Professional Female Online Player Joins the Male-Dominated Gaming Community

Reported by Nikitha Martins

Female online gamers hope the signing of the first professional woman in one of the most popular eSports games will inspire others to join a typically male-dominated field.

Earlier this month, South Korean Kim Se-Yeon, known online as “Geguri,” created history when she became the first female to be recruited by the Overwatch League to compete on a professional level team.

Women are equally as good when it comes to gaming

Former Langara student and eSports Association member Isabelle Tupas said Kim proves that women are equally good at gaming as men.

“It is finally a representation of us as female gamers, to be recognized by other people that we’re here, too, and that we exist,” Tupas said of Kim’s triumph. “And we’re just as good as the guys.”

Tupsa said video games have traditionally been a very male male-centered activity but that might be changing.

“Much like other sports, it’s just the old thing that women are not strong as men,” she said. “It’s just the old same old misogyny. There are games like Super Mario Brothers where [Mario], he’s a male, he has to save the princess.

“I think video games are evolving into something that caters to both perspectives.”

The gender gap is slowly starting to close

But change is slow coming, as demonstrated in Richmond’s MLGB E-Sports Club, where according to employee, Honey Cau, men vastly outnumber women.

This is because of stereotypes, which has stunted the growth in female participation, Tupas said.

However, UBC eSports association member Michael Ji said, to a degree, female gamers have different opportunities than male gamers.

“Because of the insane ratio from male to female, females either casual or competitive, are rather well sought-after by people hiring in the streaming industry,” Ji said, acknowledging the unfortunate lingering sexism in the gaming industry. “It’s such a male-dominated industry.”