MapleStory: 'I got rape threats over claims I put feminist symbol in video game', says South Korea designer (www.bbc.co.uk)

submitted 10 hours ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

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It was late at night, and Darim's animation studio had just finished designing a new look for a character in one of South Korea's most popular video games, MapleStory.

Darim was proud of her work. So, sitting alone on the floor of her small studio apartment, she posted the trailer on social media. Almost immediately, she was flooded with thousands of abusive messages, including death and rape threats.

Young male gamers had taken issue with a single frame in the trailer, in which the female character could be seen holding her thumb and forefinger close together.

They thought it resembled a hand gesture used by a radical online feminist community almost a decade ago to poke fun at the size of Korean men's penises.

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[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 21 points 10 hours ago

So focused on a single frame of something so small... They really do tell on themselves, don't they.

this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2025

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