Machismo and sexism in the gaming world

Unfortunately, sexism is a reality these days. Although society has made great strides towards gender equality, we still find ourselves having to open this debate. And for simple things, for the right to perform an activity that should just be pleasurable, like playing video games. The case of machismo suffered by the digital influencer Gabi Cattuzzo, which had a large impact on the internet, reaching the top of the trending topics on Twitter, only prove to us that we have a lot to discuss about the machismo e Sexism, and here we will show how it occurs in the world gamer.

Hearing foul language from other players, sexual harassment, insults to their performance followed by the phrase "it had to be a woman" is routine for gamers in Spain and around the world. We talked to three girls who play some of the most famous games on a daily basis, and the reality of all of them is similar with regard to the prejudices they suffer.

Three victims of machismo in the gaming world

the analyst Ericka Tavares, 26 years old and resident of Fortaleza, Ceará, told us that in her 8 years of gaming life, she often had the need to "prove that she's good", and having to hear that she won because the boys let her win because she was women.

According to the gamer who likes to play GTA V, PES and Mortal Kombat, it is normal to hear "foul and absurd words, directed as soon as the head seat is turned on." She still tells us about the phrases she had to hear while playing, things like: "Go wash some clothes, you don't know how to play but you must know how to wash clothes well, since your place is in the sink".

Reality not very different from the graduate student in Biological Sciences Bruna Viana Navarro who resides in the city of Iporã, in Paraná. The 21-year-old girl, who has been playing the famous League of Legends-LOL title for 5 years, reports that she has already felt that male gamers who played with her belittled her ability just because she is a woman.

She says that "Many times, when I made a mistake, I got comments like 'it had to be a woman, useless, I shouldn't be playing', or even if you end up doing something good in the game, they end up saying 'it doesn't even look like it's a girl playing'."

She also says that she has been sexually harassed while playing. "I've often had to hear perverted and offensive words from a lot of players," she says, as well as hearing phrases insinuating that instead of playing games, she should be doing "more feminine" things like housework.

Another common reality for Bruna is to try harder in the game to win when the opponent is male, just to "prove" that her gender does not interfere with her ability to play.

Finally, we talked to the gamer Caroline Flores, 26 years old, resident of the city of Rio Grande do Sul and risk manager. The gamer who is a fan of the Ballistic Overkill titles, GTA Online, among others, told us that she has been playing for over 10 years, and in that time she has suffered several cases of machismo in her games.

Caroline says she doesn't identify as a woman in her nickname or profile picture to avoid machismo. "My nickname when I was younger was TrixyTrit, but now I just use CFlores for ease. I rarely use a profile picture." She also explains why she does not identify as a woman: "I believe that the preference for anonymity comes from the peace it gives, the tranquility of being able to play without anyone on the way back with insults or ulterior motives."

When asked if she ever felt that male gamers looked down on her for being a woman, she said yes. According to her, "It's always a surprise when in an FPS game a girl has a higher performance. Apparently this is something that seriously hurts the masculinity of some players."

When asked about sexual harassment, Caroline says that she has been harassed while playing, and believes that it is largely due to the feeling of impunity on the internet. "Sometimes, petty things, I believe it was done to destabilize the psychological during the game, or simply for the harasser's pure exhibitionism, after all, multiplayer games are that, there are no punishments."

Like the other two girls we interviewed, Caroline also had to be told that she should be doing some housework instead of playing games. She believes that "Unfortunately, we still have a very strong culture that homework should be directed only at women. Even with the evolution over the years."

Although she says that she always tries hard in every game, this effort is also related to the fact that she is a woman and has to prove that she is capable of conquering a good position.

Machismo is common in the gaming world

What do the three cases above have in common? As you can see, it is routine to suffer sexual harassment and belittlement of ability, in addition to always having to hear some gamer indicate the exchange of games for housework. As if the woman could not have fun and have moments of leisure, and as if the domestic tasks were the responsibility of the woman alone.

Gabi Cattuzo told the press that it was not the first case of machismo suffered, but that case in particular irritated her. Unfortunately, for a comment that was not really appropriate, but that is understandable, given the situation that the girl went through, she lost her contract with the manufacturer Razer.

The case of the famous digital incluencer was covered in the main media in Spain, but unknown to the general public, girls who love video games have to face daily unpleasant comments, sexual harassment, foul language, or sometimes even hide their gender. to avoid problems.

Women are the majority in the gaming world

What many don't know is that women are the majority in the gamer world. A study published by the Advertising Bureau in 2014 found that 52% of the gaming audience was female. But it seems not, right? It really doesn't seem that most players around the world are female, and that's because the marketing of games is aimed at the male audience. Machismo starts rooted in the gaming industry, which simply ignores the female majority and directs its advertisements to men.

Not only are the advertisements aimed at the male audience, but as the game itself usually has its sexist content. It is very common for game characters to be composed of strong and virile men, and almost naked and sexualized women. Of course, with some caveats, but for the most part, that's it. The game already leaves the factory being sexist, so this ends up facilitating machismo among gamers.

It's high time the games industry took a fresh look at its female audience, and treated us with strong, intelligent female characters rather than sexualized characters. Just like it's high time for guys gamers to give due respect to girls, so neglected and undervalued these days.