A Gamestop training video has been leaked on the internet that is supposed to train employees how to interact with potential female shoppers. In the totally sexist and stereotyped video, a woman guides hopeless male employees in their interactions with women.
The video is meant to educate employees on Gamestop's new promotion, which is blatantly targeted towards women. If customers spend a certain amount of money on games and accessories, they can get a free one year subscription to magazines such a Oprah, Cosmopolitan, or Good Housekeeping.
They call it "personal growth through the world of gaming." Do you think they'd be using this logic if the promotion was for the latest installment of Halo or Grand Theft Auto?
The training video is only nine minutes long, but it in they manage to squeeze out some truly sexist gems. The best part? It's somewhat safari-themed: I felt like I was watching a program on the Discovery Channel about a far away culture.
The narrator (a woman with a poorly faked British accent) is Director of "Womanly Studies" at Gamestop University.
She tells us that all women "absolutely dislike being condescended or ignored" and that their "lack of knowledge" is overwhelming in stores such as Gamestop.
We are then presented with three different types of shoppers: the Deer in Headlights, the Hunter, and the Gatherer.
No, I'm not making this up.
The Deer In Headlights is a confused purchaser, who is actually frightened of the Gamestop employees. The training video instructs Gamestop employees to calmly, and warmly, approach a potential Deer in Headlights. Make sure you don't use any crazy video game jargon! That will definitely scare off the uneducated woman.
The Hunter is a shopper on mission who already has a purchase in mind. The Gatherer is seeking information and options to make a more informed purchase.
Which, alone, is not that bad. But the fact that the promotion and the video were solely created to attract female customers is more than a little sexist.
I'm afraid if I go in, they'll speak to me like I'm an idiot or try to sell me Cosmopolitan rather than directing me to the latest World of Warcraft expansion pack.
Newsflash, Gamestop: female gamers exist, and they don't like it when you create sexist training videos to teach employees how to interact with this "new breed of consumer." We're not a new breed of consumer, and we're not idiots, so don't treat us like we are.
Image from Getty.