Imagine the picture of a typical video-gamer! Were you dreaming about someone wearing jeans and boots, slipping on a pair of new, high-quality headphones, and confidently rocking a t-shirt with a game? Now, be honest: Did you picture a guy when you conjured up this image and if you did, you’re not alone. Although gender ratio in gaming has become more equal in recent years, the lingering stereotype remains that gaming is a ‘guy thing’.
According to interpret’s 2019 report- female esports watchers have a 30 per cent share compared to all esports watchers; however, it has consistently gained gender share nearly every quarter since 2016 with a total growth of 6 per cent over the last two years.The one who play games considerably in esports on console/PC, only 35 per cent are female, of those that consider themselves esports watchers, 30 per cent, and of those that watch esports leagues, 20 per cent.
The reason behind is simple Women gamers feel they are marginalised within the community and are routinely subject to nasty comments about their ability or appearance. For elite gamers, much of it comes from fans, but opponents and teammates are sometimes just as challenging. At the lower levels, women are often bombarded by hyper masculinity in a space where most everyone is anonymous.
Indian female driven CS:GO esports team GE:Rayne, team captain Saloni ‘Meow16k’ Pawar, who started her self-motivated gaming journey at the age of 15 said, “Gaming has always been a taboo. The male players have dominated the gaming culture and it was like only men are suppose to play. When I started playing I have been told girls don’t play all these games why are you playing ? At the initial level it was a bit of struggle but once you are more into the community and you are introduced to gamers in the community at that time everything changed. At the same times girls don’t actually feel comfortable to reveal their identity while playing games even I used to do that.”
One of the biggest drawbacks of the industry is that no matter how much women try to put their best foot forward for an inspiring journey there are always hindrances in the ecosystem which puts blockages in the form of sexist and judgemental remarks. The same has been the experience for Shagufta Iqbal, who is a streamer (Apex legends, PUBG, CSGO and so on), influencer and associated with an esports organisation called Entity gaming. She says, “Even though the gaming industry is dominated by males, I have put my name up there with all the males! I do receive some mean comments but I just ignore and I don’t let it affect me since at the end of the day, I love gaming and nobody can stop me from doing what I love.”
NODWIN Gaming believes that the skills come first regardless of gender bias outweigh all other parameters that determine the performance of a gamer. NODWIN Gaming salutes the women that have broken the glass ceiling in the ecosystem of esports and dared to make a mark for themselves.Esports emphasises problem-solving, fine motor control, strategy, and preparation, imagination, and strong communication skills which are all gender-neutral and women possess these skills as much as their male counterparts do.
Here are two women gamers who’ve been successfully competing with their male counterparts in PUBG Mobile. Armed with a fiery passion for the sport and gender-neutral skill sets that include speed, agility, communication, teamwork, hand-eye coordination, good reflexes, fast reaction time, and the ability to make split-second decisions, these women have taken professional gaming to another level while encouraging more women to hop on to the bandwagon.
Sanya Khatri, 17 years old is popular with her digital identity as ‘SANYAHAH’ in the PUBG MOBILE with her team ‘Xhibit’. She grew up watching her uncle play games, developed a passion for the same, and started playing PC games like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. Despite discouragement and pressure to quit, she soon realised gaming as a therapy for her. Although it was scary for her to compete with the top pro players of India, she established herself in the support and assaulter role in her team. Her preferred loadout is M4 and Beryl. However, she is also pursuing ‘Psychology’ in her undergrad.
Simran Dhillon aka “Rage” plays along with her team ‘Xhibit’ in PUBG MOBILE. She is based out of Kolkata and is one of the most recognizable players in ESL India Premiership. She played along with the top gamers of India which helped her to topple over the fear of performance. Constant support from her mother and friends encouraged her to go competitive with the sole intention of learning and gaining experience. The dedication and hard work are paying off as she is now a proud player to reach quarterfinals. Her idols in the Indian esports circuit are known by the nicknames Scout and Mortal.
NODWIN has been associating with women gamers since its inception in 2015. While initially, we just had a handful of women enthusiasts, now we see huge curiosity about professional egaming from women across ages, geographic locations, and socio-economic conditions. Women are increasingly becoming attracted to virtual sports, driven either by their passion or the lure of lucrative prize money.