At the end of the week that boasts International Women's Day, I have some uplifting news to share: Lenovo launches a campaign to stop harassment of female gamers!
Last week, @Sakareported on and started the discussion about how damaging harassment of female gamers can be, and what hurtful forms it can take (thank you @Saka!). Females make up 48% of gamers (according to Entertainment Software Association), but because of this trend, 6 out of 10 female gamers hide their identity when playing online, and many use software to distort their voices to avoid harassment when playing.
To conquer this problem, Lenovo's Nordic gamer community for women Girls' Legion is now launching a new campaign entitled Claim Your Voice. The campaign is based on real stories from Danish female gamers, who have all experienced harassment while gaming. The aim is to reduce the harsh tone in the gaming environment, which is one of the reasons why many female gamers find it necessary to hide their identity.
Quote from Lenovo:
"Gaming is for everyone, and gaming should be fun and inclusive. This is one of the many reasons why we have created gaming communities to make room for gamers using their own identity and not hiding behind for example a voice changer. We hope that one day focus is on gamers and not female or male as one of the few activities where you do not have to distinguish between gender. You can have fun you can compete no matter what gender you are."
One of the main areas that the campaign focuses on is the need for change in gaming culture, a point also emphasized by @Liue before he went to volunteer at Assembly Winter 2023 in Helsinki (thank you @Liue!). It is inspiring to see organizations like Female Gaming Finland working to reduce harassment.
In Denmark, one of the female gamers featured in the campaign is Munni Chowdhury, who experienced discrimination while gaming on several occasions and has also used voice-changing software to avoid harsh treatment. Munni Chowdhury is sure that we need to eliminate the conditions and environment that make women want to mask their gender.
“As a woman in gaming, I myself have felt pressured to change something about myself or even use voice-distorting software to avoid harassment and instead be seen as an equal. It is unacceptable. Discrimination and harassment still exist in the gaming environment, and we need to call it out and focus on it to create a more inclusive and respectful environment for everyone, “
says Munni Chowdhury, who is part of and an ambassador for the Girls' Legion.
The Lenovo Girls' Legion campaign runs across social media, the streaming service Twitch and in the stream of female gamers PinkOrchid and EMZIA. Danish Instagram and Facebook pages are available to share.
And while the campaign is gaining momentum, do you have any ideas about what else we can do to conquer harassment of female gamers and make gaming a safer environment?
It's great that Lenovo and Girls' Legion are talking aloud about these issues.
I have experienced these comments about ra*ing me or my relatives too. Or being called a wh*re or b*tch. I was even wished death after rejecting one of these guys who mistook the game for Tinder.
I am older now, quicker to block people who spam me unwanted content. But as a late teen/early twenties girl I was way more vulnerable and confused about all the sexual messages I was getting as soon as people figured out my gender.
But I don't really know what to do about men harassing women who want to play games. Sure, we can try to educate them, but some of them are just very resistant to change. Maybe things will slowly change if major companies in the gaming industry start sending clear signals that this is not okay and is not normal behaviour.
Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
*delete as appropriate
It's inspiring to see real stories from Danish female gamers being used to raise awareness. Discrimination and harassment should have no place in the gaming environment. I'm curious to see how this project will evolve and its impact on the gaming community.
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DoctorEldritch
