Abstract
To combat toxicity and promote the inclusion of women in the video game competition ecosystem, ESL has launched, among other things, a women-only league. In the premise that there is no physical difference between men and women that influences the outcome of video game competitions, actions should be put in place to promote the inclusion of women in mixed-gender circuits. Using as an example the problems of homophobia present in traditional sports and the solutions that have been tried, we will see that although there are some benefits to having women-only competitions, there are also many counterproductive effects that undermine inclusion efforts. Thus, actions to change social norms and education at the lowest level should be prioritized. No one should be afraid to reveal who they really are in an online game.
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Introduction
The problems faced by women in electronic sports are prominent and well documented: discrimination, stereotyping, gender-based harassment, lack of experience, low exposure to video games at a young age, lack of role models, etc. (e.g. Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2016; Ruvalcaba, Shulze, Kim, Berzenski, & Otten, 2018; Kruthika, 2020; Madden, Liu, Yu, Sonbudak, Troiano, & Harteveld, 2021; Peng, 2021; and many more on ERN, 2021).
From personal experience, it would be impossible for me to count the number of times I’ve witnessed sexist behavior and comments towards women, whether in an online game, while watching a stream, or directly on social media. When I created the clan (2010) that would eventually become Boreal eSports (2014), the implementation of a strict zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and inappropriate “humor” meant that we were the Call of Duty community with the most female-identifying people in Quebec. At the time, we were thanked for creating this safe environment. It allowed them to have fun, participate in our competitive events, and improve with the rest of the members.
So, considering that I have already observed on a small scale that creating a safe environment is beneficial for women’s inclusion, why am I skeptical of ESL’s initiative to create a league just for women? As we will see in this article, creating a new league may not be the answer to toxicity and discrimination.
Context
On December 21, 2021, ESL launched a campaign called #GGFORALL. In this campaign, one of the initiatives is an all-female league (ESL, 2021):
In most traditional sports, we are used to seeing just men and just women competitions. For example, and generally speaking, men are said to be physically stronger (Chen, Liu, & Yu, 2012). Yet, what about video game competitions? Are there differences in the brain, nervous system, or any other body part between men and women that would justify having separate competitions? In itself, this question is quite difficult to answer, and it is a very controversial subject. For example, in articles aimed at identifying whether there are differences between a woman’s and a man’s brain, some will say yes (e.g. Goldman, 2017), others will say no (e.g. APA, 2005). The plasticity of the brain means that it will evolve and adapt based on our experiences and learning (Vidal & Gilgenkrantz, 2005). Thus, a social context in which video games are publicized as boy’s toys (Lien, 2013) does not support an equitable adoption of the practice between young boys and girls. Also in this debate is the whole notion of neurosexim which argues that many studies on this topic have been done to corroborate stereotypes between men and women (Hoffman & Bluhm, 2016). We would also need to look at reflexes and reaction time, which is influenced by several factors (e.g., Lipps, Galecki, & Ashton-Miller, 2011; Jain, Bansal, Kumar, & Singh, 2015). Following this, fine motor elements such as accuracy, hand-eye coordination, etc. should be analyzed.
Currently, there is no scientific consensus that there is a significant difference that justifies the need for gender separation in electronic sports disciplines. If it turns out that there is, then a women’s league, with or without ESL, would likely be beneficial. If not, then several things need to be considered before saying that it is necessarily a bad idea. It all depends on the purpose of the league and how long it will last.
Let’s hypothesize that there is no difference
If there are no physical differences between men and women that influence the outcome of video game competitions, then actions should be taken to promote the integration of women into mixed-gender circuits. Thus, a series of women-only events could potentially help female gamers on several levels: raise their visibility so that they could potentially be recruited into a mixed team, help turn them into role models for the next generations, or give them a unique experience that would help develop a succession of experts to improve gender parity in post-career professions (e.g. coach, manager, etc.). However, this does not directly address discrimination and “toxicity”, which is the league’s selling point. One of the problems with this type of alternative competition created according to artificial criteria is that it can reinforce the stereotype that one type of individual needs their own competitive circuit and is not capable of competing well with everyone else (Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2016). This phenomenon is present in traditional sports, and here are two examples. First, there is the Paralympic Games for people with disabilities, whether physical, visual, or mental (Wikipedia, 2021). This sporting event allows people who do not have access to the regular circuits to compete with people in the same situation as them. Second, there are the Gay Games, which are primarily for members of the LGTBQ+ community. While many participants want to use these events to show heterosexuals that gay people are also capable of high caliber sport, many participants focus on inclusion, socializing and having fun. For many, it is a rewarding experience to finally be accepted for who they are (Rowe, Markwell, & Stevenson, 2006).
This second example is interesting because Gay Games have some similar goals to women’s competitions in electronic sports. Like women in esports, issues of exclusion for LGBTQ+ people are still prevalent in sports (Denison, Bevan, & Jeanes, 2021). In a study of the attitudes and norms associated with the use of homophobic language in men’s sports teams, it was identified that the use of such language was strongly associated with a social norm, rather than an actual homophobic attitude (Denison, Faulkner, Jeanes, & Toole, 2020). Erik Denison, a researcher at the Behavioral Science Laboratory at Monash University, and his team have developed a website focused on finding scientific solutions to the problems of homophobia in sport. They believe that education and action on social norms should be a priority (Out on the fields, 2021).
Problems
To create a safe environment for women, concrete actions in mixed networks would probably be more appropriate. After all, there have been 100% women’s tournaments for years (e.g. ESWC, 2003), and yet the problem is still pervasive in the scene. Even worse, this type of circuit has the potential to reinforce the stereotype that women need their own separate networks because they are not good enough. In my observations, this stereotype is reinforced as soon as a women’s team competes in a mixed event and does poorly. For example, the Ubinited team, who were world champions in CS:GO (women’s), were ridiculed and not taken seriously by other players in the Quebec community because they were quickly eliminated in a local mixed amateur event (Liquipedia, 2021a). Even today, a player from this team, MissHarvey, who has received industry recognition (Esports Award, 2021) and has already won five women’s world championships, is still being prejudiced because of her past performances in the local mixed-gender scene in Quebec, as well as in mixed-gender amateur/semi-professional tournaments (Liquidpedia, 2021b).
One of my fears in seeing announcements of 100% women’s initiatives from companies is that they are primarily a publicity stunt. The Vaevictis team in the LCL in 2019 is a good example of an action that may not have been motivated by the right reasons (Sacco, 2019; Richman, 2019).
Anecdotally, at ESWC Montreal (2015), I was the stage assistant in the player area. To make a long story short, I was responsible for being the liaison between the administrators, the head stage manager, and the production staff. In addition to being the eyes of the production crew, I also directly managed the camera crew to make sure that the best reactions were captured on camera. As usual with the ESWC, there was a mixed and a women-only competition. During the end of the event however, I noticed something that bothered me. My camera operators’ footage was much more in demand during the women’s matches. So much so that I remember wondering if they were even broadcasting gameplay. When I asked one of the ESWC managers, who came from France specifically for the event, for an explanation, his answer was unequivocal… To paraphrase, he didn’t care about the gameplay of the women’s competitions because they were bad. I don’t know about today, but the last thing I want for my female colleagues in the industry and my daughter is for women’s electronic sports to become like women’s beach volleyball where women are sexualized with subjective angles to please male viewers (Bissell, & Duke, 2007; Derriman, 2008; Brooks, 2001).
What to do then?
In the premise that there are no biological differences between men and women that would change the outcome of a competition, which would have to be scientifically proven or invalidated as soon as possible and which is difficult to do because of the brain plasticity mentioned above, efforts should be put at the lowest level, thus on the community and the amateur. The electronic sports industry needs to stop their annoying habit of always trying to build the ecosystem from the professional scene first and then downwards, it doesn’t work (e.g. Overwatch League). What we did with my clan in 2010 is a good example of a team where leaders continually call out those who use undesirable behavior. The education sector also provides a local opportunity to establish this type of mindset (Amazan-Hall, et al., 2018). It takes time and effort, but it is possible to change social norms.
Taking Erik Denison and his team’s table (Out on the fields, 2021), it is possible to extrapolate that one of the needs at this time is education and training for coaches, community leaders (e.g., clans, guilds, teams, etc.), parents, etc. The lack of education has also been identified in other research (e.g. Madden, Liu, Yu, Sonbudak, Troiano, & Harteveld, 2021). A change in mindset will also be needed among game studios and other companies in the industry (Hayday, & Collison, 2020). There are three examples of scandals related to AAA studios: Activision-Blizzard (Zwiezen, 2021), Riot Games (Spurlin, 2021) and Ubisoft (Schreier, 2020).
Conclusion
If there is one thing that is important to remember in this article, it is that there is a crying need for scientific research to determine if there are biological differences between men and women that would prevent them from competing fairly and equitably on the same circuit. In the event that it is proven that there are no differences, then an all-female league has both advantages (e.g., creation of role models) and disadvantages (e.g., reinforcement of stereotypes). If the goal of ESL is truly to address toxicity and discrimination head on, then an educational approach at the lowest level would be more appropriate.
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Autres lectures que nous n’avons malheureusement pas été en mesure de consulter :
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