Mentioned in this article Teams: Natus Vincere

Last week, I read one of the worst esports articles ever. What initially appeared as an exploration of the problems plaguing women in gaming, instead turned into a public broadcasting of some of the worst stereotypes against the same group. Natus Vincere, the organization that ran the article, quickly pulled it, but not without a similarly insensitive tweet as an apology.

In all, this highlights not only the difficulties that do face women, but also the problems with allowing amateur journalism on a professional esports site. As Na’Vi is currently sponsored by several big names in esports, we sincerely hope that it is taking the issue more seriously than first appears.

The article begins with a look at the statistics of women in gaming and in esports, noting marked growth in recent years in both fields, with a particular note of growth among streamers and esports audience participants. However, it is soon followed by some “theories,” some of which are remarkably insensitive and borderline sexist.

Take, for example, the following argument:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Men are competitive by nature – in fact, men’s desire to compete is why sports phenomenon is thought to exist. When it comes to women, they set goals and make decisions differently. You will rarely, if ever, meet a girl whose self-realization and contentment can be achieved through competition. This… makes women inconsistent, and, considering practice games they miss because of other, ‘more important’ things, results in poor performance.”[/perfectpullquote]

While it is true that the following statement is made under “possible theories,” it broadcasts this “theory” without any disclaimer or sense that any of the stated facts are to be questioned. Na’Vi provides no examples to back up the statement, nor does it provide any links to studies that could possibly support it.

This problem is repeated further in the article. Under “heightened emotional response,” Na’Vi states:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Women… are crucially affected by poor choices they make and are prone to beating themselves up over them a lot more than men do. Their frustration can be expressed through impulsive behavior and anger which hinders them from handling their mistakes well. Thus, women’s emotional vulnerability is considered to be one of the main problems which obstruct and delay their professional progress.”[/perfectpullquote]

Note the phrasing—particularly that the article isn’t claiming that women’s emotional instability is a “theory,” but rather that it is fact, and the “theory” is that their unquestioned emotional instability is a possible reason to why they don’t have a bigger presence in esports.

The article even goes on to state that women play games that are simply less exciting, again with providing zero examples or any sort of reasoning. Simply put, “even men struggle to deliver top-notch performance in today’s cut-throat eSports world… This makes it extremely difficult for female gamers to impress and show something outstanding or innovative.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Parroting those stereotypes, without properly disclaiming them as such, simply reinforces them.[/perfectpullquote]

Again, note that where men difficulty, the article simply puts forth as fact that women have even further difficulty.

In total, these statements parrot the very stereotypes and sexism that actually do prevent women from having a larger role in esports. It is an extremely unfortunate situation that Na’Vi, rather than informing and questioning those stereotypes, instead decided to reinforce them by broadcasting them as fact.

To its credit, Na’Vi did delete the article soon thereafter and issued an apology. Unfortunately, that apology was a “sorry you were offended” non-apology, and directed at “guys.” I’ll be the first to admit a casual use of “guys” when referring to a group of mixed-gender people, but to do so in an apology over an article that reinforces sexist stereotypes seems particularly dense.

We are sorry if our article about women in Esports had hurt someone’s feelings. Apologies for that post, guys. — Natus Vincere (@natusvincere) February 5, 2016

Na’Vi needs to take this more seriously. As a large esports organization with an editorial section, it has a job to properly edit and consider all content it publishes. Simply browsing the apology’s Twitter responses shows the damage that such an article causes, and the reinforcement of the stereotypes to those that already believe such stereotypes as fact.

It remains to be seen whether Na’Vi will issue any further statement, or how sponsors like G2A and HyperX will respond. We have issued requests for comment to those parties and will update this article upon response.

The bottom line, however, is simple. Women do have a lesser role than men in esports, part of which comes from damaging and untrue stereotypes. Parroting those stereotypes, without properly disclaiming them as such, simply reinforces them. And to do so in an article seeking to explain the reason women are so unrepresented in esports, is in itself a perfect example of why women are so unrepresented in esports.