How Not To Train Your Boyfriend

Everyone gets pissed at their boyfriend sometimes. You may have wanted to slap him, push him against the wall or throw something in his face, but the truth is you know better. Good relationships aren’t based on violence and and just because it it a guy getting hurt doesn’t mean that it’s ok. So why are we condoning violence in video games?

A game called The Boyfriend Trainer takes the violence found in Grand Theft Auto and uses it to whip boyfriends into shape. On the first level you slap him when he looks at girls, then you electrocute him with a cattle prod to get him to keep the house clean, then you smack him with a tennis racket when he changes channels or drinks wine and finally, use a choke chain to get him to slow down in the car. If you don’t “correct” him enough, he’ll get away and you lose.

The creepiest thing about this game is that is seemed to be aimed at little girls. The site features many games and it’s filled with pink and Disney-esque princess avatars. This game is not for venting frustrating at your present boyfriend, it’s to teach you how to train your future boyfriend.

Despite the message that pop culture sends us, boyfriends cannot and should not be trained. They’re people who have their own wants and desires. If they’re reasonable, you can talk to them and explain what you want. If they’re not reasonable, then maybe you could find someone else who is. But whatever happens — it’s never acceptable to electrocute them with a cattle prod!

Luckily, a game like this doesn’t appear to have much momentum anyway, but it’s still disappointing that this kind of stuff is out there for young girls to find. No one would disagree that there are better games to be played out there that challenge young minds in ways senseless video games like this one can’t.

Maybe it’s just my own sense of nostalgia, but what happened to good old fashion board and card games? These games are often strategy and team-oriented. When you win there’s a rewarding feeling, especially in a difficult game like Chess. From all possible angles, there are no rewards to be gained from girls playing a game like The Boyfriend Trainer. I certainly can’t find any message of empowerment buried within the bitch slaps.

So what we really need to think about is how to get young women really thinking. Instead of throwing violence back at men (take that for bringing us Grand Theft Auto!), we need to bring the fun and intelligence back into games.

Contact the author here: tinybart@morningquickie.com