Identity Formation and Prescribed Gender Roles Among Female Gamers
Research Mentor(s)
Tsunokai, Glenn
Description
This study explores the identity formation of female streamers in the male-dominated video gaming community. League of Legends is one of the most widely played video games that have recently grown in popularity. A prominent way for gamers to gain popularity is to broadcast their live gameplay and interact with viewers. This broadcast is commonly referred to as a “stream” and the person playing the video game as the “streamer.” Data were collected on the top 50 streamers who consistently averaged more than 50 viewers at any given time for one month on Twitch.tv. Data were further separated into streamers’ names that appeared most frequently and consistently attracted the highest number of viewers. Two-tailed t-tests were employed to see if there were significant gender differences among the top streamers. In addition, a content analysis was performed on the top streamers’ profiles. The ways in which streamers gain popularity is different based on gender and their own set of streaming objectives. Popular male streamers had the most viewers and were of high ranked status in the game, and therefore gain popularity through high level high play and informative commentary. Popular Female streamers tend to be of lower ranked status in the game and as a result, attract viewers by selling sex appeal as a commodity. Streamers are well known players that serve as public faces to the game, and subsequently play a pivotal role in the maintenance of sociocultural attitudes and norms within a virtual gaming reality. The manner in which top female streamers behave has several implications on how female gamers perceive themselves and how others perceive them.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
14-5-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
14-5-2015 2:00 PM
Department
Sociology
Genre/Form
student projects; posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Gender identity; Video games--Social aspects; Culture--Study and teaching; Digital media; Communication
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this documentation for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Identity Formation and Prescribed Gender Roles Among Female Gamers
This study explores the identity formation of female streamers in the male-dominated video gaming community. League of Legends is one of the most widely played video games that have recently grown in popularity. A prominent way for gamers to gain popularity is to broadcast their live gameplay and interact with viewers. This broadcast is commonly referred to as a “stream” and the person playing the video game as the “streamer.” Data were collected on the top 50 streamers who consistently averaged more than 50 viewers at any given time for one month on Twitch.tv. Data were further separated into streamers’ names that appeared most frequently and consistently attracted the highest number of viewers. Two-tailed t-tests were employed to see if there were significant gender differences among the top streamers. In addition, a content analysis was performed on the top streamers’ profiles. The ways in which streamers gain popularity is different based on gender and their own set of streaming objectives. Popular male streamers had the most viewers and were of high ranked status in the game, and therefore gain popularity through high level high play and informative commentary. Popular Female streamers tend to be of lower ranked status in the game and as a result, attract viewers by selling sex appeal as a commodity. Streamers are well known players that serve as public faces to the game, and subsequently play a pivotal role in the maintenance of sociocultural attitudes and norms within a virtual gaming reality. The manner in which top female streamers behave has several implications on how female gamers perceive themselves and how others perceive them.