Female reviewer, Carolyn Petit, recently rated Grand Theft Auto V as a sexist and misogynist game, with no room for women. As a female gamer and reviewer myself, I take a very different stance on the subject.
The first game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise was released in 1997 and it consisted of automobile theft from a bird’s eye view. Development of the game has seen graphics grow, cities expand and overall game play improve.
The most recent version focuses on three interchangeable characters: Franklin, Michael and Trevor. You complete different missions for each avatar: from towing broken down cars to torturing people. But you can also wander about exploring the scenery or chase deer up mountains; the options are endless.
After Petit released her review on GTA V, I couldn’t help but believe she may be wrong in her opinion. When making accusations such as the game being sexist, you must look at what context it’s in.
The gaming world is stereotypically seen as a ‘male’ orientated place, which is not always the case. Recently it’s been shown that the divide between men and women playing games is significantly low. The gaming industry take this into consideration whilst producing games, so why would they want to eliminate women by making games sexist?
Petit said GTA has no room for women “except to portray them as strippers, prostitutes, long-suffering wives, humorless girlfriends and goofy, new-age feminists” – boo hoo. Unfortunately, women are shown like this in many films, games, television shows- anything you can think of.
It’s clear that their intentions aren’t to offend women, since they want women to enjoy the games too. Obviously game producers believe women can handle a joke -and most can – but maybe not Petit and her feminist army. Still, what seems to have been missed out by these women, is how men are portrayed in games.
Let’s take Trevor, he’s a redneck, he’s dirty, he is definitely not all there and he indulges in some strange activities. Then if we look at Michael, we see he can’t keep his wife happy, his daughter wanted to be a porn star and he needs a therapist. Finally we have Franklin; he’s into strippers, he lives with his mom and he tows cars. They aren’t exactly the role models of the year but you could argue that they’re still deemed as ‘cool’ for being the main characters. I disagree. They are lowlife crooks with problematic lives and ruthless behaviour.
In Petit’s article she mentioned billboards that advertised fragrances that made women “smell like a bitch”. We all know men (and women) enjoy having a laugh at the opposite sex’s expense. But can these women who are complaining honestly say that they’ve never made a joke about a man? We all do it, but there’s a difference between having a sense of humour and taking offense. If they made a game where men strutted around in boxers and billboards made fun of their size, all us women would be sitting smug.
Before making such a brash comment about Grand Theft Auto V being sexist, it’s important to look at contributing factors. I think Petit’s piece isn’t demeaning against GTA, I just think it needs a little more thought put into it. If you can’t handle the banter and play a game with gender-based jokes, then maybe Viva Pinata would suit you better.
By Zoe Rose Smith
*Images courtesy of AvinashOrton/Myrat.