Sexism in Esports: Analyzing a Poorly Written Editorial
*DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece*
Recently, BBC News published an editorial that addressed the issue of sexism in esports. The article attempted to portray esports as a misogynistic industry that degrades the careers and aspirations of female players. To support their claims, the article included interviews with Stephanie “missharvey” Harvey, a player for Counter Logic Gaming Red, and Julia “Juliano” Kiran, the in-game leader of Team Secret’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.
The author of the piece remains anonymous, possibly to avoid backlash. However, this article aims to address and analyze the misconceptions evident in their publication.
The Article
The introduction makes false claims about “harassment” and a “huge gender pay gap” in the world of professional gaming. There have been no accusations of assault or harassment against professional Counter-Strike players. The wage disparity between males and females is solely due to the absence of female teams in major events with large prize pools. We will explore this topic further.
A Pew Research Center article mentioned by the BBC states that men and women are equally likely to assume that most video game players are men, regardless of their own gaming habits. The BBC article inserts a gender-centric claim to further emphasize their initial claim of misogyny. This biased statement paints a picture of men as domineering and condescending.
At first glance, the discussion on abuse in the article may seem confusing. To everyday gamers, it may appear as harmless banter among anonymous friends. However, the article fails to consider the opinions of Harvey and Kiran regarding their treatment online, both in-game and on-stream.
Mentions of objectifying and harassing comments hold weight and highlight the truth of online abuse towards women. As a personal anecdote, I have played competitive matches with female gamers who experience toxic behavior from anonymous male teammates. Many female players are smart enough to mute these individuals.
The article mentions controversy surrounding female tournaments, with some players believing they reinforce gender divides. These tournaments have led to a disparity in earnings between male and female players. While female tournaments aim to support female players, the ultimate goal should be their elimination. Female teams should compete in major tournaments against top teams to eliminate both gender divides and earnings disparity.
The author’s claim that the rarity of female gamers turning professional is due to games development history is questionable. Some esports games, like Overwatch, feature a balanced representation of female and male heroes. Regarding Harvey’s ending statement, it sounds nonsensical and taken out of context. The bias in this article is evident and should be acknowledged.
Overall, juliano and missharvey’s messages are powerful. The treatment of women online is a difficult problem to solve, and it is not easy for female gamers to face the toxic behavior of online players. We hope to learn more about their ideas in the future.
This is Part One of a two-part series that examines the problems within BBC’s publication. Part Two will discuss the content proposed in their video.
What are your thoughts on this controversy? Share your opinions below or with a tweet @GAMURScom.
Author’s Twitter Page: @junioritis