Women in Competitive Gaming is a hot topic, wouldn’t you agree? Women have been in competitive gaming for a long time now. Just recently, we’ve started being more public about ourselves. Some players, like Eve, MaddeLisk, and Scarlett, have started making appearances at competing, sometimes even on the main stage.

I’ve always been very passionate about this topic. I started an all-female Starcraft 2 organization a long time ago. It’s became a success. I’ve seen some of the weirdest personalities come and go. From those looking for attention to those who couldn’t care if they’re recognized; They just enjoy the game.

Just as the spectrum of female players go to either extreme, so do the people who look at them. We’ve all heard the same things a dozen times from your average trolls and white knights.

Get her off the stream! Attention whore! Tits or GTFO!

I love you ‘gurl gamur 409! You’re the best! You’re a beacon of hope! We believe in you!

Yes yes. We all know what to expect when a female hops on a stream or is the streamer. So do they. We’re used to it by now, for the most part. What a lot of people don’t hear of however, is the women’s side of things and that’s what this blog post is about.

I’ve conducted a survey of women who play Starcraft. 29 have responded. Below I’ve compiled all the answers and you as a community can dissect them as you see fit. I’m female so I won’t interject my opinion. The only thing I’m going to filter out of the responses are any personal identifiable information of any kind! I’ve promised total anonymity to anyone taking the survey as to secure honest answers from all parties.

1. Do you identify as female?

Yes – 28

No – 1

2. What country do you live in?

USA – 19

Germany, UK, Ireland, Australia, Iceland, & Canada – 1 each

3. What race do you play?

Zerg – 10 (34%)

Protoss – 10 (34%)

Terran – 7 (24%)

Random – 1 (3%)

Depends on my mood! – 1 (3%)

4. How did you get into Starcraft?

I played Brood War – 9 (31%)

A male friend – 9 (31%)

Significant Other – 4 (14%)

Other, not listed – 4 (14%)

A female friend – 1 (3%)

Live Events – 1 (3%)

Streamers – 1 (3%)

5. What League were you when you started playing?

6. What league are you now? (NA/EU Servers)

7. Why do you have an interest in Starcraft 2?

Advancement as a Player – 27 (23%)

Competition – 19 (16%)

Socializing – 18 (15%)

Friendship (is Magic) – 17 (15%)

Teamwork (Practices/Teams/Customs) – 13 (13%)

Escapism – 8 (7%)

Other – 5 (4%)

Exploration – 4 (3%)

Fame – 4 (3%)

Roleplaying (Cortex/Mafia) – 1 (1%)

Irritating, Annoying, BM’ing, & Trolling Players – 1 (1%) (I’m not making this up, folks)

8. How often do you play Starcraft 2?

Daily – 10 (45%)

A few times per week – 5 (23%)

Once a week – 4 (18%)

A few times per month – 2 (9%)

Less often than once per month – 1 (5%)

9. How long have you been playing Starcraft 2?

Since Brood War – 4 (15%)

Since WoL Release – 10 (38%)

Sometime after WoL Release – 5 (19%)

Since HotS Release – 0 (0%)

Sometime after HotS Release – 1 (4%)

I’ve never played Starcraft 2 – (0%)

Other – 6 (23%)

10. What are your thoughts on low-league women who stream & have a lot of viewers or are on major teams? (All names are removed out of respect)

Positive

i want to do it too!! 8- )

I did not know they existed! gieb url :3

Good for them!

I think people should stop freaking out about it. it’s not a big deal.

I think it’s good they are trying to get better and hopefully the support from viewers can help them with that, unless their interest is just to get attention otherwise its a little questionable, overall its not really my problem unless they are directly insult me or women in the community as a whole

Starcraft is about competition, yes, but it’s also about community. Having women around on teams for community purposes is great. Having women on teams to compete, even better

I think it is awesome

it’s great for them

I think that if you can make money that way or have fun doing it then the best of luck to you and I support that.

they are brave and should be given a chance … and there are no low-league women on major teams, only masters. it is sad that the industry still favors the hegemonic beauties 😦

I started out as a bronze streamer. Although I didn’t have thousands of viewers my goal was to get outside opinions on my game play to help me better my game play. with the help of my viewers I hit Platinum which was my goal. I believe low league female streamers want to have critique on game play. (although some have other motives) streaming at any league is beneficial.

If they’re getting help it doesn’t bother me if they’re streaming. Good way to make friends, I suppose XD

Neutral

If you’re legitimately improving and are working on yourself as a player while allowing people to watch you make progress, great! However, having a vagina should NOT automatically make you more desirable for a major team. I believe all people on teams should be able to show why theyre there.

Not every low level female player with lots of viewers has lots of viewers because they want attention, but those that do are very off-putting and typically get a poor reputation from the community as a whole. It is rare to see a female in these cases streaming for longer than a month or so.

I think it’s hard to judge. It’s not their fault people want to watch them. As for teams, I’m on the fence. You wouldn’t call someone an attention whore for hanging out with their friends, would you? This is no different in some scenarios. On the other hand, if she joins a team for fame or to get benefits, fuck that bitch.

Feels like sexism even when it’s not. As a female caster I make it a point to not try and gain viewers based on the fact that I’m female. I’d rather have fans because I’m entertaining, not because I have boobs. When other women are recruited by teams as a publicity stunt or when they market themselves as a female caster for that added male attention it discredits us all.

I have no problem with girls who stream and are low leagues I enjoy watching them stream as much as males who are doing the same thing. I don’t enjoy low leagued girls on major teams. I personally only want to see the best when I am watching someone from a major team and I feel its gimicky to have a girl on there if shes not as good and is only there for guys to look at.

League is not the only thing that makes a good streamer… That’s their decision and it’s good for marketing. some of them are ok but a lot of them are obviously showing way too much skin in order to get viewers I don’t mind females who are low-league and stream. I think it’s a good thing, overall. Their exposure shows other females it’s ok to be involved and enjoy playing sc2. I don’t agree with low-league females being placed on teams. It should be about skill, not gender..

Negative

They’re used for PR and it’s visibly transparent. Though they should not be referred to as professional gamers

Um, I think they just do it for attention and fame. Maybe to snag a job in the gaming industry.

Some are fine. I know that ‘FEMALE PLAYER 1’ has her boyfriend play for her though. She still plays… but he keeps her rank up higher than it should be. It’s really sad because she’s well respected in the community and everyone thinks she’s really good. I wouldn’t speak against her though.. Nobody would believe me. I don’t really trust any female who says she’s Top 25 Masters or higher unless someone has seen her play.

Don’t like. People like ‘FEMALE PLAYER 2’ only make me angry. Same goes for ‘FEMALE PLAYER 3’, even though she is not on a team, her attitude pisses me off to no end.

they need to improve their skill…

Most are attention whores & everyone knows it. You can reason it to say, “Oh this girl just wants criticism”, but if you spend more time talking to the stream than you do playing, you’re an attention whore, male or female.

I find it stupid that certain low-league females recieve more opportunities and attention than a male of the same ranking would.

So there you have it! I’m going to hold my opinion back on these for another time, maybe. These are the stats I’ve gathered over the past week from all the women I know who play Starcraft 2. 100% Anonymous. 100% Unfiltered. I’m considering doing the same survey but instead have men answer so we can see any major differences.

If you liked the information I have provided consider following me on Twitter, @Razer_Molly