Women have fought their way through the video game industry despite the culture that discourages their participation, as gaming has traditionally been seen as a male-dominated field. Young girls are often criticized or restricted by parents because it has long been a norm that video games are for boys.
“But some of them stereotype us and underestimate us just because we’re women,” says Leanne Ti-In, known as Grahams, a rising star and VCT Game Changers player for Xipto Esports. Her words echo the challenges faced by women in the competitive esports scene as they break barriers, fighting against stereotypes while proving their God-given skill and talent on the global stage. Grahams shared her experience in the Valorant competitive scene, qouting that women are often treated differently from men, particularly in how their league is managed in terms of marketing and advertising. The men’s league, called VCT Champions, attracts a lot more viewers compared to VCT Game Changers, which is the league for women and marginalized genders. Not only that, few organizers invest in VCT GC, as the market for the women’s league is not as large as that of the men’s.
From a business standpoint, it depends on the game company where they choose to invest their money in order to generate big revenues in such big leagues. In this case, Riot Games prioritizes how they want to be perceived by the public, and it’s important for them to consider that. The creation of VCT Game Changers started as an effort to promote and empower the female scene within a minority of video games. “Sure, they have pretty popular content creators that are also supportive about GC. But, life, as far as the results or outcome goes with nomad.” – Ling2x, E-Sports Content Creator, Streamer, and E-Sports talent. Because in the general competitive esports scene, it’s still gambling—you have to invest in a good team and players. So, no matter the gender, esports is still business at the end of the day.
Now, let us go back to the question: why are more women joining competitive esports? If gaming or esports is your hobby, you belong to the same community. However, in terms of women in the field, we have already made progress. Even though there are still problematic people, the community space is getting a lot better. “I feel like women have continually made efforts since the beginning talaga, to get into the industry!” said Ling2x. Her statement shows the empowerment women have gained through their efforts to fit into gaming culture. Many of these women have platforms where people can follow their journeys. More women are trying out the competitive esports scene now because it has become more normalized, people appreciate women’s skills and talents in video games, and many women feel safe in women-built communities and spaces where they are free to express themselves.
However, if you join the competitive esports scene as a woman, there are some key points to remember: find an environment and a team that isn’t toxic, as female teams and players tend to have emotional outbursts compared to men. Always remember that you will play for yourself and your team, with the main goal being to perform well on the global stage.
