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So this week I came across several gender bias, but now in gaming. As painful it is to hear those, sometimes I feel that my impatient reactions fail me to tackle the problem from its root. In this case, I'm not speaking with trolls which only deserve silent, but with misinformed users in general. So this weeks post is for them.
So lets look at the numbers to try to understand a bit the following questions. How is the gender gap in gaming? How is this translated into profitable actions such as streaming? And how does this affects other women trust and behaviour towards other players?
So I went to the Entertainment Software Association website to dig out some numbers, and guess what? With a sampling base from the US, Woman corresponds to about 45% of the gaming community. In Europe's Video Game Industry website I also found that 47% of the community are Women.
So that's it! We are not a minority by now, we are just hidden somewhere! Because, and as previously pointed out, I barely have been in contact with other female gamers under normal gaming conditions (i.e. clans, matchmaking).
Notwithstanding, I found several organised groups (e.g. Discord, Facebook) for women gamers. Does this means we do not mingle? Or its because woman are less likely join in a multiplayer such as Destiny 2 (a.k.a. my favourite game)?
I'm afraid that is the right answer, according to the try_evidence report on Women and games – how do modern female gamers play?, women have a strong (75%) preference for single player mode, and also points out with data from 2020 showing that women accounted for almost 70% of mobile gamers in Europe. So that's why I'm not finding you girls...
What about streaming? Twitch, one of the biggest platforms for streaming, drop me to the ground with these statistics. Less than 20% of the streamers are women. How is that possible considering we represent almost half of the gamers? A post on Rock and Art tried to explain some of the struggles with gaming stereotypes, but also harassment and sexualisation. This gender imbalance as also been pointed out as a major fact for women not succeeding as much as men on Twitch. Another issue raised is also the gender representation in the videogames, since most of the heroes in the games are portrayed as man, under the argument that "on average, female-led games sell fewer copies than male-led ones, but also have lower marketing budgets". In my personal view, this was the reason I didn't finish Red Dead Redemption, I was sick of cutting my beard and riding a horse! I had no identification with the main character whatsoever.
Many studies have been made identifying the problems, and finding solutions for those. You can find a very good recap in Reach3, in which you will find that 59% of the women mask their gender when playing online to avoid conflict.
Well the panorama doesn't look good in the first instance, but I can also perceive a lot of change and improvement with time. In my personal view, especially because I only restarted playing videogames more recently, this is a fascinating world with very interesting and skilled human beings. Despite my intermittent gaming experience, in the moment I started playing a multiplayer online everything changed. I play with very good friends in a daily base, and I'm really satisfied where Destiny 2 took me.
It is also true, one should find a place where you fit in comfortably. It took me a while to find my place, and also even more to develop my skill in the game. Here is where your friend and colleagues are key. Thanks to my friends I manage to learn so much and improve myself significantly with time, as opposing to when I was only doing solo activities.
Close to me there is a wonderful clan called KIKA'S BAR FAN CUB [KEKA], that has this supportive atitude and - from my understanding - a good posture towards female gamers. An excellent example of that is M4Crystal#7074, that has been increasingly improving performance as a player in a very short amount of time (months!). All thanks to the right attitude, and a proper human relationship within online video gaming.
M4Crystal Warlock character for Destiny 2.
To finalize, such dense topic here are my take-home messages:
To those woman that are keen to try the multiplayer. I say, give it a try you might be surprised with how much love you can share playing with a bunch of friends!
To the ones that are curious about streaming but are afraid or shy. I say, give it a try like I did recently, and its much more relaxing and fun than anticipated. On the top of that, an increase in women representativeness can definitely help breaking up stereotypes.
To the women that mask their gender. I say, look for female role models in videogames. Let yourself be inspired by their strength, motivation and proudness of being female.
Title Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
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