As a longtime gamer and fan of reggaeton music like Jay Wheeler and Myke Towers‘ hit "La Curiosidad", I believe influencers in these entertainment mediums have a duty to consider the social impact of their messaging. While the song touches on universal themes like jealousy through its catchy melody and lyrics, select lines reveal problematic implications about systemic gender inequality as well.
With great popularity comes great responsibility. As icons in their respective artforms, these artists and the platforms that amplify them should strive to combat real-world discrimination through ethical content policies and socially conscious messaging.
Background on Systemic Issues in Gaming Culture
As an avid gamer who has witnessed both incredible artistry and utter toxicity from the gaming community, I approach this analysis from a place of love but also frustration. Games possess tremendous power to inspire, educate, and bring people together. However, popular gaming culture also deals with rampant issues around misogyny, discrimination, and online harassment.
For example, an ADL study found that 35% of players in online multiplayer games like Call of Duty, DOTA 2 and Counterstrike: Global Offensive reported experiencing severe abuse including physical threats, stalking and sustained harassment. Women bore the brunt of these attacks, with 63% having experienced gender-based taunting vs. just 16% of men.
The epidemic of gamer rage and bigotry known as "toxic gaming culture" has real-world consequences. An NPR report revealed how online extremist groups leverage multiplayer games to radicalize young men towards violent ideologies. The notorious mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand was even livestreamed on Facebook by the gunman from a GoPro in first-person perspective “as though playing a video game.”
While these extreme examples certainly do not represent the gaming community as a whole, they spotlight an urgent need for tech platforms and publishers to take ethical responsibility over their influential content and policing of their online spaces.
Thematic Lyrical Analysis Through a Gamer Lens
Examining the lyrics of “La Curiosidad” through the lens of a principled gamer concerned by toxicity within online entertainment spaces, certain lines prominently stand out:
“La retrato y le pongo las esposas”
This line about forcibly photographing and handcuffing a woman mirrors disturbing behavior frequently displayed towards female gamers, streamers and characters by toxic members of the community. According to an ADL study, a staggering 74% of female gamers have experienced severe abuse including doxing, stalking and threats of sexual violence.
The process of doxing – publicly releasing someone‘s personal information without consent – directly threatens safety, privacy and peace of mind, akin to the nonconsensual photography and restraint suggested in this lyric. TheUBERguide.com succinctly defines doxing as:
“the unauthorized release of someone’s personal information with malicious intent. Doxing essentially removes one‘s ability to choose what personal information they keep private and what they make public.”
Considering how often female gamers and streamers deal with doxing, death threats and violation of consent over mere attempts to enjoy their hobby on equal terms, hearing flippant references to such harassment normalized in popular music feels deeply unsettling.
“Si te preguntan por mi, di que no me conoces”
This encouragement to disavow knowledge of the speaker under interrogation has disquieting parallels to the denial, secrecy and victim blaming around abuse and discrimination so distressingly commonplace in the gaming scene.
After suffering severe cyberbullying, doxing campaigns and graphic death threats merely for critiquing common tropes in video games on her YouTube channel, media critic Anita Sarkeesian was actually blamed for the harassment by other gamers within the community. The toxic premise that victims of coordinated attacks should hide affiliation with their abusers rather than receive support for speaking out enables further harm.
"Tú lo pasaste mal conmigo, no te voy a mentir"
This admission of a one-sided harmful relationship has echoes of the frequently lopsided power dynamics seen between content platforms and creators when it comes to harassment. While corporations like Twitch and YouTube directly profit from streams and videos created by their community, they often fail to protect those same creators from coordinated attacks and policy unevenly enforced.
For example, popular Twitch streamer Sweet_Anita endured constant violations of Twitch‘s policies around hate raids and harassment from trolls, but only received concrete support after over 80,000 viewers stood up for her plight on social media. Countless smaller creators lack the resources and platform to demand accountability though, instead being told to simply deal with toxic work conditions or stop creating.
When multi-billion dollar companies extract value from creators without reciprocating care for their safety and dignity, they embody the same selfish imbalance portrayed in “La Curiosidad’s” reference to only “you” enduring hardship.
Societal Impact of Normalizing Harm in Entertainment
Obviously these examples dealing with harassment of real people should not draw direct equivalence to lyrics in a pop song. Artistic expression deserves reasonable protections, even when addressing distasteful themes.
However, all influential entertainment platforms and creators share an ethical responsibility over normalizing attitudes contributing to real-world inequality. When so many abuse victims already deal with dismissal and denial across the gaming industry and broader society, hearing cavalier references to unwanted photography, restraint or disavowed relationships in a catchy Billboard #1 song feels highly irresponsible.
Content creators and distribution channels cannot excuse responsibility over their cultural influence, whether dealing with misogyny in gaming or gender dynamics in Reggaeton. Both gaming and music provide wonderful spaces for artistic empowerment and community building when guided by ethical principles. But unhealthy themes causally amplified through sheer popularity transform from fiction into real lived pain for members of marginalized groups.
We must have higher expectations over accountability and social consciousness for artists and companies profiting off any platforms, especially ones with young and volatile user bases.
Path Forward: Prioritizing Inclusivity and Responsibility
The gaming world finds itself at a moral crossroads, just like Reggaeton music, needing to reconcile between boundless creativity and culpability over the online habitats cultivated for millions of passionate fans. While systemic change requires collective action, both industries can set positive standards through their top stars and platforms:
For Artists:
- Actively call out toxicity among fans when discovered
- Promote underrepresented voices across all creative roles
- Donate to non-profits combating online harassment
- Complete bias + harassment response training
For Platforms:
- Commit set % of profits into creator protection programs
- Establish inclusive review boards for content decisions
- Boost marginalized artists and speakers through features
- Publish regular transparency reports on enforcement
Evolving from problematic norms that subordinate already vulnerable groups starts with accountability from the top. Then acknowledging how seemingly harmless entertainment content feeds into real-life marginalization. Finally, leveraging immense cultural influence to instead spread inclusive ideals sets positive ripples across society.
Gaming and music constitue profoundly impactful mediums for connection and creativity. While no unilateral fixes exist, conscious creators and ethically guided communities can set inspiring examples of using entertainment’s power for equality and justice. Our voices and values possess simulated strength when reverberated through iconic stars and platforms. Let the chorus ring for progress.