, mindless stormtroopers. What is truly degrading, in my view, is that we feel the need to deny that of one gender in order to grant us all a superficial sense of equality. The irritatingly persistent injection of sexy babes into video games is an absolutely meaningless battle for Gender Equality. It is a distraction from the truly meaningful contention: Equal Pay, Equal Representation, Equal Protection. To try to wash this one aspect of the female gender away, to try to sweep it under the carpet, is to needlessly delude ourselves into feeling that Justice and Equality has somehow been achieved, but it is not and will never be the real thing.

  • Asreal

    Glad this story didn’t make the Mary Sue; you’d have a full-scale feminist revolt!

    Not that I don’t agree with the article ;)

  • http://guymanningham.com/ Guy Manningham

    No one forces the girls in the LFL to play in the underwear. How can you speak for them? If hot women playing football in lingerie is wrong, I don’t want to be right! If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Just don’t ruin it for those who have no issue with it, include the women who are employed by the LFL.

  • Anonymous

    Those women choose to wear those uniforms… You’re seriously concerned about something like an LFL video game when you have things like Lollipop Chainsaw out right now?

    Those players wear more clothing than the cosplayers that your site loves to cover at Comi-con.

    You keep stewing in your male guilt… Have fun with that.  Did you have a fight with your girlfriend because she caught you playing Saints Row and smacking around women with a giant purple dildo, and this article is your way to make up for it? Jeez man.. Cry me a river of man tears.

  • Ben Clark86

    Okay… I’ve been a LFL fan for a few years now. I watch it for the football. It’s been fun following Philly, but now that theirs a Stl team I’m HYPED for next season.

    I’m a straight guy, but I don’t get a boner watching these women play. I watch because I think the sport is exciting and I want my team to win. I get as excited when a big play happens in the LFL as I do for a big play in the NFL, and as unreasonably angry when things go poorly.

  • Anonymous

    I object to treating women like sex objects. But I love looking at hot babes in bikinis.

  • Rugbygal4ever

    So  tired of this crap!  Why is it that the females who bitch about  the LFL are  most oft than not out of shape and unattractive?  If you don’t like it, don’t watch it!   After all, the LFL isn’t found on mainstream TV like many of the other sports that should be considered controversial (but are not)….it isn’t like beach volleyball where semi-thongs are often worn (but men wear long shorts) or gymnastics where  tiny leotards with bum cheeks showing are worn (but men wear full tights) or even figure skating…you get  the point….  I would  rather be on a football field playing full contact football …yes in my lingerie uniform …than be a cheerleader wearing little more on the sidelines of a men’s game.                              

  • OUTSTANDING!

    The ‘if you dont like it, don’t watch it’ argument is always inherently flawed, as the OP is generally always analysing the social repercussions as a whole rather than individual personal reactions, and the continued degradation of women IS a wider social issue to be concerned about by the masses. This is not about one person’s reaction, it is one person acting as mouthpiece for a wide-reaching issue that many, many people are increasingly aware of.

    That being said, and as a firm supporter of any movement towards gender equality and respect, I must agree however with one point that a number of commenters have already raised.

    When it comes down to it, the LFL players are choosing to play. They are choosing to play an exhibition sport in which they are dressed in skimpy clothing, rendering them sex objects. To argue that these women ‘just wanna play football’ is, I think, an insult to their intelligence; they are smart, brave women, capable of making their own decisions, and are not being forced or coerced (I hope…) into playing a game that is one part sport and one part titillation.

    Yes, I agree whole heartedly with the point that there are little to no alternatives, and that many of these women would much rather play with full padding, full uniforms and get compensation for injuries sustained in the heat of play (that last part especially – it’s straight up bullshit that these ladies aren’t being treated equally when it comes to injuries, especially when they’ve got a lot of bare skin showing).

    From my limited LFL viewing experience, it’s easy to discern that these women are dedicated players – they play hard, tough and use tactics well. Clearly they have a deep love for the game of football and want to take any chance to do so on the ‘world stage.’

    But once again, I must reiterate my main point – these women know what they are getting into. They are not children who make poor decisions and are easily exploited. I’m certain many of them are quite happy to be seen as highly attractive feasts for the eyes. While that isn’t to say there aren’t some who resent the inequality of the situation, the fact remains that they chose to play the game the way it is played; in revealing uniforms.

    I wont say much about the video game, because frankly, the sexy football can of worms is already explosive enough, throwing public perceptions of video games and gamers into that mix just makes things even more ridiculous to debate.

    I’ll finish with this:

    Human culture, as a side-effect of the human mind, has become so self-aware and post-modern that it no longer has any idea whatsoever on what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad.’ There is no consensus and there never will be. Some people will be offended by things and some will debate said offence with all the might they can muster.

    In the end, we are all people who love sex because it’s built into our genes to love it. You can see it as objectification, or you can see it as celebration of our natural desires.

    Either way, it’s all just fluff.

    Now APPLAUD my entirely neutral, wholly pacifistic viewpoint!

    (I threw out some points in there, and the rest turned into needless rhetoric. I’d apologise for that, but it sort of supports the points I was making in a roundabout way, ha!)

    GOODNIGHT 

  • Kyleisgood4you

    yeah this is fucking retarded.  Men used to be completely nude in the Olympics back in the day.  Women who have a problem with this, in truth, simply have problems with themselves.

  • Amanda Lange

    *record scratch sound* Wait, hold the phone. Leisure Suit Larry is amazing. Written like someone who never played it. Let’s not compare a real classic to this please.

  • LFLReply

    Being against the LFL on the Internet is like being against the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the porn section.

    I’m not just making a joke, if you are against this sort of sexual exhibit then you really ought to figure out which priorities you’d like to devote your resources toward.

  • LFLReply

    I also don’t think it’s particularly degrading… unless you assume that sexiness inherently removes all the other positive qualities of a person. Which it obviously doesn’t.

  • Elvie

    Women who have a problem with this, in truth, simply have problems with the patriarchy and the portrayal of women as nothing other than sexual beings. Men being completely nude in the Olympics had nothing to do with that. And the use of an ableist slur isn’t helping your argument whatsoever, bud.

  • Anonymous

     Well we can clearly see who’s wearing the pants in the relationship… lol.

  • Mitman

    Oh yeah, I’m sure if they made Magic Mike the video game not a single woman or man would buy that game…

    I’ve never seen in the Western world a good looking confident woman with shapely curves purposely buy an over sized bikini to hide her body…these are all personal choices. Good on them for sharing with the world – some see women as works of art. Others as meat. I suppose it all comes down to your own perception, but I’m not here to judge anyone as long as no one is getting hurt.

    I’d rather see these girls being active by playing a sport and making some money than working at Hooters or worse.

  • Sociopath

    These women are doing this of their OWN FREE WILL! Why should you care? They don’t.

  • Justin

    I love the LFL. Not just to watch beautiful women, but to watch the game.. LFL is more to the old days of real football.. today’s game in the NFL is becoming a joke. The women of the LFL often times hit harder and play harder than the men in the NFL. I do agree they deserve to be paid and have medical insurance. And for those trying to not support this movement yes I said movement.. Women are not technically allowed to play male sports, so sports have to be invented or introduced to the world, LFL is quite popular and I think is a great thing towards female equality. shut up enjoy it and Watch the game for the game. It really is awesome, and less bullshit than the NFL has going now.

  • Gamer_2k4

    I like how your entire objection to this new video game is based on the name. You haven’t seen screenshots or gameplay. You don’t know anything about the darn thing. Stop looking for controversy where there isn’t any.

  • http://www.facebook.com/patrick.mcreary.733 Patrick McReary

    Can we just go back to the old days and play sports naked?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    Fuck u. Didn’t u read from this article that they love the sport so they will do anything to play. They didn’t choose to play in underwear!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    WTF is wrong with you people. Women’s rights is not more important than a wired chain saw? Can’t u see that it is degrading to women that the only football they can play is without clothes on? Why don’t male player play in their underwear and not get paid!! Fucking insensitive shits.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    The point is that women can’t never be seen as equal when we get TREATED like objects, and no men are not. Men are always considered subjects. Now tell me the fact that men can play football filling clothed, get paid millions, and have health benefits, and on the other hand, women can only play almost naked, don’t get paid , and no health insurance. Who the fuck is the object here?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    Not to mention to another self centered dum as fuck guy-you, that the women participate because they love football and there is no normal football team for women. ( it is in the article!!!) did you just not read that part because ur fucking ego won’t allow you to?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    Thank you!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    Stop blaming everything on ugly women. I bet the ugliest girl would feel that she made a bad choice if she’s with you.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143062618 Kathy G.

    How about devoting yourself to make a better world for everyone. You know, only dudes who can’t get real girls obsessively defend porn or anything of that kind.

  • Anonymous

    Have you ever even seen “lingerie” football?

  • sean supplee

    They should make a soccer or football xbox game like this

  • Gqshire

    This article is degrading to my intelligence. If you want to complain about the pay and insurance, that’s fair in criticizing the league, but has nothing to with the videogame. You know who else doesn’t get paid? College football, basketball, baseball players. The players in the LFL choose to play in that league of their own free will. They could just as easily play for the Women’s Football Association (WFA) in full jerseys, pants and regular football helmets. Of course, most people have no clue the league exists. The LFL has nationally known star players. No network has bothered trying to get it on television. The LFL players are more covered up than Pro Beach Volleyball players, but the volleyball players get praise for their athleticism. No one tries to shame them for what they wear (outside of China).

    You complain about widening the audience for videogames. That means a wider variety of games available, not fewer games with wider appeal. Like TV and stand up comedy, a broad audience usually means sacrificing artistic integrity. Different niches help expand gamer nation. If you had ever watched an LFL game, you would have noticed a lot of female fans in the stands. Which flies in the face of your assertion that this game will suppress and isolate female gamers. In addition, this one game says nothing about male gamers that isn’t cover in the existing library of games.

    It’s just a game. If it turns out to be a buggy POS, feel free to condemn this game on its gameplay.

  • Gqshire

    They did chose to play in those uniforms. They could have joined the WFA and played in jerseys and pants. Of course, no one would heard of them. The ladies of the LFL are stars. The league you would like the LFL to emulate has a much smaller fanbase and is almost non-existent in terms of media.

  • Gqshire

    Sports have to find their audience and build a following. Most sports don’t make the players rich. Pay and insurance don’t determine whether or not the athletes are objects. When the NFL started, most the players needed second jobs to make ends meet. The NBA and MLB were the same. 20 years ago, no one was getting rich skateboarding or surfing. Golf and tennis would needed money just to play for fun. As the LFL gains popularity, they’ll reach a point where they can pay the players. There’s also the possibility that this may never happen. They use the same venues as the big money sports with lower turn out and cheaper tickets.