Gender-Bending

Gender-Bending😕

Through the coming weeks, I will be analysing the online features of the action-adventure game, Grand Theft Auto V. It was developed by Rockstar North, published by Rockstar Games and originally released in 2013 for PS3 and Xbox 360 but was re-released in 2014 for the PS4 and Xbox One. GTA 5 offers players a chance to explore the city of Los Santos and the countryside of Blaine County. Players can plan and execute many heists as a leader, meet new people online from around the world and form gangs or take part in missions, jobs or heists set up by a stranger, and enjoy a range of activities such as golf, contracts, base jumping, yoga and much more with friends or strangers (Entertainment Newsweekly, 2013). According to Tuan (1979) "space is freedom" and the players of the game wield this freedom in many ways. One use is gender-bending, where individuals swap their gender for the opposite sex. 

Image 1: Trevor, Franklin & Michael (Rockstargames, 2017) 

Image 2: fem! GTA V (Shepherd 2015)

It is a very popular activity in online games and virtual space provides the perfect place for users to have total control over the aspects of their identity like age, ethnicity and gender (Crowe & Watts, 2014, p.218). Kuttainen (2017) lecture discussed that "space can be regarded as a “new frontier", a place full of opportunity". For the gamers, this is the case and they began to explore and experience the opposite side to them. Studies show 80% of men use or have used female avatars when gaming but most women prefer female characters (Todd, 2012). In the instance of grand theft auto, men choose to create a female character because of the power the female bodies possess, and the majority of gamers are men. When a male realises a female character needs help, they will offer assistance without a thought. A place is another reason males create a female character. After creation, many males use the clothing store to modify their characters so they would have a good view while playing the game. The final reason, to experiment living a female life. One of my friends actually tried this and we all went along with it for some laughter but the end result was that he understood, as many say, “the power of a women” and became aware of the differences between the two identities. On the other hand, females create male characters for the power male form holds. When doing missions and a leader is required, a male character with the highest level is the most popular choice as I have discovered and for this reason alone many females choose to create male avatars. This allowed them to create gangs and take charge in a situation needing leadership but with texting not sound. If they talk through the microphone their fake identity and plans would be destroyed. Restating Tuan (1979) statement from before “space is freedom”, you have seen Grand Theft Auto V provides a place where you have all the freedom and space needed for any experiment like gender-bending.

Crowe, N., & Watts, M. (2014). ‘When I click “ok” I become Sassy – I become a girl’. Young people and gender identity: subverting the ‘body’ in massively multi-player. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 17 (2), 217-231. doi: 10.1080/02673843.2012.736868

Entertainment Newsweekly. (2013). Take-two interactive; rockstar games(R) announces grand theft auto V(R) now available [Abstract]. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/docview/1435964402/abstract/3C7E5CCA3D6247D4PQ/1?accountid=16285

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Space and Identity: Genre and Transformation, lecture 3 [Lecture slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2846469_1&course_id=_84764_1&framesetWrapped=true

Rockstargames. (2017). Trevor, Franklin & Michael [Image 1]. Retrieved from http://www.rockstargames.com/img/global/downloads/wallpapers/games/v_mft_640x360.jpg

Shepherd. Anastacia, (2015). fem! GTA V [Image 2]. Retrieved from https://img05.deviantart.net/283d/i/2015/351/0/b/fem___gta_v_by_anastaciashepherd-d9kft5n.jpg

Todd, C. (2012). ‘Troubling’ gender in virtual gaming spaces. New Zealand geographer, 68 (2), 101-110. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7939.2012.01227.x

Tuan, Y. (1979). Space and place the perspective of experience. London, England: Edward Arnold