“You’re Too Pretty to Be a Challenge Runner”: Changing “Gamers” in an Age of Live Streaming

Abstract

Persistent misogyny in video gaming spaces has motivated calls for broader recognition of female players and the development of protective, welcoming spaces. Yet even recognition of female gamers remains elusive. By allowing individuals to broadcast themselves playing games, Twitch has greatly enhanced the visibility of players, including high-skill, hard-core female gamers developing dedicated viewer audiences. This study investigates the community management of female streamers who focus on high-skill “challenge running” and participate in hard-core challenge run communities. Regularly encountering online misogyny, these streamers have developed four distinct strategies in reply: overcoming antagonistic audiences, capturing audience emotion, anticipating antagonism, and combating misogyny through humor and recontextualization. Streamers learn to anticipate negative, misogynistic attention and, in collaboration with supportive viewers, creatively transform it into positive channel content for their benefit. By visibly challenging games and antagonistic viewers alike, these streamers provide new methods for responding to misogyny in online gaming spaces.