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12-Year-Old Kids Still Getting Racy 'Maxim' Instead of Gaming Magazine
Come on, Maxim. We tried to warn you. If you're going to surreptitiously exchange a magazine featuring a cover of cleavage for one honoring 'Super Mario,' then moms are going to notice the switch. And they're going to talk about it.
After the canceled Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) sent out its final issue in January, subscribers to the magazine instead began receiving copies of the men's mag Maxim. An attached message notified subscribers that they could reply by snail mail in order to halt the subscription and receive a prorated refund.
Kathleen O'Donnell, a mother of a 12-year-old boy, recently requested the cancellation and refund, only to receive the August issue. She told WBZTV, "I didn't think it was a magazine my son should be looking at." Probably not.
It's definitely surprising that the magazine is still continuing to mail its issues despite insensitive ignorance of female gamers and concerned parents. And it's perhaps even more surprising that a 12-year-old boy actually told his mom. He must have read Maxim's review of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. [From: WBZTV.com]
Are These Games Too Sexy?
While recent game titles have attracted media attention for nudity and sexual situations, risque role-playing games have existed since PC gaming first began. Early games, such as 'Sex Games' for the Commodore 64, demanded specific commands, such as "remove pants," and required specific sequential actions to achieve one's nefarious goals. Currently, a plethora of games with bawdy scenes have invaded, or graced, the gaming world and vary in degrees of lewdness. Here are a few significant titles with prevalent or graphic bawdiness:
'God of War I & II:'
Press the right buttons, and gently twirl the thumbstick, to see the climax of mini-games in both God of War I and II for PS2 and PSP
'Grand Theft Auto III (consoles)'
The infamous "don't come a knockin'" prostitute scenes created a stir when GTA 3 was originally released for PS2.
'Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude; Box Office or Bust' (for consoles):
These most recent incarnations continue to follow the exploits of love lorn Larry in versions for both PC and next gen consoles
'Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals' (for PC)
Released in 1989 for PCs, this third installment of the groundbreaking franchise of risque role playing preceded GTA 4 by 20 years when the title character shows the full Larry in an infamous shower scene
'Mass Effect:'
The backlash from FoxNews greatly exaggerated the tame innuendo and implied relations between the two sapphic lovers in Xbox's Mass Effect.
'Playboy: The Mansion' (consoles):
Disappointingly demure, perhaps the highlight of this sojourn to the mansion is playing photographer in this release for PC, PS2 and Xbox
'Rapelay:'
Amazon removed listings for this disturbing, yet readily available in Japan, DVD-ROM in which the main character stalks and, to put it mildly, torments young girls.
'The Sims;' nude patch:
Denisons of young gamers were disappointed when learning that unblurred nudity in this game for PCs, consoles, and handhelds required downloading a censor patch
'Soul Calibur' (consoles):
The character Taki from the Soul Calibur franchise continues to titillate thousands of pubescent gamers in versions for every console.
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Comments
114
Subscribe to commentsWish BelkinAug 8th 2009 5:13PM
"I didn't think it was a magazine my son should be looking at."
________________________________________________
Be glad he's not looking at professional wrestling magazines.
SimzeeAug 9th 2009 5:32AM
You thonk young boys should'nt read this mag? Keep them inside the house 24-7 since they SEE & HEAR more out on the streets. SEX SELLS no matter how ya look at it.
JeffAug 10th 2009 4:40PM
Does he like gladiator movies?
CindyAug 10th 2009 4:52PM
My son reads the wrestling magazines and I always read them 2 make sure they are not too mature for him and yes we are huge wrestling fans.They can not be compared to this trash.They should be ashamed sending this to kids.I would see about getting my money back.
pinkthenredAug 10th 2009 5:52PM
I would let him look but would have previewed the magazine first. In case he had any questions or whatever. I wouldn't want the kid to feel ashamed. A magazine doesn't replace what a father or other male role model can answer for a young man. That is something a mother shouldn't be getting all in their business about because mom will always want to keep her kids needing her. They grow up but hopefully you helped raise them right and that love is forever. :)
denalaurensAug 10th 2009 6:56PM
The boy shouldn't be looking at either, you dope.
AngelaAug 8th 2009 7:13PM
What is this country sinking to? In the old days, a 12-year-old would watch the mail and take the magazine, hide it from the old lady, and charge his friends to let them look at it! Nowadays, junior is feeling like a victim and mommy is his enabler. And even if he DID let his friends look at it, they would tattle to everybody from the preacher, to the teacher, to the popo. Those were the days, alright!
thetruckerkingAug 10th 2009 7:57PM
I couldn't agree with you more. When I was kid I had a collection of Playboy's that would have rivaled Hef himself. When mom would find them and throw them out we'd look at bra ads in the Sears catalog. We lit firecrackers and blew up our army men with them. We would pretend to shoot each other with cap guns. Guess what? I lived through it all and I turned out almost half way normal. Now days kids don't play with their friends, they chat with them on MySpace. They don't look at girls in magazines, they surf hardcore german poopy porn on the internet. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have a 12 year old looking at Maxim that should be the least of your worries. He's normal!
TJLee03Aug 11th 2009 3:10PM
Amen Angela, Amen!!
ericanicole1gAug 8th 2009 9:05PM
Seeing stuff like this doesn't cause sex activity and pregnancies. Parent need to do their jobs and calm down. Plus, their kids probably already do that stuff with kids their age, male, female, and family. Some people are sick like that.
MikeeAug 9th 2009 12:04AM
Up in arms over Maxim? Seriously? Not Playboy, not Penthouse, but Maxim? What's more, I'd expect this sort of pandering and sensationalism from a local news program like WBZTV, but Switched, too? Please, calm down and grow up.
ZtruthAug 10th 2009 2:24PM
The old and tired line that "sex sells" is ignorant to say the least. There is a powerful targeting of young girls by media and advertising, a pervasive onslaught of oversexualization and objectification of girls as young as 5 years old - thongs that say "Eye candy" to mention one sample...I suggest you go to www.alternet.org and read the article, "Sexpot Virgins: The Media's Sexualization of Young Girls" The American Psychological Association has even stepped forward and put a plea out to stop this insane ridiculousness. There is a corporate marketing push to lure girls and boys into cradle to grave consumerism - at the expense of girls dignity and well-being and at the expense of boys healthy abiltiy to experience true intimacy.
BenAug 10th 2009 2:45PM
Your a prude Ztruth and out of touch and you don't know what your talking about. Nope that isn't old and tried to say sex sells it does, and that isn't being ignorant either. And that artical about sexpot is baseless and full of lies just like American Psychological Association doesn't know what there talking about either. so your dead Ztruth your a loaser that needs to get a life. I'm right as always and down with prudes Of America.
gobluespartyonAug 10th 2009 2:24PM
Maxim is not that bad and it isn't racy I would let my 12 year old read Maxim. I think mother is over reacting and is a prude.
NancyAug 10th 2009 3:58PM
That's fine - if that's the magazine you subscribed to - my kids (and this isn't the first time we've been substitued maxim) choose their magazines on what they are interested in. They really enjoy their subscriptions and sometimes that's the only way to get them to read. they look forward to their next issue. Then all of a sudden it's gone. And they don't want Maxim. So it's not the mom being a prude it's the point of getting what you buy, what you choose, ya know freedom to choose - I think it's one of our rights in this country
gobluespartyonAug 10th 2009 6:04PM
Your wrong Nancy the mother is overacting and is a prude plus you don't know what your talking about either. I doubt the mother cancelled when the mags last issue came up as I say Maxim isn't a racy mag.
filch97Aug 10th 2009 2:31PM
Wait! Maxim is bad, but Cosmo is ok? I never quite understood the double standard. I work at a summer camp and many of our female campers receive Cosmo in the mail from their parents. Ive actually seen bare breast in Cosmo, but never in Maxim.
ReichiluAug 10th 2009 4:48PM
Bare breast in a girls mag, oh gawd! Jeez, a girl looking at a girls bare breast in a magazine for girls is not bad.
DreolinAug 11th 2009 1:47PM
I don't agree with children reading Cosmo either (actually most "fashion" magazines and most "men's" magazines shouldn't be seen by children IMO). However replacing a GAMING magazine subscription with a COMPLETLY UNRELATED magazine is stupid, particularly when the magazine articles (excusing the lite-porn images for a moment) will be for the most part irrelevant and/or uninteresting to much of the gaming magazines subscribers including 12 year old boys and most females. I guess the publishers are going on the assumption that gamers fit the sterotype that gamers are all 18-40 year old males who live in their moms' basements and need a 'hip' magazine like "Maxim" to tell them how they should really be living. Also, I have nothing against nudity, it is the objecitfication that I have issue with. As for "Maxim" itself I would rather a 12 year old look at the entire swimsuit edition of "Sports Illustrated") than some of the pictures reminiscent of bondage by leather that shows up on some of the covers of Maxim. Though I would prefer them stay away from both until they are a little older.
IwhofanAug 10th 2009 2:38PM
The same thing happened to my family, except my son is 15. We thought he ordered it without telling us, but then received a notice saying the gaming magazine was no longer being published and they choose to send us the Maxim edition. At 15, it's no as bad - of course we haven't seen my son in a while.