Esports Is Having a Long Overdue Reckoning—Maybe
It’s no secret that esports has an issue with women. Our sister site Dot Esports covered this problem first in 2017, and then in 2020, the latter after “dozens of women within the esports, streaming, and gaming community” shared their experiences with sexual harassment and abuse in competitive gaming.
Now, esports is having another reckoning — this time, with a glass ceiling that seems as thick as a Coke bottle.
Things came to a head after Dexerto published a story about Melanie “meL” Capone, a professional Valorant player who has reportedly faced rejection after rejection for tryouts with tier one (highest level) Valorant teams “because there was at least one player on the team that does not want to play with a woman,” per esports industry insider and reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau.
Slasher claimed that this wasn’t exactly a new trend in esports, and that meL’s fellow Valorant player Michaela “mimi” Lintrup “couldn’t even tryout for tier two teams, or even tier three teams” in Counter-Strike, as “players on those teams did not want to practice with a woman.” Since then, meL has addressed Slasher’s comments in a tweet, stressing that misogyny was not the only reason why she was rejected from tryouts for co-ed teams, and that “the vast majority of men in the professional community advocate for me.”
“There was at least one situation where I was being considered but it was soon communicated back to me from a [tier one] team that a player was not comfortable playing with a woman. I let it rest and have not spoken about it so as not to risk being viewed as a liability to other teams,” meL tweeted.
“I don’t know why this has resurfaced, but I feel like I have no choice other than to share this because I see people saying this could never happen and it’s impossible,” she said. “I also don’t want to be unfair to a lot of individuals who [have] experienced something similar and deserve validation (rather than me taking this opportunity to pretend it didn’t happen now that it’s been shared publicly, albeit without my consent).”
“Distractions” for “real competitors”
Slasher’s comments certainly put meL on the spot. Very few women in esports want their gender identity, and how people treat them because of their gender, to suddenly become a defining aspect of their career. Yet at the same time, Dexerto’s report on the matter opened the door for a much larger public conversation from women in esports around their experiences in the industry, particularly while trying out for professional teams.
Caster Kari “Space Ghost” Keone said she ran into similar issues as meL while trying out for a Counter-Strike team at 18. After she received an ask to join a team, she had her offer rescinded because women were considered “distractions” for “real competitors.”
“They meant men,” Space Ghost tweeted.
Meanwhile, era, a high-level Valorant player and coach, speculated that she was rejected from tryout opportunities because of her gender. “I was looking franchised ready earlier this year,” she tweeted. “My agent and I reached out to multiple franchised teams and none of them wanted to play with me, met with utter silence. I can only assume it’s because of my gender.”
Others pointed out that elite, male-dominated teams balk at tryout opportunities for women across games, that the esports environment is far from welcoming for female competitors, and that misogyny creates a hostile environment for any female player. And women in esports are tired of it. As FNATIC content creator Megan “meg” Garner put it when she reacted to meL’s rejection: “NAME AND SHAME THESE BOZO’S.”
Cis women aren’t the only group that face marginalization in esports, either; trans people often face intense ridicule and discrimination just for existing in the industry. Just this year, Blizzard pulled two Overwatch players from competing in Overwatch esports events after the two made deeply transphobic remarks toward a trans caster. Meanwhile in May, an Apex Legends tournament briefly disqualified, then requalified, a trans player because of their gender identity.
I think about these incidents a lot as a trans woman who has aspirations to compete in Valorant’s Game Changers—an official Riot tournament circuit designed for cis women, trans women, and trans nonbinary players. The competitive gaming environment just isn’t healthy for someone like me. There’s intense pressure to perform as a woman, to rank up as quickly as possible, and to always carry your team in competitive matches. If you don’t, there’s the chance someone will call out your skill and capabilities as a player, if not outright harass you mid-match.
And if you’re trans, wearing the trans flag banner (or simply opening your mouth on mic) is like playing Russian Roulette. How many times have I been interrupted over voice chat mid-match because someone wanted to comment on my voice? How many times have I seen high level players (across genders!) say some awful shit about trans people? In a high pressure environment, it’s impossible to focus when you know your identity is a topic of debate. If anything, it makes the prospect of climbing through the game’s competitive ladder feel like an existential conundrum. Is it worth working your ass off for a higher rank if the reward is an environment that’s critical of you as a trans person, as a woman, and as a trans woman? Where your achievements are second because your gender comes first? Where you might not have a team to go to even if you’re at the top of your game?
When it comes to competing in Game Changers proper, a report from esports caster tala yin zhang accurately conveys this problem all too well.
“In a backwards way, to stay unsigned and unknown as a queer player is both a blessing and curse; you needn’t be exposed to the idiocy of the masses but are at the same time unrecognized for your talents,” zhang writes. “I can’t help but feel that for a non-binary player — or even a trans player — in Game Changers, the fear is not that you will not be good enough. The fear is that you will be too good, and out of spite or bitterness or hostility, you will be iced out, you will be called names, and you will be given everything except the credit that you are owed.”
It’s obvious esports needs to fix something. Maybe this current moment, messy as it is, can finally get a frank and honest conversation going about misogyny and bigotry in competitive gaming. Granted, I vividly remember when Dot Esports’ report on misogyny in the esports industry landed six years ago, back when I was a writer at the publication. It felt like change was right around the corner. Then change didn’t come.
So I doubt this reckoning will really change much, either.
(featured image: Riot Games)
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