Conquering Gender Stereotype Threat in ‘Digit Sports’

A recent study published in Scientific Programming, “Conquering Gender Stereotype Threat in ‘Digit Sports’: Effects of Gender Swapping on Female Continuous Participation Intention in Esports,” argues that gender stereotypes are damaging to female esports players. The study looked at three main factors: gender-swapping, self-efficacy, and discrimination.

Through gender-swapping, female esports players intentionally change their gender while playing video games in an effort to avoid gender-based discrimination by other esports players. By gender-swapping and using a male avatar, female players demonstrated greater confidence, as they no longer had to worry about the stereotypes that are attributed to females in esports.

The self-efficacy factor looked at the impact of female esports players’ beliefs in their own abilities. The social cognitive theory argues that people tend to participate in the activities they believe they can succeed in. In Esports, female players were found to have a greater self-efficacy after gender-swapping. This factor meant they were more likely to continue participating in esports into the future.

The final findings of the study however, saw that any gains from gender-swapping or a higher sense of self-efficacy are negated by discrimination. When female esports players are treated unfairly, they typically either feel a motivation to prove themselves or become discouraged and less likely to continue participating in esports. When female players have a greater self-efficacy, discrimination still impacts them, but not enough to decrease their intent to continue participating.

As esports continues to grow as an industry, it is essential to promote fairness and equal treatment among all players. The change starts at an individual player. Moderate your own comments and actions, stay attentive, and stand up when players are treated poorly.