Bayonetta Subway Advertisements in Japan

 This video discusses the sexuality involving the popular game Bayonetta in Japan. The entirety of the game is extremely sexual, involving pornographic poses, sexual innuendos, and a highly sexual themed outfit including a skin tight black leatherette with a cutout open back to have some skin showing, and high heels strapped with a gun, but the sexuality of just the game alone is not what this video is centered around. The video actually is more about discussing how this game was marketed. The marketing company presented two six foot banners that included the Bayonetta logo and a rectangular space that had small cards with a lipstick kiss on the front and Bayonetta’s strapped foot on the inside. The point of the cards, were that they were to be removed as people walked by. Each card that was removed revealed the sexual character Bayonetta lying on her stomach naked underneath, covered only by her long hair. This marketing strategy was very controversial because it encouraged passers by to literally “strip” Bayonetta naked in a subway station. 

This was also controversial because people believed it glorified the sexual assault that women faced in Japan in subway stations. The video states in 2008 there were over 2000 groping in subway stations in Japan and that 64% of women reported being groped on subway trains. Japan had to go as far as making women only passenger cars because of the assault and then the Bayonetta marketing team has a banner that is encouraging sexual assault behavior. I really thought this video made a great point how often times popular culture can make a mockery out of women in our society. The underlying reason why this marketing ad for Bayonetta was so concerning was because of the abuse that Japanese women are actually facing in the subway stations and this ad glorified that. I think many times games, movies, and television make a mockery out of real life situations that women face.