The controversy
The project (a cached version of which can be found here) purports to be a “seduction guide” for men looking to manipulate women into sleeping with them. While it has the typical mouth-breathing, misogynistic veneer you’d expect from a “seduction guide”, the real controversy stems from parts of a draft that surfaced on reddit (though it’s since been redacted).
The advice continues to escalate in aggressiveness, recommending that men physically lift the women they’re flirting with and place them on their laps.
Regarding sex, the guide advises:
…You get the idea.
The apology
While Kickstarter didn’t act swiftly enough to remove the project (it reached $16,369 of its $2,000 goal), the company’s apology (which you can read in its entirety on the company’s blog) does make it clear that:
The post claims that had Kickstarter been presented with the damning material from reddit earlier they would have never greenlit the project, and that the reason they didn’t remove it was because tight time constraints did not permit a full investigation.
In an attempt to ensure this incident isn’t repeatable, Kickstarter has banned future seduction guides from its service, stating:
The company has also pledged a $25,000 donation to RAINN, a charitable organization designed to combat sexual violence.
