041Tech columnist Jenine Wyngaard takes an in-depth look at the evolution of women in esports ahead of the GIRLGAMER Esports Festival Africa leg which will be hosted in Cape Town this October.
With Woman’s Month just in our rear views, I want to take this opportunity to bring to light the journey of the female gamer in the Esports industry.
You can trace Esports back to the 1st Space Invaders competition held in 1980 where over 10,000 gamers competed. The next step in the evolution of the sport came in 1982 when the first referee service for video games occurred with the “Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard”; shortly after in 1983, the first professional gaming team was founded sparking the first video game masters tournament in the U.S. With the release of the first multiplayer computer game in 1988 (Netrek – a real-time strategy game in the Star Trek universe) it paved the way for computer scientists to rage heated battles across the early paths of the Internet. With the technological advancements of the 90s, it was clear that the future of competitive gaming would be found on PCs and in the network. In the mid-90s, the first large LAN parties started, where gamers could compete with each other through games such as Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament or StarCraft. Finally, in 1998 the first Esports league was founded and in 2000 South Korea professionalized Esports with the founding of the Korean e-Sports Association, and the first “World Cyber Games” (WCG) were held in Seoul. As they say, the rest is history, Esports is now a thriving multi-media billion-dollar market that spans across the world. The Esports market is estimated to grow to be worth $1.9bn (R35bn) by 2025. Hundreds of millions of people play and watch worldwide, with plenty of big brands involved in partnerships, and it was also showcased at the Commonwealth Games.
In the 1980s, women stopped being represented playing video games in advertisements and scantily clad women started being used on game covers and ads. Since the 1990s, female gamers have commonly been regarded as a minority in the gaming world however in general now women account for 41.5% of the gaming industry.
The Esports market has experienced a boom in recent years, with the number of people tuning in to watch gamers play their favourite games also rising rapidly. During a 2022 survey, around 63% of Esports viewers in Europe were male, while just over a third were female. Professionally however, Esports remains a male-dominated arena with women accounting for only 8% of the pool, even with an increase of 60% over the last 3 years. So why the gap? One of the most significant barriers that women face in Esports is the stereotype that gaming is a male-dominated activity. This stereotype can lead to discrimination and harassment and can make it difficult for women to feel welcome and included in the industry. More than half of “gamer girls” feel they must hide their gender using masculine-sounding usernames or voice-changing headsets.
Those who do not hide their identity risk facing sexual and verbal harassment from other players. Various case studies have been conducted over the years highlighting the gender bias and toxic meritocracy that keep female gamers from entering the profession with confidence. Major organisations within the Esports industry have launched various initiatives to try and break the current status quo.
As an example, as part of their Esports championship, Formula 1 created an F1 Esports Series Women’s Wildcard, which guaranteed that at least one female player would be able to compete at the highest levels. The hope is that this small step toward greater equality will create momentum for positive change by guaranteeing women a chance to compete and encourage others to follow their example. Another initiative has been the hosting of various women-only Esports events, and South Africa happens to be part of just such an event.
The GIRLGAMER Esports Festival Africa leg will be hosted in Cape Town from 24-28 October 2023. This is the 2nd time Cape Town will play host, with the great success of the 2022 event. Female games from across the world will be battling it out in League of Legends and Counter Strike. Female gamers are encouraged to come and compete in this prestigious event and all gamers are encouraged to come along for the show. For more information you can visit their website: https://girlgamer.gg/
If you are more interested in dipping your toes into the Esports world via media, you can take a view into the struggles of the “girl gamer” by watching the Chinese drama “Falling into your smile” currently streaming on NetFlix.
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