2023-04-27 04:00:13
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40% of female gamers who interact with other gamers have experienced sexism.
VIDEO GAMES – Toxic prejudices, sexist remarks, threats… While the practice of video games has become widely democratized among the French and the percentage of active players (62%) is approaching the percentage of active players (66%), a Ifop study published this Thursday, April 27 confirms that a large number of sexist practices continue to exist in the world of video games.
On a panel of more than 4,000 players, the polling institute, in partnership with Flashs and GamerTop, dissects the gender reports of video game enthusiasts, and the results are not at all exciting, since they highlight assumed sexist prejudices for some of the players. Judith* and Jennifer Lufauboth streamers, and Emma Beziaud le Pochat, E-sports coach, have agreed to react to these figures to Le HuffPost.
Sexist prejudices more present among « gamers » ?
The IFOP study is clear: those who declare themselves « gamers » seem to have more entrenched gender biases than the rest of the population. Thus, 30% of men feeling “very gamer” say that in today’s society, women have gained too much power (compared to 15% among non-gamers), and 31% of men feel “pretty gamer” say that in a couple, it is normal for the woman to do more household activities than the man (compared to 15% among those who do not feel like gamers).
If these figures do not particularly surprise the three interviewees, all emphasize that the world of video games is not the prerogative of machismo. “The harassment that I can experience on the Internet resembles that which I can experience in the street, the issues are the same”, specifies Judith *, with more than 20,000 subscribers on Twitch.
Emma Beziaud le Pochat, coach of a women’s team within the biggest e-sports club in France, agrees and tempers: ” I have rarely seen the term ‘gamer’ asserted among people who play video games. It’s very dated and if you use it, it’s rather second degree. So people who declare themselves gamers are not necessarily representative of all video game players. » But even if correlation is not causality, all the interviewees paid the price for the sexism revealed by the study.
40% of female gamers who interact with other gamers have experienced sexism
Among female gamers who interact with other gamers, nearly 40% of respondents said they had already been victims of sexism. Jennifer Lufau and Judith are surprised that this figure is not higher as misogynistic remarks seem to be widespread during multiplayer games. Jennifer Lufau, president of the Afrogameuse association, was a victim of it at a very young age. “I started playing League of Legends as a teenager, and I quickly understood what they wanted to assign me to because I was a woman. » SOn the voice servers, he is regularly intimated to “go back to the kitchen” in addition to reminding her that she has nothing to do there.
Remarks that Emma Beziaud le Pochat knows well, who has long claimed a good level in online multiplayer Overwatch. “In the first minute of the game, you say hello and we talk to you regarding your physique, we say salacious things to you… Basically, we talk to you regarding cooking, dishes and sex. » According to the study, 22% of female players have suffered sexist remarks, insults and insults during games.
« You never get used to people commenting on your physique.”
A classic spring of sexism, players are often brought back to their physique, sometimes to compliment them, sometimes to hurt them. They are 42% to declare to Ifop to have already undergone remarks on this subject.
For Judith, whose almost daily presence on Twitch implies high visibility, this can be a source of stress. “When I started on Twitch, I was 19 years old and since then, I have changed weight, changed style, changed decoration, changed apartment… In any case, I take comments. You never get used to seeing people take the time to come to your cat and comment on your physique to make a grossophobic remark. »
They are also 23% to declare having been subjected to obscene remarks or remarks with a sexual connotation, and 15% to have received threats of aggression of a sexual nature.
“When you’re a woman, playing for fun doesn’t exist”
For 29% of the most invested players, the question of the level of play is also an opportunity for sexist criticism of their performance. “We will constantly underestimate women without having the slightest idea of their level of play”, describes Jennifer Lufau. In the case of poor performance, misogynistic slurs abound. “Having a bad game happens to everyone. But instead of being shaken by saying ‘pull yourself together’, we will hear sexual insults, demeaning things related to gender… ”, explains Emma Beziaud le Pochat, underlining the frequency of this type of experience. “Two to three parts out of five, maybe”, she specifies, before deploring the repercussions of these behaviors on the level of women’s competitive video games: “People don’t understand that when your first relationship with the game is a context in which you are insulted and belittled, you go further than men. Many women stop, play less, get exhausted…”
This is even the reason why Judith, initially arriving on Twitch for gaming, has almost completely stopped streaming video games. “When you’re a woman, playing for fun doesn’t exist: you have to prove that you’re good, or else you’ll be insulted by other players and viewers. It was exhausting. »
Player avoidance strategies
To avoid this, 40% of occasional or passionate gamers use avoidance strategies, even if it means losing part of the gaming experience. “Hiding your gender, using a neutral nickname, playing characters that aren’t perceived as female…It’s extremely common to be able to play quietly,” explains Jennifer Lufau.
The question of voice chat is central, since it can reveal the gender of the players. “When voice chat is compulsory, I feel sick to my stomach before each game. I’m like, ‘Come on, it’s 50/50, either they’re assholes or they’re cool. I know few women who are not afraid of this harassment which still wreaks havoc. » On a personal level, she stopped playing Overwatch because this harassment was becoming unbearable. “I was going to bed at night and I was really sad, it didn’t make sense. »
Talking regarding sexism, a difficult conversation for players
The players remind us on several occasions that sexism is not unique to the world of video games. But in the middle, talking regarding it remains difficult. “The problem is that streamers are only given the floor to talk regarding sexism and harassment, points out Judith. And in response, when we talk regarding it, we get waves of sexist harassment. »
Questions of sexism that can quickly intersect with other subjects. Jennifer Lufau has made the observation both as a player and with Afrogameuse: racism can go hand in hand with sexism. “I’m used to hearing degrading terms that bring me back to an animal, for example. » She recalls that LGBT people are not left out either “It’s important not to forget the discrimination experienced by trans people, non-binary people, who also suffer from harassment when they stream. »
But Judith emphasizes that the environment evolves. “There are more and more big influencers speaking out on sexism issues, and more. They take initiatives to address the shortcomings of Twitch, and it has an impact: if moderators banish sexist remarks, it has consequences, and it invites people to reconsider their behavior. An evolution that also seems to highlight the Ifop study, since it shows that 33% of players declare themselves to be feminists, that is to say seven points more than non-players.
*Name has been changed
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