“She’s more obedient than dog … I wish more like that was showing up,” a woman boasts in a young man video game that has triggered a discussion of sexism in China.
The Players in China’s Live-Action video game, “Revenge on Gold Diggers” are male protagonists who They are dragged into relationships by manipulative women who are only interested in their money – The way the man reacts determines the rest of the story.
The game won first place in the sales of the Steam platform a few hours after its release in June, But there was soon a confrontation. Some criticized it because It enhances gender stereotypes, while its supporters say that the game warns the world of love fraud.
It was such a criticism that the creators of the game renamed – Emotional Anti-Fraud Simulator the next day.
But this was not enough to make up for damage. The creators of the game insist that They never had the intention of ‘targeting women’, But they wanted to facilitate “open dialogue on emotional boundaries and gray zones in modern relationships”.
Xu Yikun, an artist who tried the game and found it deeply offensive, rejects this reason. He accuses them of “a classic business model that thrives by creating content that causes controversy and divisions”.
Critics such as this say that the term “goldsmith” itself exudes misogyny.
“It’s a label very often used for women,” says Xu. “Sexist funny and derogatory terms as they have entered our daily language.”
“If you have a wealthy friend, they call you gold. If you try to make yourself beautiful, they call you goldsmiths … Sometimes the label is used for you simply because you have received a drink from someone, “he adds.
Some players, of course, reacted by saying that the criticism is excessive. “The game is not trying to say that all women are goldsmiths … I don’t think it aims at both sexes,” says 31 -year -old Zhuang Mengsheng. “Both women and men can be goldsmiths.”
However, in the game all the “goldsmiths” are women. From a young influencer on the internet to an ambitious entrepreneur, everyone appears to plan to make men offer them money and gifts.
“Do you want to know if a man loves you? See how much he spends »says one of them.
The game has even divided local media. A newspaper from the central province of Hubai said the game “characterizes the whole female sex as scammers”.
Despite the confrontation, the sales of the game continue to grow. It is now among China’s top ten titles for the PC platform, even surpassing Black Myth: Wukong, which is reportedly the most successful Chinese game of all time.
“I don’t understand why people are upset with it. If you are not a goldsmith yourself, why feel that this game is offended?“, Says a 28 -year -old man.
Women who talked to the BBC are worried that The video game perpetuates problematic sex norms in Chinawhere society believes that the position of a woman is at home, while men are considered the main support of the family.
So, For women, good marriage is traditionally considered more important than professional success.
The official rhetoric of China’s male -dominated communist party supports this rationale – President Xi Jinping has repeatedly invited women to accept their role as “good wives and mothers”.
The government has also suppressed a growing number of gender equality activists.
“I think such a game is simply fueled the hostility between men and women,” says a woman who did not want to be named, fearing hostility on the internet.
“She presents women, once again, as the lower sex that must somehow find ways to thank men to win a living.”