The game streaming service Twitch said that players will be able to add a transgender label to their videos – a move the company said would aid inclusion among its 30 million daily gamers.
According to Aljazeera Twitch,will allow users broadcast themselves playing video games, introduced “transgender”, “bisexual”, “Black,” and “disabled” among more than 350 new tags – labels that users can add to their videos. In an official blog post Twitch shared : “Starting today, streamers will be able to select from over 350 new tags related to gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ability, mental health, and more.”
These additions won’t change how tagging works and these are completely optional for creators but it simply gives creators more choices to own and celebrate their identity.
The blog further reads, “When viewers talk about why they love Twitch, they don’t just talk about the content. They talk about creators, what they care about, and the communities they have built. By expanding tags, we are giving creators more ways to be discovered and viewers more ways to find communities that they want to call home.”
The exception to the initial design was the LGBTQIA+ tag, which began as an experiment for the company a few years ago and it stayed based on overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community. Twitch enjoyed knowing how creators share and how it has helped them to grow their community and discover others like them. Twitch partnered with several independent, third-party organisations such as GLAAD, The Trevor Project, AbleGamers, SpecialEffect, and other experts focused on the progress of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and marginalized communities. And finally, they reached out to the Twitch community for their feedback.
Twitch is also aware that there are bad actors who may use the ability to find streams for malicious purposes. “Users that utilize these tags as a means to harass those displaying the tags will be subject to enforcement of our Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy. In order to help protect against malicious behaviour, we recommend creators familiarize themselves with the available Moderation Tools, utilise moderators on their channels, and please report anyone who violates our Community Guidelines,” added the post.