The ongoing trend of NFTs has led to some very upsetting cryptoart launches. Chadwick Boseman NFTs and WWF cryptoart come to mind. However, few are as downright confusing as the introduction of Meta Girlfriends NFTs.
Much like the Bull Market Girlfriends NFTs, crypto enthusiasts are spending absurd amounts of money on “virtual girlfriends”. However, unlike the aforementioned cryptoart line, Meta Girlfriends are more... explicit.
The sad reality of Meta Girlfriends NFTs
Reported by Mel Magazine, Meta Girlfriends NFTs is designed to “represent the mature side of NFT Art”. Currently, there are 1,642 NFTs available out of a planned 10,000 total. These pieces randomly generate a “girlfriend” using “600 traits, across 20 categories, to guarantee each one comes with a unique personality.”
On the surface, these “Girlfriends” appear to be female characters that have jumped out of the 2000s Flash art era. Some are dressed in long, blue dresses, others wear swimsuits. They even have a variety of accessories such as samurai swords or cat ear headsets.
This is how Meta Girlfriends NFTs will look for anyone who looks at the assets in someone else’s crypto wallet. However, for the person who “owns” one of the virtual women, a more explicit version is unlocked.
Owners of one of the NFTs are invited to a “Members Only” area of the product’s website. In this area, customers can look at unclothed versions of their “owned Girlfriend”. That's right: it's all laid bare behind closed doors.
Read More: NFT group buys one-of-a-kind Dune book believing it gives them IP rights
A weird form of gamified objectification
The idea of purchasing a girlfriend is one that can be very uncomfortable. Just like marrying a robot wife, it’s a weird objectification of fictional characters that's even weirder with NFT enthusiasts’ obsession with ownership.
That ownership obsession is part of the “charm” with Meta Girlfriends NFTs. The more a user holds onto their girlfriend, the more explicit content is unlocked. However, if a user “breaks up” with their NFT, the new user will have to re-earn NSFW content.
In a world where users are abusing AI girlfriends, Meta Girlfriends are not the worst form of fictional objectification out there. However, it's still an incredibly weird reality when users can just buy NSFW content or games that likely offer more titillation if that's what they're after. It's just... confusing.