Gamer Girls and the Sexism They Face

Making a living off of playing video games was often a dream, but never a reality until more recent years. While the concept of e-sports has been around since the late 70s and early 80s, it was not mainstream until the early 2000s and hasn’t stopped growing since. However, like most physical sports it has a history of misogyny and undervaluing women as well. 

Due to the anonymity online gaming provides it easy to say things you would never dare say to someone’s face. While friendly trash talking is an accepted and enjoyable part of the gaming community, as with any competitive activity, it is often taken too far delving into racist and misogynist territory. Women are specifically harassed for being fat or stupid and told that they don’t belong in the gaming community. 

The most famous example of sexism in gaming is “Gamergate”. The hashtag (#gamergate) began in 2014 as a right-winged backlash against feminism in the gaming industry. The participant in this hashtag used the cover of usernames to direct slurs, shame, and other hate speech predominantly at women. Many celebrities got pulled into the controversy as well. Felica Day, actor and gamer, spoke out about the epidemic of hate and got her phone number and address leaked in response. 

Women also face underrepresentation in popular video games. They are typically far fewer female avatars to choose from and the ones that exist tend to be hyper-sexualized, clad in little to no clothes while their male counterparts are seen in full armor. Much like their characters, female players are often sexualized and fetishized by their male teammates and viewers. The term “gamer girl” was once used to insult female gamers, but there has been a movement to reclaim the phrase.

While there high levels of discrimination towards women, there have been improvements over the last decade. According to a survey by the Entertainment Software Association in 2010, only 40% of gamers were women. More recently 48% of players are women according to the Pew Research Center. In the same study Pew found that while 48% of gamers were women only 6% identified as such, whereas 15% of men would call themselves gamers. A large part of this is due to the stigma that comes with being a female gamer. 

Luckily women, like Felica Day, have continued making strides in the gaming world, carving out their place one battle at a time. Day found tremendous success in her web show, now on Netflix, The Guild. Where she showed how diverse female gamers can be, as well as some of the sexism they face. Currently one of the fastest-growing streamers in the world is also a woman, Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter. Women like this help inspire a younger generation of women to pursue what they love without shame.