Recent research from Statista shows that, as of 2022, approximately 1.3 million South Africans make use of gaming networks and platforms. International research finds that 1 in every 3 female-identifying gamers have experienced gender discrimination online. MatieMedia’s Jessica Hillier explores the psycho-social aspects of gender discrimination in online games.
Stella Byleveld, a first-year student at Stellenbosch University and an avid video gamer, says that her interest in gaming, often results in condescending remarks. “Or they just assume that I only play The Sims,” she says, referring to the life simulation game, notoriously a so-called softer game, ideal for giving players the ability to create happy families and construct their dream homes. “I play Sims as well – don’t get me wrong – but I play shooting games just as well as boys do.” PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
Since high school, Stella Byleveld, a first-year student at Stellenbosch University (SU), has been playing video games. Byleveld says she has a deep appreciation for the storytelling, the beauty of the visual arts, craftsmanship, and the effort that goes into the production of a video game.
But when it comes to gaming online, Byleveld says she often feels isolated by the online sphere. This is despite being virtually surrounded by thousands of other people. She prefers to play her games of choice (mentioning Call of Duty, Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and Fallout, to name a few) solo.
Gender discrimination is just one more injustice in a plethora of issues which plague the gaming community.
“It scares me a little, to be honest,” she says. “I don’t feel like I’m good enough to be playing online.”
Polarisation among female gamers, as well as feeling discouragement regarding their skillset, particularly in relation to first-person shooter games like Call of Duty, is not an uncommon phenomenon.
This is according to Andrew Fishman, an avid gamer, contributor to VideoGameHealth.com, and licensed clinical social worker and therapist from Illinois in the United States.
“More than half of gamer girls feel they must hide their gender using masculine-sounding usernames or voice-changing headsets,” Fishman says via email correspondence. “Those who do not hide their identity risk facing sexual and verbal harassment from other players.”
Nicol Hendrikse, a gamer and senior website content administrator, says that video game companies have the responsibility to keep gaming environments inclusive, but also have the capacity to foster toxicity. “Unfortunately, these companies have an extremely bad track record with discrimination and harassment. Quite a few of them have unknowingly (or maybe even knowingly) cultivated that exact culture within their own walls,” he says. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
Byleveld says that while playing outside of the online realm might mean she’s successfully evaded experiencing an onslaught of verbal harassment herself, she’s definitely still had to bear the brunt of some sexist stereotypes which exist around women who game.
“When I mention that I enjoy gaming,” she says, “I receive this very shocked facial expression. I don’t get it. It’s a universal thing. Anybody can play a game.”
Male gamers weigh-in
Damian Couto, a second-year student at SU, describes the South African gaming context as male-dominated. He also says that SA’s Call of Duty gaming lobbies in particular are “toxic”, emphasising his disbelief at some of the things he’s heard been said within them.
I don’t get it. It’s a universal thing. Anybody can play a game.
“I can’t even explain it. If they find out you’re a girl, it’s like over,” he says. “Not over literally, but they will constantly pester you, and irritate you. Gender discrimination is just one of the things; there are kids online that are extremely racist as well, and often it’s like this ten-year-old or twelve-year-old kid.”
Fishman believes that a plausible reason behind this toxic behaviour can be traced back to bullying.
“Nerd culture has historically been defined by feeling oppressed by others,” he says. “Most of our interests, anime, comic books, cosplay, tech, etc. are things that people often get bullied about as kids.”
Fishman says that this likelihood of being bullied for their niche interests means that in a positive sense gamers cluster together to establish a sense of community. But there can also be a darker side to it.
“Many of these nerds grow up bitter from their own experiences of bullying and mistreatment and start to gate-keep as a result. Now that comics are becoming more mainstream, some nerds feel threatened,” he explains, adding that the thing that they were bullied for is now making $100 million in the box office.
The gaming community is about bonding.
This means that newer fans have to go above and beyond to prove their worth and be accepted by “that tiny, extremely vocal minority”, according to Fishman.
Hiding behind an avatar
“Gender discrimination is just one more injustice in a plethora of other issues that also plague [the gaming] community,” says William Marais, another enthusiastic gamer, and first-year student at SU.
Couto says that while misconduct and discrimination can be reported via moderation platforms – which many video games and game companies provide – the facelessness of online gaming means that for the most part, perpetrators “can say what they want and get away with it”.
Nicol Hendrikse is a senior website content administrator at 2U, a company that specialises in developing online educational technologies. Hendrikse also runs a gaming podcast called Critical Arcade which launched this year on 31 August.
Damian Couto, video game enthusiast and second year student at Stellenbosch University, says that, while some awful things are said within gaming lobbies, for the most part, nobody wants the perpetrators of discrimination to be within those lobbies. “The entire lobby usually votes to ‘kick’ the guy who’s being an idiot, or pardon my French, an asshole. Nobody wants that,” says Couto. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
In Hendrikse’s view, anonymity and the young age of players in the online space are the biggest contributing factors to the toxicity.
“These two things, combined with a bit of adrenalin, are what, in my opinion, cause a large chunk of animosity in the online video gaming space,” he says.
Hendrikse recalls playing a game of Overwatch online in which a female player spoke aloud, only to then immediately be bombarded with insistent verbal slander and harassment. “A large part of the audience is still extremely immature and naïve,” he says. “And they are keeping video gaming as a respected entertainment medium back.”
No amount of censorship will stop what is happening, according to Marais. “Only awareness will,” he says. “People need to know when to draw the line.”
Where the toxicity stems from
Fishman says that “in the minds of these toxic men”, women simply could not have endured the same extent of bullying that they have, which he describes to be an understandable response to childhood trauma.
No amount of censorship will stop what is happening, only awareness will.
While both Couto and Hendrikse attribute toxicity towards female players to the anonymity and age-bracket of the gamers involved, Fishman suggests that a plausible answer could lie in how video games are designed.
“Only 30% of game developers were women or non-binary in 2020, up from just 3% in 1989,” Fishman says. “The gender disparity behind the scenes has contributed to female characters on-screen being underrepresented and oversexualised.”
Furthermore, Fishman adds, no game developers have found a way to prevent threats and slurs from being expressed verbally over a headset, which produces a culture of hostility.
“Tragically, this awful culture keeps a lot of people away who would benefit from the support and camaraderie of other people with shared interests, especially women and other marginalised people,” he says.
As a woman, and as someone who has had to bear the brunt of sexism regarding her love for gaming, Stella Byleveld says that it still hasn’t quelled her passion and love for gaming and the gaming community. “The gaming community is so fun. It’s wonderful. I am absolutely in awe by how far it’s come. I just love it,” she says. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
Lucinda Valentine, a registered South African social worker, reckons that marketing also has a large role to play in the perceived lack of gender equality within the gaming industry.
“When gaming became a thing, it was marketed towards boys and men,” she says. “Marketing is completely psychological. It’s there to mess with your mind, and manipulate you, and move you to the side of the fence they want you to be on.”
From Byleveld’s perspective, gamers become a bigger problem than the game manufacturers. But Couto and Hendrikse believe that video gaming companies most certainly have the responsibility to maintain an inclusive environment for all.
The good in gaming
In spite of discrimination, Byleveld says it will take a lot for her to overlook the good in games and the gaming community.
“Gaming is an artform,” she says. “I am absolutely in awe of how far it’s come. Especially now, there’s just a never-ending churning out of beautiful, really good content. I just love it.”
Valentine says that at its core, the gaming community is about bonding. “It’s emotional. It’s psycho-social. It’s not just about what’s happening in the brain, but it’s also about the connections forming between people,” she says.
“Gaming is exhilarating, toxic, stressful and calming all at the same time,” says Marais.
Andrew Fishman, an avid gamer, contributor to VideoGameHealth.com, and licensed clinical social worker and therapist from Illinois in the United States, says that not all gaming spaces perpetuate misogyny and toxic masculinity. “The ratio of player genders varies wildly between different genres. Although 96% of people who play first-person shooter games are men, women dominate the market for match-three mobile games like Candy Crush Saga,” says Fishman. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
He adds that while some gamers can be described as a “bunch of degenerates”, there are two sides to every coin. He asserts that gaming culture is also about the passionate individuals spreading positivity online, and who inspire a true sense of community.
As it is in the real world, Couto suggests that there are various sub-communities which exist within the greater community of South African gamers, respectively exemplifying both good, honest humanity and the worst of the worst – it all depends on what games you play.