According to a new report covering the various gender trends of gaming, it’s thought that about a third of women believe that a lot of streaming content is sexist or misogynistic. This report from Bryter covered a lot of the trends and opinions on 2006 gamers from across the UK and US.
In the 2020 Bryter Female Gamer Survey, 32% of women thought that streaming content was often sexist, while 24% of men agreed on the matter. It was also discovered that 34% of both women and men think that there is a lot of toxicity and discrimination in online game streaming, while 44% of women think there aren’t even enough female streamers.
These statistics carry on to show that 22% of women would feel intimidated or uncomfortable attending an esports tournament, only 19% would consider entering a tournament, and 40% of women thinking that the community isn’t doing enough to encourage female gamers in the esports scene.
While we’re seeing more and more representation in the esports industry nowadays, the surveyed audience still thinks we have a long way to go. A total of 44% of women think that there is a lack of female gamers in esports, with 33% expressing they would watch more esports if there were more female teams or tournaments.
Outside of representation in esports, the survey also highlights a problem with toxicity in online games. While studios like Riot Games is trying to tackle such problems in games like Valorant and League of Legends, one in three of those surveyed believe there’s a lot of toxicity in the space. In fact, 28% of women regularly report receiving toxicity online, and many noting they get rape and death threats often. 28% receive sexual harassment from other gamers and 27% reported exclusion from game participation because of their gender.
Male gamers are also threatened online, but sexual threats are usually extended to their family, rather than to themselves. More commonly they receive abuse in the form of foul language and racial or homophobic slurs.
This report is a reflection for the public and the gaming industry to see how trends are progressing, if any progress is being made in making the games space more diverse and accepting, and what gamers think of the industry’s efforts to improve.