The video game featured a car that ran over stick-figured “gremlins” that screamed when they died. This was the first video game that caused national backlash around concerns for ethics. As we know, it was far from the last.
Today, we have the infamous Grand Theft Auto (and its five different iterations)—a game that depicts crime, drug use, violence, and sexual content. Now, I’m a fan of sexual content in general—but not the kind that the GTA franchise features, which is a version that, by and large, objectifies and dehumanizes its female characters. This includes a player’s ability to attack and kill strippers.
And so, when it hit the news that the highly anticipated upcoming new release—Grand Theft Auto VI—would most likely feature sex scenes, you can imagine the sense of dread that I felt. Available in November, GTA 6 is rated M for Mature. This means that underage players can buy the game with an adult present, but it is recommended for players 17 and older.
For the USA’s ESRB rating system, this rating includes “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol.” There have been a lot of studies done on how video games like GTA affect young boys in particular and most of the research is mixed and inconclusive. Some studies show a correlation without causation, and others point to very minor signs of aggression. But I can tell you with certainty that—in the age of The Manosphere—a video game that depicts women as hypersexualized, mostly NPCs, and gives you the option to murder sex workers after engaging in video game sex with them is not doing anything positive for the minds of anyone impressionable. (Even if killing these women makes the game significantly harder as your Wanted Level goes up and cops try harder to find you—what video gamer doesn’t like a challenge?) Sex scenes in particular in this world seem like a clear recipe for disaster (as well as an opportunity for many more dangerous depictions of misogyny).
We already live in one of the worst timelines for content for young boys: Red pill, incel ideology runs rampant online. And while video game sex scenes are fairly new, there is a bunch of pretty definitive research on the effects of content like it. Advocacy groups have shown that boys who consume this content regularly adopt misogynistic, dangerous views against women.
A quick Reddit search shows that fathers are planning on buying the game for their much younger children—most of which are 13-15 years old. On average, boys are already exposed to some form of pornography at ages 10-11. And while around here we don’t have a problem with porn on the whole, it’s no secret that a lot of porn out there can already perpetuate harmful ideas about sex and women.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
