One of my gamer friends passed this on to me, and I am passing it to the rest of you: Arthaus, a division of White Wolf Games has released a card game called Pimp: The Backhanding. Apparently they are excited to announce that,

Now you can experience the dizzying highs and soul-bending lows of exploiting women, pushing drugs and dodging undercover cops. Will you become a Mack Daddy, leasing out high-priced call girls to discriminating clientele, or a lowly fishmonger making a sticky bankroll off the diseased crackwhores you’ve gotten hooked? Or will they find your unconscious body pistolwhipped into submission, lying in a storm drain?

Um, yeah. Because nothing is funnier that the degradation of women.

But see, it's a joke! A joke! We, don't really think this way:

Please note: Arthaus Games does not condone or support the illegal sex trade industry. Pimp is a fictional game about the humorous stereotypes created by television and film and is in no way representational of the true horrors of the sex trade. If you would like more information on organizations focused on Women’s Rights and support groups, please visit : http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/ or any of the many organizations providing help for women around the world.

Boy oh boy, that makes it all better. They are knocking the stereotypes! Ah, I see. Woah. I'm sure all that all the guys that order this game to play when they aren't kicking back with a little D&D or Grand Theft Auto will use this as a springboard for serious discussions into gender issues and sexual exploitation. Yep.

No wait, I actually doubt that very much. The target market for this game is the sort with a very juvenile sense of humor and without a nuanced view of the world. By making prostitution an object of humor, they help to trivialize the problems of sexual exploitation and abuse in this country and around the world. The games and movies that do this do women a great disservice.

So here is what you can do. Write to White Wolf and tell them what you think of this game. If you are as disgusted as Sakefish and I are, let them know that you will not be buying any of their products so long as this is on the market. Companies tend to listen to their cash registers. It isn't censorship to say, "Hey, this is tasteless and wrong. Could you make better choices?"

While you are at it, do go ahead and check out Women's Human Rights at Amnesty International USA, or some of the manymany fine organizations that help deal with these problems.

Donate. Volunteer. Educate. And pass this message on.