So I chose to be a lady in GTA Online because if Rockstar isn't going to make a female character I figure I should. Also @mattbodega's tweets are law. Anyway, the first thing that happened to this mute creature I named Brandy is Lamar tried to have sex with her. I have to wonder, who thought that was a good idea? I mean, I can come up with pretty bad justifications for why that's okay. Like maybe the male intro starts with Michael's daughter doing the same to the guys. Or maybe they just wanted to be realistic and give players an authentic experience of what it's like to be a woman in the crime industry. Like they looked at #OneReasonWhy and came away thinking "Yeah, that's what being a female criminal would be like! Fantastic!" The sad thing is that's probably giving them too much credit. They probably said "Lamar's picking you up, but wait, if you're a woman he has to recognize that right? And try to jump your bones? Yeah, he should definitely do that."

Since this is not only the first thing but the last thing that has happened to Brandy since the game breaks about 30 seconds after that "Hey girl we've known each other for ages we should get physical" bit it gets caught in a matchmaking hole from which there is no escape. I am curious what other nuggets lie outside the first 30 seconds. Anyone got any?

Wait is this before or after he gives you a gun?

Thats Lamars character. What did you expect. Did you miss the part where she completely rejects him?

Well, Lamar is kind of a skeezy guy.

Did you even play GTAV? That fits Lamar's character pretty well. He's a scumbag gangbanger, you think he's gonna offer her some tea and biscuits?

Read Kotaku did you?

http://kotaku.com/a-warm-welcome-to-the-playable-ladies-of-grand-theft-au-1433382090

How is this fucking news? Christ people. Just quit.

No scumbags are allowed in videogames. They might offend somebody.

Big dog big nuts!

Women and more issues, it is what it is.

After playing through the single player, I wouldn't take any GTA character seriously, protagonist or otherwise.

That's just the Apache blood coming out in him. You lucky he didn't do a flying tomahawk and scalp they mothafuckin' ass.

My offended alarms are off the charts on this one!

Also, Lamar is a crazy psycopathic murderer, which is apparently totally okay, but the part where he treats women as sexual objects is where you draw the line.

You people make no god damn sense.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Maybe the writers of the game decided to show you Lamar is a slime ball right off the bat. Maybe that's what the writers wanted to convey in their story or world. But no. It's just discriminatory towards women.

That's weird! And here I was with my male character thinking Lamar showing up was great because Lamar is a funny guy.

Yeah, not sure I ride the train where a character being "sexist" makes the game sexist.

He's not even being sexist though...

He's picking a chick up from the airport who he met off the internet. Easy to see how he might think there might be something there. He makes a couple awkward goofy passes, she turns him downs, he's like "ok whatever HERES A GUN LETS GO RACE".

Thats like....the opposite of him being sexist?

Sounds pretty sexist to me. Where can I sign a petition to have female playable characters removed from GTAO so they aren't objectified like this?

Now that's progessive!

Thought this was a hilarious detail and very well written. Men sometimes try to have sex with women. It happens. I don't think that's sexist..that's nature.

Get out of here MRA scum.

You can be a girl? Awesome!

It's fair enough to say that Lamar is a terrible person and this is another aspect of him that is terrible. But this is the first scene of the Online Mode we're talking about here, the one that presumably sets the tone for whatever time I spend in this online mode. That first moment being a clumsy sexual advance that is completely out of left field seems extremely offsetting as a first moment. If Lamar would definitely do that they should have rewritten the scene so someone else picks them up. It just feels like an ill omen right off the bat. If it was later on and, therefore, had a lot less emphasis put on it it'd be a lot better.

Also, sidenote that is completely at odds with what I'm saying, I find the idea of a #1ReasonWhy equivalent hashtag but for lady criminal psychopaths instead of lady game developers funny. I suggest writing some.

Have a cookie.

If I remember correctly, that was the player customization unlock for reaching max level in GTA4, so probably.

lol what was wrong with what he said? Why you demonizing sex/lust?

Dont blame them, blame the sarcasm with which they used

I want to get off the ride.

While I wouldn't call it what happens "sexist", as it fits with Lamar's character, it certainly doesn't do a lot to help with representation of women in videogames. That said, I know this is not a problem they are trying to address here but I bloody well wish they would address it. I am still kind of cheesed off that they didn't bother to include a female player character in the single player story. Personally I think that's just lazy writing.

oh he gives you a gun alright. UNTRACEABLE.

But yeah men and women have sex. One will usually try and convince the other to do it. Some times (or often) it leads to rejection. Whoop. Ask your parents for more clarification if you need it

@quirkwood: Not lazy writing. That would be a huge undertaking by R* done properly to have proper writing done for each gender, or else it would end up like Saint's Row which has identical lines mostly between both genders.

I'm sure lots of events from the game would have to be rescripted too. Did already put a hell of a lot of work on the rest of the game, so calling it lazy seems suspect and unjust.

Not making a female protagonist is lazy writing?

Oh wow!

artistic choices i dont agree with are lazy

@quirkwood: No. There is no need for a female protag in GTA V the themes in GTA V wouldn't allow a playable female character to slot in in any believable way.

Men have penises and women have vaginas. I am offended.

I'm kind of offended that the game doesn't give you the option to have sex with him. PLAYER CHOICE YEAH RIGHT

I haven't been this outraged since the murderous thugs in Arkham City said things that were disrespectful towards women.

Just watched the female character intro.

Really? Come on. Lamar is a piece of shit (although I think he's funny about it). Sure they could have had someone else pick you up, but eventually you'd meet Lamar and he'd do it again. And people would still write something about how X hours in, Lamar makes a move on your girl.

OMG, are you telling me a male might want to sleep with a female he just met???!?! That's really strange, because I thought I was only guy in the world who did that.

I really liked the story about Michael and his family. It was really US like and had a great conclusion. Besides that yes they are all dicks but no one in a GTA game was never a dick. That is what you play as.

As for Lamar that is who he is. It is not sexist it is a character and you can see that the first few minutes you play as Franklin. It would have been strange and out of character if he would not have tried that.

My guess is that he was too busy throwing a hissy fit to pay proper attention. Honestly, this is getting so incredibly old. People dissecting every game that comes out, in hopes of finding something to cry misogyny over, is the absolute worst trend of 2013. I'm not saying misogyny in games is not a valid subject (better make that perfectly clear, just in case), but let's maybe not make that the be all end all of modern gaming discourse.

I Didn't ask for this.

Do you have to start out dressing like a whore?

@ezekiel: Nah. I've fiddled with the female creation for a bit and my character looked semi-decent.

If you don't see it as a slight problem that the first interaction you have when you make a female character is a sleezy sexual proposal I don't know what to say. Women put up with that shit 24/7 and don't need it in their power fantasies too.

hey HEY! As a male we are not allowed to imply we wish to have consensual sex with a female. EVER. Get with the times, buddy.

How is this a power fantasy? How strange would it be if he guy like Lamar comes greeting with. "Hello nice lady nice to meet you". It fits the setting and the character. The biggest issue I have with claims like that is that people do not see this in the context of the game or the world it is set in. A world in a game can be racist and sexist but that does not make the game itself sexist.