Jan 05 2009
GameStop is Curling its Eyelashes
That’s right, ladies. GameStop, the game store powerhouse, is now trying to cater to women, according to kotaku.com. Up through February 22, qualified “fitness” purchases through their “Sharpen Your Mind, Shape Your Body” will offer you a free year subscription to a variety of women’s magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and O Magazine. Qualified purchases include games such as Wii Fit, My Fitness Coach, My Japanese Coach, Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimate 2009, and Brain Age.
A protip for GameStop: Most of those titles have little to no fitness or mental health advice. Where’s Fitness Magazine, Muscle and Fitness, Health, Prevention, or Shape? Cosmo’s pages are filled with more advice about sex, dating, cheating, and playing dress-up than how to stay genuinely healthy. The same is true for Redbook and Marie Claire; Good Housekeeping focuses on cooking, home decor, and family; O Magazine is the closest to personal improvement on that list. Also, as kotaku.com points out, these magazines are geared for women; they are not gender-neutral. Is GameStop typecasting fitness gamers as mostly women? And why start typecasting now? GameStop doesn’t offer promotional subscriptions to GQ or Maxim. Hell, they don’t offer Ranger Rick or Highlights for kids either.
Fair’s fair, GameStop. While we appreciate you thinking of our health and well-being, try doing so in a gender-neutral way. Moreover, try doing a little research on your chosen promotions, and consider offering magazines geared appropriately for the games they’re being marketed with. After all, if I wanted fitness advice from a pro, I’d talk to a personal trainer, not a fashionista.
