Step aside feminists, there’s a new culture war on the horizon. Meet “boner culture,” where everything has to be about cis men’s erections.
The term was coined by none other than Gamergate “journalist” William Usher, tweeting for his blog One Angry Gamer. Over the weekend, Usher penned a post on Mortal Kombat 11’s Jade, criticizing game developer NetherRealm Studios for making the recurring character “fully covered up just like the other women on the roster” to make sure she won’t “tantalize men.” He went on to break down Jade’s new look in all of her unexposed glory, analyzing just how NetherRealm has let down Mortal Kombat’s biggest fans: horny gamers.
“As you can see, they gave her a zombified skin tone and made sure that there is zero cleavage on display,” Usher explained. “Her boobs are duly shrunk, and not only does she have boob armor on but she has an undersuit on underneath that, so you literally cannot see anything.”
Tragic. When the story hit Twitter under the headline “Mortal Kombat 11 Adds Jade To The Roster, Who Is Fully Covered Up And Lacking Sex Appeal,” the story wasn’t received well, as most Mortal Kombat fans generally prefer to play the game as opposed to masturbate to it.
https://twitter.com/mapugavalera/status/1097278252756828160
https://twitter.com/tiredcrazyman21/status/1096830455867981825
— [●_●]🐝 (@CrAzY_musicfan) February 17, 2019
It’s people like you that cast a negative connotation on gamers and gaming culture as a whole. You really think “hot takes” like this push the medium forward?
— 💫Dr. Baksh, MD✨ #BlackLivesMatter (@Dr_MUJU) February 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/9toed_Viking/status/1097341668360110080
The negative responses weren’t lost on Usher, and as criticisms poured in, he doubled-down on his original point. After one Twitter user pointed out that Mortal Kombat 11 has a costume selection system, Usher jumped in to defend his piece by arguing on behalf of “boner culture,” the most important of all gamer cultures.
“The verdict is still out on whether [or] not [the developers] added any sexy-time gear pieces to the game,” Usher tweeted on Feb. 18. “For the sake of boner culture, hopefully the sexy outfits are still a viable option via the gear customization.”
I mean, yeah that’s true. However, the verdict is still out on whether not they added any sexy-time gear pieces to the game. For the sake of boner culture, hopefully the sexy outfits are still a viable option via the gear customization.
— One Angry Gamer (@OneAngryGamerHD) February 18, 2019
The response was swift. By Wednesday morning, Usher had already scored a ratio of 75 replies to 10 retweets and 35 likes. Twitter user @9_volt_, who regularly makes fun of Gamergate, shared Usher’s tweet one day later, scoring over 5,000 retweets and 20,900 likes.
https://twitter.com/9_volt_/status/1097886168992104448?s=21
Twitter quickly took @9_volt_’s side and joined in on the fun.
B O N E R
— Dirigible Tomato (@Dirigible_T) February 19, 2019
C U L T U R E pic.twitter.com/2GXgmytFuQ
…
— ♡♪!? (@SkyWilliams) February 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/JUSTINtime4aLAF/status/1097909089588469760
https://twitter.com/pithyalyse/status/1097948483296944130
any of youse into
— Oli A. White (@Real_Child_Dog) February 20, 2019
boner culture
https://twitter.com/markbwriting/status/1097888093951139846
— Avatar of Rhalgr 🐺 (@AtlasXIV) February 19, 2019
Won’t somebody please think of the boner culture!? pic.twitter.com/mOBnsgAnQE
— Commander Stephanie Sterling (@JimSterling) February 19, 2019
Seriously baffling to me anyone would care this much. Are there really people that think the gaming experience is enhanced if you’re playing with a boner wtf. Why can’t they just be like normal people and look up tentacle porn videos when they want to jack off
— Wild Geerters (@steinkobbe) February 19, 2019
The boner jokes were fast and deadly.
— Ezra (@LardDragonEzra) February 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/thesaraclemens/status/1097934330167480320
You gotta respect the boner culture 🧐 https://t.co/V6rVON8xEG
— Allen Ortega (@kenjisalk) February 20, 2019
“Boner culture” is the best accidental euphemism for toxic masculinity everhttps://t.co/4EXEkXuCdq
— Ben Myres (@_benjamming) February 19, 2019
Others pointed out that Usher is getting upset over an undead woman in a video game who beats people to a pulp. Like, you can refrain from rubbing one out this time, fellas.
For the sake of necro bonor culture
— Seán Halpin (@ScorchioIRE) February 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1097893248343916545
— SageScrimblo (@SagesScribblez) February 18, 2019
For the record, Usher appears unfazed by the backlash. While responding to a dunk that called his tweet “an almost ironic joke,” he responded, “there ain’t nothing ironic about boner culture.” One day after the initial “boner culture” tweet, Usher also published an article saying Warner Brothers and “SJW journalists” are “buttblasted” over the controversy.
Bro, there ain’t nothing ironic about boner culture.
— One Angry Gamer (@OneAngryGamerHD) February 19, 2019
Bones 4 life.
As for whether Usher actually believes in “boner culture,” who knows. @9_volt_ explained to the DailyDot that he has “had fun mocking [Usher’s] site for years now,” but even he is confused if the “boner culture” statement is serious or just a creepy joke.
“If you look at the history of his website it is not that hard to believe that he was being serious,” @9_volt_ told the Daily Dot over DM. “But if I had to guess, I would say he was trying to be funny and failed miserably. Or succeeded, depending on how you look at it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Usher for comment and is awaiting his response.
