VIDEO GAMES K-POP

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Gender Inequality In Esports

BY JESSIE ZHAO

The esports industry exhibits gender inequality as female players continue to experience harassment and negative perceptions in the male-dominated scene. Jessie Zhao explores a potential solution through the collaboration between gaming companies and Kpop bands with large female audiences.

Despite great progress in women’s rights across the globe, an emerging industry exhibits intense gender inequality: competitive gaming or esports. Built on pillars of institutionalized masculinity, such games often discourage women through harassment of female players. The demographics of competitive gaming genres reflect this inequality; women make up about 4 percent of players in first-person shooter games and 10 percent in multiplayer online battle arena games or MOBAs, which are the two most popular competitive game genres.1 The harassment of non-masculine individuals persists as a problem for both aspiring players and game companies, who are losing out on a large potential market.

To combat this issue, game companies should turn to a rather niche solution: K-Pop bands with large female audiences. Collaborating with K-Pop idols combats gender norms and inequality while generating profit and attention for game and music companies.

HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY: THE BASE

Investigating the problem of gender inequality through the lens of hegemonic masculinity yields an understanding of the root cause of the issue. According to Egil Rogstad, writing in the European Journal for Sport and Society, both “traditional sports and esports…discursively link masculinity, athleticism, and competition together in very similar ways,” where “assumptions of areas in which women fall short…are reinforced by discursive, material, and behavioral validations of inferior and secondary roles for women.” 2 Historically, the masculine environment of sports has created an inferior perception of women in the game, and the continued normalization of this perception prevents non-masculine players from reaching top levels of competitive play. This concept, known as hegemonic masculinity, establishes the foundation of gender inequality within the sports industry.

HARASSMENT, TREATMENT, AND PERCEPTION

Due to this masculinity, many women online experience harassment. “Gyeranmari,” a female player and streamer who has actively participated in competitive games for almost a decade, recalls the end of her CounterStrike: Global Offensive ( CS:GO ) gaming career. “Even if I was doing the best on my team,” she said, “If I used my voice to make a callout, I’d start getting harassed.”3 The negative experiences led her to quit the game, despite reaching the top 20 percent of players in rank. Andrews and Crawford assert that this harassment originates from the “need to remove perceived threats to masculine self-image.”4 When women enter the esports scene, men subconsciously attempt to preserve the male-dominated structure of competitive gaming. The success of women in esports threatens the order established by masculinity, resulting in backlash and harassment.

Previous Attempts

Some companies and competitions have attempted to mitigate the harassment and disproportionate representation of women in the esports industry, but they have not been comprehensive. In some cases, these attempts even do more harm than good. All-female tournaments, such as the Valkyrie Challenge, provide a popular format to give women a stage free from the harassment of male players. However, segregation can lead to the perception that women cannot play on the same stage as men.5 The notion that women are inherently worse at video games does nothing to address the hegemonic masculinity that created this gender inequality in the first place. These all-female tournaments ultimately support, rather than challenge, the pillars of masculinity.

Another popular initiative is the push for female streamers to gain popularity. Indeed, platforms like Twitch provide opportunities for all players to entertain and earn money by playing games. For women, however, the popularity that arises from streaming can form a harmful narrative: that of the “gamer girl.” This stereotype patronizes the presence of women in esports, rather than recognizing their gameplay on the same competitive level as men.6 By viewing women as online content creators instead of skilled players, their character becomes tied to their ability to entertain rather than their skill within the sport. Instead of amending gender inequality, this role reinforces the same perception of inferiority as that encouraged by hegemonic masculinity.

Solutions Evolving In East Asia

To effectively alleviate the problem of gender inequality in the esports field, a proper answer must address the root cause of hegemonic masculinity. Identifying a possible solution begins by observing instances of relative equality in the esports industry. A closer look at 2019 esports audiences in China and South Korea, for example, reveals a high proportion of female viewers, at 30 percent and 32 percent respectively, compared to the global average of 22 percent.7 This increase could be attributed to the relatively flexible perception of masculinity in these countries compared to other regions. As Kam Louie asserts in The Journal of Asian Studies, the rise of accessible technology and entertainment media in China has placed Chinese youth at the “forefront of the global sexual revolution… and [they] certainly do not have any problems with the male look of Super Girl Li Yuchun, [or] the feminine looks of the ‘pink boys’ in manga.”8 The Chinese entertainment industry facilitates this consumption of non-standard celebrities and figures, resulting in youth that defy the binary gender system.

In the case of South Korea, the rise of Korean Pop, or K-Pop, has achieved similar results with their androgynous idols. According to Katherine Stolze of Denison University, the idols of South Korea embody both masculine and feminine traits, thereby creating a more gender-fluid field. 9 K-Pop idols and their modern challenges to traditional gender expression create an environment that is less receptive to strict models of masculinity. Further, the international popularity of K-Pop (compared to Chinese celebrities) creates a greater opportunity for breaking into other regions. Thus, a collaboration between game companies and K-Pop groups could break down barriers of masculinity, a promising start to encouraging gender equality in the esports field.

Examples From The Past

Collaborations between music artists and video games have happened in the past, though usually not with the specific goal of addressing gender inequity in mind. For instance, in April 2020, Travis Scott held a virtual concert in the popular battle royale game Fortnite, drawing in 12.3 million online viewers. 10 The partnership combined the player base of one of the highest-earning free games with the fervent fanbase of Travis Scott to generate traffic and revenue from merchandise and in-game cosmetics. This event was hugely successful and profitable––although there was no social goal in mind when executing the collaboration.

K-Pop collaborations have also occurred in the past with games that have a large East Asian player base, such as League of Legends. In 2018, Riot Games, the game developer, released a music video featuring characters from the game, voiced by both American and Korean singers. The resulting activity on social media sites such as Twitter indicates that the virtual band was wildly popular with the LGBTQ+ community, a group that did not have a large overlap with the League of Legends community.

11 The novel characterization, melding the band members and the artists' fanbase, attracted a group that would not have otherwise found interest in the game. If decisions were made to target women–perhaps through a collaboration with male idols that have primarily female audiences–more female players could be drawn to games that have been historically male dominated. The music industry has provided ample opportunities for competitive games to reach new markets; carefully selected artists and mediums can advance both the social and economic goals of these game companies.

K-POP AS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT

Interestingly, K-pop fans have also forged a uniquely activist identity, contributing to social change across the globe. In South Korea, it is common for idols to encourage fans to donate to charities or volunteer time instead of buying gifts; as a result, fans will often donate in their idols’ names. 12 The culture of charity surrounding the K-pop industry creates fanbases united around doing good. In a closer look at the BTS fanbase, Hutt and Kim point to the classification of K-Pop fans specifically as a social movement. 13 Drawing on historical examples, such as the sell-out of a Trump rally and the flooding of racist hashtags with K-Pop fancam posts, they emphasize the ability of mass action to advance collective goals. The identity of K-Pop fan bases as progressive actors and drivers of mobility would allow them to challenge the misogyny entrenched in the esports industry, further strengthening the argument for K-Pop as an effective solution.

The Model Of Valorant

The success of Valorant , a popular first-person shooting game, with female representation also provides direction on how to harness this young activist audience in leveling the playing field. According to Matthew Archambault, Riot’s head of esports partnerships, 30-40 percent of Valorant’s player base are women. 14 This is a large difference from the 4 percent average in other first-person shooting games. The novelty of the game likely contributed to this difference in proportion. “Gyeranmari” states that she sees a generational difference between the players of CS:GO, an older shooting game that she used to play, and Valorant. “We didn’t have anyone to back us up,” she says, “now girls aren’t afraid to speak out.”15 Evidently, the newer generation of outspoken youth contributed to the relative gender equality in Valorant . Attracting such progressive personalities, like K-Pop fans, could push other games toward this balance.

Creating Shared Value With Collaborations

Addressing gender inequality in esports through collaborations with carefully selected K-Pop bands could generate traffic to both rapidly growing industries. By targeting the pillars of hegemonic masculinity using the progressiveness of K-Pop fandom, this approach creates shared value by serving underserved female players. 16 When women feel accepted in esports, it opens an entire market to sell merchandise, in-game cosmetics, tournament tickets, and more.

In South Korea, K-Pop collaborations with video games are already common–and they’ve seen great success. For instance, Nexon’s 2020 Investor Presentation reported that Q4 revenue grew 88 percent after their MapleStory game collaborated with popular K-Pop group, BTS. 17 This popular Korean, “massively multiplayer online role-playing game,” or MMORPG, confirms the profitability of K-Pop collaborations, and importing this model to other regions capitalizes on an opportunity for profit. A collaboration with the right groups can translate into massive profits, as fans rush to purchase often limitedrelease products. These types of partnerships not only can minimize the negative effects of hegemonic masculinity but also generate substantial revenue as well.