A Feminist Critique of Grand Theft Auto V

 A Feminist Critique of Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V, produced by Rockstar Games, is the most recent iteration of the most popular video game series in the world, earning $1 billon within a mere three days of its release in 2013. It has been universally lauded by game critics according to the criteria of their industry (Metacritic, 2013). Yet, even a cursory examination of the game from a feminist perspective reveals deeply troubling content promoting sexism, misogyny, and patriarchy.

Promoting and Upholding Negative Dominant Narratives

Much debate currently exists as to the definition of “feminism.” The author of this paper agrees with the perspective of activist bell hooks who contends: “Feminism is a struggle to end sexist oppression. Its aim is not to benefit solely any specific group of women, any particular race or class of women. It does not privilege women over men” (2013, p. 339). Sexist oppression permeates all layers and levels of Grand Theft Auto V; a complete listing of all examples would exceed the target length of this paper. In summary, the game promotes sexist oppression through the choices it gives to its players, narrow and overly sexualized depictions of female characters, and content such as advertising and talk shows that present women primarily as sexual objects.

The first evidence of oppression is the lack of “playable” female characters. Players can choose one of three male characters as the main protagonist. One of those three is a former pimp (Feminstborgia, 2014). The second level of oppression is the depiction of the few female characters as highly sexualized beings with little to no agency. As one female reviewer for a prominent gamer website summarized:

…it’s deeply frustrating that, while its central and supporting male characters are flawed and complex characters, with a few extremely minor exceptions …, GTA V has little room for women except to portray them as strippers, prostitutes, long-suffering wives, humorless girlfriends and goofy, new-age feminists we’re meant to laugh at (Petit, 2013).

It is worthwhile to note that although the reviewer gave the game an overall 9 points out of a total 10, male fans responded with rage to her protest of the game’s misogyny. Over 20,000 primarily negative comments were left response to her otherwise commonplace review, and a petition was started on www.change.org for her to be fired as a reviewer (Parfitt, 2013).

The third level of sexist oppression is the game’s representation of females in the sex industry. The game depicts women as (often gladly) choosing to engage in live “sexcam” websites, pornography, stripping, and prostitution (Feministborgia, 2013). Within several available strip club scenes, male players are encouraged to break the “no touching” rule and fondle the women’s private areas. If the player manages to accomplish this without being caught by the club security, the game designers ensure that the strippers will respond positively and might even offer to meet the player later for free sex (Feministborgia, 2013). Often throughout the course of their missions, players are offered the opportunity to solicit prostitutes, chose a sex act from a menu, watch the virtual sex, and then choose whether or not to murder the women to regain their money. Murder options include beating, running over victims a car, throwing a grenade, shooting, using a hatchet, etc. Players’ points go up for having sex with a prostitute, although not for murdering her (Cook, 2014). The game also contains countless crude, demeaning, and violent references to women from billboard advertisements to “entertainment,” including a (male) talk show host recommending a husband “drown” his non-submissive wife and a discussion on how women “enjoy” having their sternums crushed during sex (Feministborgia, 2013).

Patriarchy Silences Women

Some reviewers have dismissed feminist critiques of Grand Theft Auto V by noting that the game depicts violence to male and female characters alike. In the words of one British reviewer: “The game’s treatment of women – every female in the game exists solely to be sneered, leered or laughed at – is a real concern until you realise that it applies to the male characters as well” (Edge, 2013). What this and similar reviewers fail to realize is that sexist oppression is not only exerted through presence but also through absence. The lack of positive images can be just as damaging as the presence of negative ones. There is a conspicuous absence of women portrayed in healthy and varied roles: friend, boss, professional, intellectual, artist, etc. Women are not shown as being able to interact with men in nonsexual ways with the exception of a few weak family members who cause familial strife. The women in Grand Theft Auto are not shown to be strong, savvy, capable, or conscientious. Why then is this game so popular? Simple: Grand Theft Auto is a product and a perpetrator of patriarchy, a prevailing cultural system of male dominance. Patriarchal systems allow sexist oppression to flourish with impunity. Patriarchy has many components and manifestations, but author Allen Johnson summarizes it well:

Above all, patriarchal culture is about the core value of control and domination in almost every area of human existence. … To have power over and to be prepared to use it are defined culturally as good and desirable (and characteristically “masculine”, and to lack such power or to be reluctant to use it is seen as weak if not contemptible (and characteristically “feminine”) (2013, p. 334).

Real Life Victims

There are countless examples of women who have been harmed by the sexist oppression. The consistent pay gap between women and men in the United States is just one such significant example. Yet, in light of Grand Theft Auto V’s extensive content regarding the sex industry, it seems prudent for this paper to focus on some of the ugly truths about women in the sex industry. The majority of women in the sex industry have experienced some form of sexual abuse in their past (Farley, 2012). Many feel that they have no other viable income options and maintain that they are trapped into the industry due to circumstances. Most are under the control of a pimp (Farley, 2012), the former occupation of the main character in Grand Theft Auto V. “Pimp” is a common term for what the law terms “trafficker” as in a perpetrator of human trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 established that a person involved in the sex industry due to force, fraud, or coercion is a victim of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, the fastest growing crime in the world today (United States Department of State, 2014). The International Labour Organization estimates that the majority of trafficking situations are labor trafficking, but also gives a best guess that sex trafficking generates a much greater profit than labor trafficking, garnering $99 out of $150 billion dollars gained from this illegal industry (2014). Moreover, victims are usually exploited in multiple forms within the sex industry. For example, a girl or woman who is forced into prostitution is often also filmed for the production of pornography.

Within the United States, most women entered the sex industry when they were minors. Sex traffickers (or “pimps”) usually prey on the most vulnerable: homeless runaways, “throwaways,” and very young children. The average age at which girls are first manipulated and forced into prostitution is a mere 12-14 years old (United States Department of Justice).  Although no one knows the true scale of sex trafficking in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has declared child sex trafficking a significant crime and maintains ongoing investigations through its Innocence Lost Task Force. In a 3-day operation in 2014, the FBI rescued 168 American children from sex trafficking and arrested 281 traffickers (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014). Once these young people turn eighteen, they suffer from the myth that prostitution is a “choice” and a “job” and receive jail time instead of victim services.

 During their exploitation, victims repeatedly undergo severe mental and physical trauma at the hands of their traffickers as well as their buyers, experiencing severe violence, humiliation, PTSD, sexually transmitted diseases, forced abortions, and other atrocities (Lloyd, 2011). A special report by the Child Welfare Council (CWC) found that “68 percent of victims of Commercial Exploitation of Children suffered from chronic health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder and likened the experience of victims to experiences of ‘hostages, prisoners of war, or concentration camp inmates.” The reality of sex trafficking victims is a sharp contrast to the women portrayed in Grand Theft Auto V. Sex trafficking survivor, major activist, and aftercare service provider Rachel Lloyd wisely ties sexual exploitation back into patriarchy:

Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking are part of the continuum of gender-based violence, not a separate issue. How we view the rights of women and girls, (again particularly those who we view as “less than” based on race and class or some predetermined idea of their “purity”, blamelessness etc.) is absolutely part of the problem when it comes to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking (2015).

A More Just Version of Grand Theft Auto V

            What would it take to create a more just version of Grand Theft Auto V? Is it possible, or should gamers boycott the franchise altogether? Social commentator Jackson Katz maintains that violence against women is not a women’s issue but a men’s issue, claiming that men’s actions towards women reveal more about men than they do about women (2013). In this vein, New York Times journalist Chris Suellentrop noted the rampant sexism in Grand Theft Auto V and had the chance to lightly query the co-founder of Rockstar games, the franchise creator:

When I asked Mr. Houser if he had thought about the portrayal of women in Rockstar’s games, he said, “Seemingly not as much as I should have.” He added: “These three guys fit with the story we wanted to tell. It would be hard to take one of them and replace him — I mean, I suppose we could have done it, early enough on — with a female character” (2013).

Mr. Houser’s response not only ignores the sexist oppression existing in his games but also denies any social responsibility to fixing the problems. His comments are a confirmation of Katz’s conclusion:

In spite of significant social change in recent decades, men continue to grow up with, and are socialized into, a deeply misogynistic, male-dominated culture, where violence against women—from the subtle to the homicidal—is disturbingly common. It’s normal. And precisely because the mistreatment of women is such a pervasive characteristic of our patriarchal culture, most men, to a greater or lesser extent, have played a role in its perpetuation (2013, p. 342).

In Grand Theft Auto V, men are literally playing a role in the perpetuation of violence against women. A more just version of this game would first create smart, capable, and confident female characters embodying a variety of female experiences. Women would be presented in relational roles that are not primarily sexual or subordinate. Although the depiction of sexist oppression in the game does often echo the unfortunate realities of this world, a more just version would also include emotional, mental, and physical consequences for sexist actions such as legal action, retribution, and—most importantly—decreased capacity for human connectedness. Finally, the game currently presents choices of whether or not to negatively engage with women in the sex industry. It should include choices of positively engaging with women such as befriending them without sexual contact, asking their advice or opinions, or even ascertaining whether or not they are under the control of a trafficker. In these ways, Grand Theft Auto V could move our culture towards a more egalitarian interaction between genders instead of normalizing sexist oppression.

References

California Child Welfare Council. (2013). Prevalence of commercially sexually exploited children. Retrieved from http://www.chhs.ca.gov/CWCDOC/CSEC%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%201.pdf

Cook, J. (2014, November 18). The New 'Grand Theft Auto' Lets You Have Realistic Sex With Prostitutes. Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/grand-theft-auto-features-first-person-sex-with-prostitutes-2014-11 

Edge Online. (2013, September 16). Grand Theft Auto Review (Web log post). Retrieved from http://www.edge-online.com/reviews/grand-theft-auto-v-review/

Farley, M. & Butler, E. (2012). Prostitution and trafficking – Quick facts. Online. Retrieved from http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/Prostitution%20Quick%20Facts%2012-21-12.pdf

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2014). Operation cross country: rescuing victims of child sex trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/june/operation-cross-country/operation-cross-country

Feministborgia. (2013, October 19). Grand Theft Auto V –A feminist’s review (Web log post). Retrieved from https://feministborgia.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/grand-theft-auto-v-a-feminists-review/

Hooks. B. (2013). Feminism: A movement to end sexist oppression. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfield, C. R. Castaneda, H.W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice 3^rd (p. 337-339). New York: Routledge.

International Labour Office. (2014). Profits and poverty: the economics of forced labour. Geneva: Author.

Johnson, A.G. (2013). Patriarchy, the system: An it, not a he, a them, or an us. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfield, C. R. Castaneda, H.W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice 3^rd (p. 332-337). New York: Routledge.

Katz, J. (2013). Violence against women is a men’s issue. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfield, C. R. Castaneda, H.W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice 3^rd (p. 340-343). New York: Routledge.

Lloyd, R. (2011). Girls like us: Fighting for a world where girls are not for sale, an activist finds her calling and heals herself. New York: HarperCollins.

Look Different. (2015, January 30). This month is human trafficking awareness month. Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://lookdifferentmtv.tumblr.com/post/109615431330/this-month-is-human-trafficking-awareness-month 

Metacritic. (2013). Grand Theft Auto V (Web review). Retrieved from http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/grand-theft-auto-v

Parfitt, B. (2013, September 16). Gamers petition for sacking of GameSpot writer who criticised GTAV for misogyny (Web log post). Retrieved from http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/gamers-petition-for-sacking-of-gamespot-writer-who-criticised-gtav-for-misogyny/0121238

Petit, C. (2013, September 16). City of angels and demons (Web log post). Retrieved from http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/grand-theft-auto-v-review/1900-6414475/

Suellentrop, C. (2013, September 16). Grand Theft Auto V is a return to the comedy of violence. New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com

Walker, K, & California Child Welfare Council (2013). Ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children: A call for multi-system collaboration in California. Child Welfare Council. 100 p.

United States Department of State. (2014). Trafficking in persons report. Washington, DC: Author.

Why my blog posts have declined of late...

Which man are you?

Dropping Keys
by Hafiz

The small man
builds cages for everyone
he knows.
While the sage,
who has to duck his head
when the moon is low,
keeps dropping keys all night long
for the beautiful,
rowdy
prisoners.

Margie, Bobby has something to tell you.

Remember when you were little and committed a minor transgression, such as pinching your sister when she kept taunting your abundance of freckles, and a frazzled yet determined adult negotiated with you to "say you're sorry"? Usually, you ended up muttering a snide apology to avoid being further criminalized. If you happened to be the sister who was pinched, your job as the "nice", wronged person was to quote with a note of smugness, "I forgive you."

Okay, so we're taught these roles when we are youngsters, and then really never taught a very grown up way to forgive. Either we refuse to forgive people, thinking our stonewalling will somehow "show" them or we pretend that they are sooooo unimportant and insignificant in our lives that of course we forgive them, in fact, we don't even need to forgive them, because their decisions matter so little to us.

So we're going along, socially set, and then one day we hear that forgiveness is "about you", not about the other person. This new age fluff really doesn't make much sense. Those other people were the ones who were wrong, nasty, rude, insensitive clods! They should have to earn our forgiveness. Duh. Weren't these do-good forgiveness preachers ever kids?

The excerpt below is the least "do-good" and most sense-filled explanation I have read in some time on why forgiveness really is about the restoration of your soul and why unforgiveness (fortunately or unfortunately) doesn't actually affect the other person much. Also, it explains why maybe those controlling yet well-meaning adults might have had something right about the importance of "saying sorry". The excerpt is lifted straight from Sacred Intersections (Chapter 5) by Steve Adams. After you finish it, if you still want to control add some rules to your relationship crashes, consider heading over to Dr. Gary Chapman's site to find out your apology language. There is nothing like being able to tell someone who is trying to apologize: "You're doing it wrong!"  It's a useful self-awareness piece to understand why sometimes an apologize is meaningful and others times it's about as tolerable as your neighbor blaring "Blurred Lines" at 2:30am.*

Source

There are always at least three entities impacted in a relational crash. The first two are the individuals who run into each other, and the third entity is the relationship that exists between them. (Sometimes, of course, there are other relationships and individuals that are impacted as well.)

To whatever degree a person is at fault in a crash, the repair to his own personhood is his responsibility. The healing begins when he fully admits fault, expresses regret to the other person involved, and seeks forgiveness.

As for the other person--the one wronged in the crash--the only path to his personal restoration is forgiveness.

The third dimension, the relationship itself, can only be repaired when both of those personal dimensions are done--with honest regret on the one hand and forgiveness on the other. And, depending on how deep the relationship was and the severity of the crash, it may be relatively easy to pick up where you left off. Or it may take a long period of rebuilding trust for you to get back to a healthy place. 

Given that the knowledge of good and evil resides within us, it is not easy to admit our faults or to offer forgiveness. We have to work against our propensity to control things in order to do so. To admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness is to put the other person in control of the relationship. It does not, however, put them in control of you. In admitting your fault and seeking forgiveness, you are restoring your own soul. At that point, the response of the other person has no power over you. You are free to turn your heart toward them and be at rest in your own soul, regardless of how they respond.

Only the relationship itself is at risk at that point. And it's important to note that the previous level of relationship was already lost when the crash occurred. By asking for forgiveness, you are not risking anything that isn't lost already. If then other person forgives you, then you can move forward again. If not, then things merely remain where they already are. You may feel grief at the loss of the relationship, but the wellness of your own soul isn't lost.

Likewise, offering forgiveness is a personal choice that leads to freedom and wholeness in your own soul. On that level, it is independent of the other person involved. Unforgiveness, even if feels "justified", actually doesn't have any direct impact on the other person. It only gnaws away at you. If the other person doesn't admit any fault and hasn't sough forgiveness, withholding forgiveness doesn't do you any good. In fact, at that point, you have made yoru own sense of well being dependent on them. You ahve no control over whether or not they will ever admit to anything or accept any resonsibility. Instead of having power over them, you have given them power over you! You have made yourself into a victim and a slave to their choices.

Withholding forgiveness from people who have admitted their fault and asked for forgiveness has the same net effect. Their own sense of well-being isn't determined by whether or not you offer them forgiveness. So, withholding forgiveness from them will only cause bitterness in you. Many people carry a grudge--sometimes for years and years--thinking that in some way they are hurting or harming the other person. They reality is, they are only harming themselves. With forgiveness comes freedom.

-End of excerpt-

*Yes, this really happened to me. Recently. And loudly. Very. very loudly. As an affront to my femininity and humanity. Also, as an assault on my sleep. No, the neighbor has not apologized. Yes, he/she remains unforgiven. And this just proves the point! The neighbor is trolling around in relative bliss, content in his/her misogynistic mindset, whereas I sit here days later with my soul steaming, spilling my ire onto social media, breeding bitterness.

What can you do?

Note: This post in its entirety is an excerpt from She Did What She Could by Elisa Morgan. The book discusses a phrase from the story in Mark 14:3-9:

Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. 

Some of those at the table were indignant. "Why waste such expensive perfume?" they asked. "It could have been sold for a year's wages and the money given to the poor!" So they scolded her harshly. 

But Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She did what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed."

What if instead of waiting to be invited, I jumped in, took the initiative, volunteered, offered my two widow's mites? 

As I look back on my life, I can trace a pattern of requests proceeding nearly all my involvements: Would you serve on the committee? Would you give your money? Would you help? A call. A question. An invitation. I tended to conclude that initiating action on my own was, well, pushy, bossy, even arrogant. Who did I think I was?

But Mary wasn't "invited." Strictly speaking, Jesus never said, "Hey, Mary, would you please do something especially outstanding for me right now? Something I can hold up as an example for all time to come?"

God gives all of us skills, talents, gifts, possessions, personalities. He creates us to be and to do, and to braid our being into our doing and our doing into our being. I don't wait to be invited to "be." Why would I have to wait to be invited to "do"?

A friend meets my eyes and offers a challenge: "What can you do that no one has ever invited you to do?" I make a list. I am amazed at the variety of very doable tasks I tally. I can put colors together in a room or an outfit. I can use word pictures to describe feelings and situations in ways that communicate clearly. I can see where efforts are headed before they get there. I can identify forces motivating relationships and negotiate through them. Most days, nobody specifically asks me to invest these abilities. Does that mean I shouldn't bring them forward?

Perhaps I need to grab hold of the reality that what God has equipped me to do, he has invited me to do.