GTA 5's Misogyny Must Be Addressed By Its Creators

Armenius said:
I hate to quote a CUG post...
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Its okay as long as you don't start doing it more often. I don't wanna have my hard-earned reputation get all sullied by the idea that there's somehow a gem of constructive or useful thought lurking-sneaking around in anything I post. It'd take years to undo that kinda damage. :p
 
it's amazing the length people are willing to go to control the way other people think.

No one ever mentions that the ever so fun rampages you are able to go in in GTA might actually PREVENT someone that's on the edge from actually going over it. Life is stressful and people are crazy, you are never going to change that... blowing off some steam by blowing up some pixels.

GTA is true to life... hookers, bums, crackheads, killers... why not fix those aspects of society before you go on a quest against virtual issues. Oh that's right, fixing those things would be pretty hard and require effort, much much easier to attack a video game.
 
Isn't it sort of up the player to do as they please? I mean if you want to be a kind-hearted soul to the down trodden in GTA 5, you could try and do that.

I haven't played 5 but I played all the others, and it wasn't like driving around and running over sex workers was an instrumental part of advancing in the game.
 
After the world caves to the vocal minorities clamoring for people to stop offending them, all forms of entertainment (e.g. games, movies, plays, cartoons, comics, etc) will have no choice but to have only rudimentary, inanimate shapes be the recipients of any manifestation of harm.

We're already well on our way.
 
I see the thought police over at Polygon are hard at work.

They can DIAFF. (Yes, the extra F is intentional, and I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out what it stands for.)
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I don't think it has anything to do with party politics and it's almost absurd to try to drag that into the discussion. People, regardless of political leanings, get emotional and upset about things, then yell at each other over how they feel until they get their way and video games have pretty much not anything to do with the grumpy old man random cane shaking at some dumb political leaning as a root cause for a discussion.
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No. It is, in fact, totally relevant. If you don't see that what is happening is part of a political agenda, maybe it's time to pull something from somewhere.
 
the pleasure it offers in portraying the savaging of a class of people who are already victims, in real life.
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Pro tip: don't fuck for money in real life and claim to be a victim if that's the career path you choose.
 
Also, ignoring these bullies won't make them go away. We do have to scream louder than the hysterical masses who work day and night to nuke anything that defines male/female from earth.
 
What I don't understand is what do these people hope to accomplish? We as gamers know the game is satire. That's why we play it. It makes fun of the real world situation. On the other hand these people want to hide it from public eye. Why? So sex workers can continue to suffer? Out of sight out of mind. What I don't know doesn't hurt me.

Real life sex workers aren't abused by people who play these games. These people continue video games as a childrens toy.
 
Megalith said:
I had a hunch that the author was male before I even clicked on the link.
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He is trying to score point with the "feminists", although he is a complete tool and doesn't realize that the so called feminists are simply Fascists draped in the mantle of feminism. Just like the fascists that like to call themselves liberals, but it is obvious there is nothing liberal about them, except in the liberal way they use their propaganda to eviscerate others and brainwash people. Herr Goebbels and Comrade Trotsky would be so happy that anti-rationalism now reigns supreme.

Enlightenment is dead folks.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I don't think it has anything to do with party politics and it's almost absurd to try to drag that into the discussion. People, regardless of political leanings, get emotional and upset about things, then yell at each other over how they feel until they get their way and video games have pretty much not anything to do with the grumpy old man random cane shaking at some dumb political leaning as a root cause for a discussion.
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On the contrary, I'd argue it fits in with liberal left leanings entirely. They want nanny state big government controlling all, and to limit American military power so we don't "hurt people's feelings" (despite said people being mass murdering zealots who would nuke us if they could). They are very often bleeding hearts who think everyone is a special unique awesome snowflake from birth and that anyone with feelings being hurt needs the government to protect them. Fits in as I said with these weirdos crying about a video game because their criminal activities are depicted in it coincidentally and you can attack anyone and anything in the game. Where are all the people whining because you can damage cars, or kill every man wearing a blue shirt? THINK OF THE MEN WEARING BLUE SHIRTS!
 
You know I respect women as much as anyone, but seriously, whining about unfair treatment of women about a game focused on a criminal underworld with seedy types everywhere?

News flash: criminals often don't treat women very well. GTA has always been a game about crime and criminals. If women are treated like shit in a crime game that only makes it more believable.
 
Do you get the feeling that people who write these pieces have never even played the game? You can kill anyone and do all number of illegal things you'd never get away with in real life. It's not even remotely realistic and neither are most games.

If you feel strongly about the rights of sex workers then I suggest you actually start trying to get prostitution legalized and regulated (which is what most sex worker rights groups want). Singling out a single game, over all other negative media representations of prostitutes is poorly thought out and hypocritical, but what's worse is that it doesn't actually help the marginalized individuals.

If you really cared about these people you'd be doing something about the underlying problems, not at a game that parodies the situation.
 
cdr_74_premium said:
No. It is, in fact, totally relevant. If you don't see that what is happening is part of a political agenda, maybe it's time to pull something from somewhere.
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*shrug* I try to ignore party politics as much as possible because some people get so inflamed over following the gospel of their party instead of thinking about individual issues on their own merit. Maybe you're right, but I haven't really seen much of any evidence that junk like gamergate has like "this side is this political party" and "that side is some other political party" kinda stuff. It just seems like a lot of irate dumb people screaming at each other in an effort to take polar opposition to one another in an issue that is super unimportant and really only useful for stuff like pot stirring and giggles at all the emotions.
 
dgingeri said:
ok, so a bunch of thugs make a game and it includes offensive material. That's their choice if they want. It's not my kind of game, so I don't play it. If people don't like it, then they don't have to play it. End of story.
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No shit, vote with your wallet!

After watching friends GTA I never got the thrill of that type of game. It's just not aligned with my moral compass so I don't play it, instead I play games that I enjoy. Because (spoiler alert) that's the point of 'games' to have 'fun'. Idiots need to go back to kindergarten, they obviously don't understand the purpose of life's different activities.
 
Quix said:
Do you get the feeling that people who write these pieces have never even played the game? You can kill anyone and do all number of illegal things you'd never get away with in real life. It's not even remotely realistic and neither are most games.

If you feel strongly about the rights of sex workers then I suggest you actually start trying to get prostitution legalized and regulated (which is what most sex worker rights groups want). Singling out a single game, over all other negative media representations of prostitutes is poorly thought out and hypocritical, but what's worse is that it doesn't actually help the marginalized individuals.

If you really cared about these people you'd be doing something about the underlying problems, not at a game that parodies the situation.
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I'm willing to bet 15 to 1 the point of your message went over their heads, trolls are usually laying low in the dirt... :rolleyes:
 
GoldenTiger said:
On the contrary, I'd argue it fits in with liberal left leanings entirely. They want nanny state big government controlling all, and to limit American military power so we don't "hurt people's feelings" (despite said people being mass murdering zealots who would nuke us if they could). They are very often bleeding hearts who think everyone is a special unique awesome snowflake from birth and that anyone with feelings being hurt needs the government to protect them. Fits in as I said with these weirdos crying about a video game because their criminal activities are depicted in it coincidentally and you can attack anyone and anything in the game. Where are all the people whining because you can damage cars, or kill every man wearing a blue shirt? THINK OF THE MEN WEARING BLUE SHIRTS!
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I dunno...see my other comment in response to cdr_74_premium. Really though, I think it only becomes a political issue if you drag it there on purpose in order to throw it at the feet of the side of politics you don't like and use it as a talking point to speak out against them and go all, "SEE?! This stuff is your fault and it justifies me hating your political views!" while that other side is saying the same stuff about your political religion. Honestly, if people were interested in solving the problem or at least addressing it without yelling, they'd keep politics out of it so the issue (if it even is one) isn't as messy with unnecessary noise. I think it just takes focus away from taking calmly, but if you wanna stick it on your docket for conservo-liberal-librarian-tea-bag-shrieking go for it. I just think it doesn't belong there and that doing that doesn't help keep all the dumb-dumbs already sooo excited that they get to yell about something any more sensible or help their teeny minds think more clearly.
 
Kill a few hookers because the game gives you an option to do so, misogynistic game, kill everyone else (mostly men) in the game because you have to in order to play the game, that's ok because it's not women that are targeted.
 
I'm gonna guess a few things before clicking:
- Polygon article
- White male author from SF Bay Area
- Mass quantities of projection by a straight white male giving his opinion on what women should think and feel for their own good
- Disregards that you are required to kill no women to advance the actual storyin GTA 5
- Disregards that their own site gave glowing reviews to the game last year

*clicks*

Oh hey, what do I win?
 
Here's the problem as I see it.

First, they really don't like the "don't buy it" argument because obviously people are buying it in very large numbers. They only like the boycott argument when they think that it might actually work. When it is really obvious that it won't work then they want to take that argument and declare it invalid in that case. Ultimately, they are very frustrated that people are buying a video game that they have taken a morale stance against so every time you point out that people vote with their wallets it frustrates them even more. Governments especially don't like the "let the market decide" argument because they usually end up banning stuff that people actually want (video games, super-sized drinks, etc). They don't bother banning stuff that people never purchase because the market has, in that case, not gone against their morale stance.

Second, the argument that killing a "victimized class" is somehow worse than killing a random bystander is absolute crap of the worst kind. Effectively, they are declaring people unequal and creating "special" classes of people that should never be killed in a video game. Basically, they are arguing against the concept of equality and for a concept of favouritism for specific classes. But, this shouldn't shock anyone. People who regularly go on about misogyny, racism, and victims tend to favour quite a bit of reverse-prejudice in society. They're often in favour of forcing people to hire/coddle/pay-off certain groups of people to make life "more equal". In their world, it is perfectly acceptable to put a system in place that favours certain people to stop people from favouring certain people. It is a bullshit morale stance, but they do tend to love to take it because they're willing to do anything it takes to help out people they see as victims. It is not dissimilar to the Greenpeace morons trampling all over a historic site to make their case. It flows from a place where the ends justify the means. As long as they feel their cause is just it doesn't really matter that they're advocating censorship or creating "special" classes of people.
 
This is the reason I play this game however I am an equal opportunity killer and does not discriminate by race, creed or sexual orientation while I'm out in my murder car. Everyone is a dead man to me. If the game had a Nuclear option I would be racing to get my hands on it to throw that trigger to satisfy the blood lust in my veins. Story doesnt matter to me. Body count does and the higher the number the bigger my smile is.
 
Reading this thread makes me scared for humanity. I think what most of you are missing is that activities like this in a game do desensitize children to violence, but then again so do movies which is why I parent and don't let my daughters play these games. Though in the end don't think as a society that we should be okay with this. I am not for censorship, but I really do hope that we can move past the level of unnecessary violence in games movies. It isn't driving the story or experience to be any better. All gratuitous violence really adds is shock value and some flash at the expense of having unique game mechanisms or a fantastic story that you want to experience to the end. I guess I am not the target GTA buyer though.

Back to my first comment though, it is amazing how defensive the gaming community gets due to criticism, these forums included. That seems to be the problem with everything from politics to interactions with neighbors. If anybody sat down and attempted to acknowledge another persons viewpoint and not fear that they will have to give up some right or possession, maybe we could start having real conversations.....end rant.
 
frelled said:
Reading this thread makes me scared for humanity. I think what most of you are missing is that activities like this in a game do desensitize children to violence, but then again so do movies which is why I parent and don't let my daughters play these games. Though in the end don't think as a society that we should be okay with this. I am not for censorship, but I really do hope that we can move past the level of unnecessary violence in games movies. It isn't driving the story or experience to be any better. All gratuitous violence really adds is shock value and some flash at the expense of having unique game mechanisms or a fantastic story that you want to experience to the end. I guess I am not the target GTA buyer though.

Back to my first comment though, it is amazing how defensive the gaming community gets due to criticism, these forums included. That seems to be the problem with everything from politics to interactions with neighbors. If anybody sat down and attempted to acknowledge another persons viewpoint and not fear that they will have to give up some right or possession, maybe we could start having real conversations.....end rant.
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Might I remind you that this is a Mature rated game? I'd argue against the fact that it desensitizes kids to violence, except children should not be playing it anyways. If children are playing the game, that says more about the parent than it does the kid.
 
frelled said:
Reading this thread makes me scared for humanity. I think what most of you are missing is that activities like this in a game do desensitize children to violence, but then again so do movies which is why I parent and don't let my daughters play these games. Though in the end don't think as a society that we should be okay with this. I am not for censorship, but I really do hope that we can move past the level of unnecessary violence in games movies. It isn't driving the story or experience to be any better. All gratuitous violence really adds is shock value and some flash at the expense of having unique game mechanisms or a fantastic story that you want to experience to the end. I guess I am not the target GTA buyer though.
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As mentioned, the game is not intended for your daughter. Secondly, if you're raising your daughter in such a way that she is somehow negatively affected by the pixels on a screen, you are a terrible parent that should never have procreated and you are a major part of the problems in our society today.
 
It is rather ridiculous. You can't make a female character with negative faults, you can't make a female character get injured, you can't make a female character act like a female, even making a positive female character is bad, and you must have female characters in every game even if they are out of place.

This leaves us with games based around successful women going to work everyday. Can't be stay at home mothers or feature raising children, because that would be sexist. Just make sure the husband character works full time, takes care of the kids and does all the cleaning/repairing in the house. ;)
 
family_guy_meme_by_aaliastar-d58bw62.png
 
hey since violence against prostitutes (and sexual violence) is so bad, they shouldn't stop at GTA.

We should ban:
Taxi Driver
Monster
Midnight Cowboy
L.A Confidential
Deadwood
50 shades of grey
american psycho
every horror movie made after 1980
and a million other movies / books / and Tv shows

/sarcasm


Adult material sold and marketed to adults is up to the adult to purchase or not. If you are worried about "the children" then don't let your kids play it, as you need ID to buy it.

Yes stores can choose what to stock and not stock, but I do dislike when a store caves to "professional offence takers" especially when the argument is predicated on fabrications.
 
Flogger23m said:
This leaves us with games based around successful women going to work everyday. Can't be stay at home mothers or feature raising children, because that would be sexist. Just make sure the husband character works full time, takes care of the kids and does all the cleaning/repairing in the house. ;)
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Do you have cameras in my house?!!!

th
 
As somebody that plays gta5, I have only came across prostitutes as part of a mission. If I have seen any at any other point I am not aware of it. If I killed any of them it was part of just random killing.
 
Exavior said:
As somebody that plays gta5, I have only came across prostitutes as part of a mission. If I have seen any at any other point I am not aware of it. If I killed any of them it was part of just random killing.
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Right, so if you're killing them, you're:

A: Looking for them.
B: Killing them when you find them.

Neither of these is mandatory. Every player is free to make the decision about how they virtually behave.

I personally don't play much GTA, but when I do I usually don't even do the missions. I just run amok in a vehicle. The only violence playing the way I do is car accidents.

:rolleyes:
 
I can't read the article at work. But, it's a game. A made up FICTIONAL game. There are TONS of games that exploit some other group. Be it Umpa Loompas, zombies, humans in general, aliens, animals, hookers, etc.. It's just a damn game.
 
We should make murder and rape illegal and prostitution for that matter.
 
In a game where you can commit just about every social taboo imaginable, they focus on misogyny.

Right. There's no subjective agenda here. None at all.
 
I just think its funny 60+ years ago groups championing for "public decency" to "protect the children", were successful at suppressing pretty much the material. Almost exactly the same material including special cautions for violence against women, really. They turned comic books into a hundred variants of Archie Comics (old school) including Superman. As we crawled out from under that movement slowly, People cut from the same cloth as people pushing this suppression made fun of those decency movements and called what they did censorship.

But now that we attach a different moral spin with different political benefactors, its ok to suppress it now. And if you're not on board, you're evil.
 
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