Ethics students have wrestled with a range of issues this semester, including capital punishment, drone warfare, terrorism, torture, suicide, euthanasia, and sexual and racial discrimination. Over the course of the semester students have written and sent action letters that addressed these persisting issues from their point of view. Paige Buchanan sent an action letter to a representative from the “Addicting Games” website that addresses the message being sent by their game categories. (Names and addresses have been omitted.)

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Dear (Representative),

My name is Paige Buchanan and I am currently a junior in high school. Over this past Thanksgiving break I browsed Addicting Games and was somewhat appalled when I saw the category “Girl Games.” By having this exclusive category it displays underlying stereotypes that are degrading to girls. Certain games in the category such as “Lets Get Cooking” and “The Boyfriend Trainer” suggest that girls should be in the kitchen and that they are supposed to be hyper sensitive over their boyfriends. These games promote the wrong ideas to young girls. An additional thought about this category is if it suggests that only girls should play these specialized games, does it imply that all other games are simply just for boys? Also, I think it is not right that this category excludes boys who may be interested in something like cooking or having boyfriends, but upon seeing this think that it is a girl only activity. I understand that Addicting Games did not make these corrupting games, but Addicting Games did create the Girl category. A way to solve this immoral and sexist issue is to eliminate the category completely. Thank you for you attention to this important matter and I encourage you to respond with your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Paige Buchanan
Portland, ME

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After reading Paige’s letter I was intrigued and wondered what the other gaming categories were that had been deliberately set apart from “Girl” games. The top menu on the website offers these main categories, in order:
STRATEGY-CAR-SHOOTING-SPORTS-ACTION-PUZZLE-FUNNY-GIRL-MORE
(The MORE category offers over thirty more options, including RACING, NAUGHTY, POLITICAL, CUTE and GROSS, to name a few.)