Female Gamers: Harsh Realities, Positive Spirits
The BBC, which stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, is an incredibly British public service broadcaster that publishes everything from TV shows to articles.
They released an article titled "Harsh Realities of Being a Professional Girl Gamer" which has been adapted by Helene Schumacher in order to shed some light on not only the dark underbelly of gaming (disrespect) but also ways in which women are conquering their titles and skills in the gaming community.
Plenty of women play games every day as a career or for side money. The problem is that women have many more challenges than their male counterparts in the gaming world.
One of the biggest issues for women in gaming is devaluation simply because of their gender. For Leahviathan, a live streamer that creates content for six hours each day on Twitch, she explains that while she has a lot of support, "you often get negative comments about being a female. I do a lot of promotional materials and I'm constantly told that I'm just there for representation really, just because I'm a female, not because I have any merits as a gamer."
Whether or not she can demolish a guy in a first-person shooter is beside the point. Due to her gender, her skills and talents are completely disregarded.
When it comes to women not being taken seriously, Leahviathan explained how "Especially as a female, a lot of people get overly attached to you because they see you as a friendly person."
If it doesn't seem too difficult to ignore the naysayers, then Leahviathan's example of what some internet trolls have said to her might change your mind. One told her to "get cancer and die" and proceeded to make rape threats simply because the viewer didn't agree with a game Leahviathan was promoting. She continues to say that she believes, "at the basest level, there's a lack of respect and a lack of equality. It stems from that complete lack of respect that some people have for females in general."
The thing is, this isn't new to women-- there has always been disrespect in some way or another in history such as women being considered property, sexually assaulted, and forced into marriages, hobbies, and even a lifestyle. The list can go on.
Another E-sport gamer that was a part of the discussion, Stephanie Harvey, believes that "more women are needed to get involved and compete so that "gems" can be discovered. It's also critical to have more female characters in games themselves." By female (and hopefully female POC) inclusion in the gaming community will help close this divide between genders and the hatred, discomfort, and threats that are caused by it.
Both gamers that were interviewed were hopeful despite the negativity that tends to surround them. They looked at the positives and supporters they gained every day and made sure to focus on all of the great things they and their supporters did not only for their own sanity but also to influence others.
In the end, the interview finished on a positive note. Both gamers talk about fading out the term "girl gamer" in the future, with the hope that respect can be mutual between genders and players so that what really matters can shine. It's time that hobbies and careers have less to do with the biological differences between people and more to do with skill and merit.
They released an article titled "Harsh Realities of Being a Professional Girl Gamer" which has been adapted by Helene Schumacher in order to shed some light on not only the dark underbelly of gaming (disrespect) but also ways in which women are conquering their titles and skills in the gaming community.
Plenty of women play games every day as a career or for side money. The problem is that women have many more challenges than their male counterparts in the gaming world.
One of the biggest issues for women in gaming is devaluation simply because of their gender. For Leahviathan, a live streamer that creates content for six hours each day on Twitch, she explains that while she has a lot of support, "you often get negative comments about being a female. I do a lot of promotional materials and I'm constantly told that I'm just there for representation really, just because I'm a female, not because I have any merits as a gamer."
Whether or not she can demolish a guy in a first-person shooter is beside the point. Due to her gender, her skills and talents are completely disregarded.
When it comes to women not being taken seriously, Leahviathan explained how "Especially as a female, a lot of people get overly attached to you because they see you as a friendly person."
If it doesn't seem too difficult to ignore the naysayers, then Leahviathan's example of what some internet trolls have said to her might change your mind. One told her to "get cancer and die" and proceeded to make rape threats simply because the viewer didn't agree with a game Leahviathan was promoting. She continues to say that she believes, "at the basest level, there's a lack of respect and a lack of equality. It stems from that complete lack of respect that some people have for females in general."
The thing is, this isn't new to women-- there has always been disrespect in some way or another in history such as women being considered property, sexually assaulted, and forced into marriages, hobbies, and even a lifestyle. The list can go on.
Another E-sport gamer that was a part of the discussion, Stephanie Harvey, believes that "more women are needed to get involved and compete so that "gems" can be discovered. It's also critical to have more female characters in games themselves." By female (and hopefully female POC) inclusion in the gaming community will help close this divide between genders and the hatred, discomfort, and threats that are caused by it.
Both gamers that were interviewed were hopeful despite the negativity that tends to surround them. They looked at the positives and supporters they gained every day and made sure to focus on all of the great things they and their supporters did not only for their own sanity but also to influence others.
In the end, the interview finished on a positive note. Both gamers talk about fading out the term "girl gamer" in the future, with the hope that respect can be mutual between genders and players so that what really matters can shine. It's time that hobbies and careers have less to do with the biological differences between people and more to do with skill and merit.
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