Outside of the physical world, women continue to face gender-based violence, even in video games: 46.3% reported receiving sexist comments from other gamers, 36.3% received harassment, 35.3% stated that the stereotype of the gamer woman still exists, 24.3% received abuse and insults and another 17.7% assured that other gamer did not want to play with them because of their gender, according to the study Gamers Research Field Agent 2021 of Nivea and LDM.
“The world of gaming is one of the digital industries that are experiencing the greatest growth (5.5% compared to 2019), with Mexico being the country in Latin America with the highest turnover, and with a total of 64 million users, who are potential users of our products. At Nivea we have been supporting women for more than 130 years so that they feel good in their skin, regardless of the environment in which they are, ”explains Santiago Nettle, Marketing Director of Nivea for North Latin America in an interview with Forbes Mexico.
Nettle comments that the study detected that of the 50% of women who participated (which brought together 2,000 gamers of both genders) consider that sand there are disadvantages in the gamer world for being women, that is, due to gender, while 25% of men do not consider that there are disadvantages for them.
“Proof of this is that practically 50% of amateur players are women, yet only 1 in 10 professional players are women,” says Nettle.
Of the 2,000 surveyed, 91.3% declared playing video games, where men slightly dominate their participation with a presence of 53%.
“The women with the largest number of followers are very pretty girls. Nice, flirtatious and with a nice body. Unfortunately they try to attract more followers because they sexualize their bodies themselves, wearing discounted clothes with all the intention of attracting stares, or making provocative movements. Maybe my comment sounds misogynistic but they have to learn to see from the male side and realize that sometimes she is part of what generates this problem, “said one of the study participants.
Among the problems faced by a woman in the real world and in the Mexican context are: femicide, sexual harassment, political violence against women, physical, emotional and psychological violence, as well as lack of representation, and a number of aggressions .
In the survey, women gamers reported being victims of harassment and machismo and thirdly emphasized that they face psychological violence. As well as seven out of 10 women mentioned that another problem they face is being judged on their physique.
“Being judged for being a woman and that they expect you to comply with is a stereotype, since there are many girls gamers with a good body and they hope that all women gamers are like that ”, declared a respondent.
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Both men and women considered that there are few gamers professionals because of the little support women receive in this world, driven by stereotypes and because they underestimate women in this area, considering it a ‘game for men’.
“Mainly because they consider us as weak women and I think there is a lot of harassment combined with macho comments in the world of video games, I think these are the main disadvantages for women to excel in the professional world of video games, “added another respondent.
In the region of Valle de México there is the largest gamer audience, slightly dominated by women 16% vs men 15%, followed by the Southeast Region with 10% of men vs 8% of women, North Region with 8% for both men and women, Central Region with 8% of men vs 7% of women and the Northeast Region with 4% of men vs 3% of women.
Among the preferred platforms is the Desktop Game Console, Computer and Portable Game Console, which have the highest frequency between 1 and 3 times a week, in addition to the gamers they spend between 1 and 5 hours a day playing, around 40 hours a week practically a working day.
The preference of the type of video games may vary depending on the platform, for example for Arcade video games it is stronger in smarthphoneOn the other hand, Action, Adventure, Sports, Strategy and Simulation games are preferred to be played on a desktop or computer game console.
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The average age of the gamers is mainly between the ages of 25 and 34It can be found throughout Mexico, although the largest capacity is in the Valley of Mexico.
The main platforms they play on are smartphone, Desktop and Computer Game Console, with greater emphasis on the last two.
Regarding the preferences of the gamers, 77% of men prefer to do it alone vs 72% of women, while 43% of men choose to play with friends vs 26% of women, however, 21% of women play video games with their children vs 11% of men and 35% of women prefer to do it with their partner vs 4% of men.
The most attractive game categories for women gamers They are: Action, Adventure, Arcade, Strategy and Simulation
Unlike their gamer counterparts, women the biggest incentive to play video games is to de-stress compared to having fun, the greatest motivator of men.
Israel Santiago, president of LDM mentions that beyond the pending and challenges that the study detected, the data also showed positive data to create a more inclusive sector.
“The data that strengthened our entire strategy was knowing that 2 out of 3 people have a positive feeling when seeing a woman succeed in the gaming world; change can happen, the community is open to listen and help raise awareness, we are on time to make a difference and redirect the path to a more inclusive community, ”says Santiago.
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More than detecting the problem
Nettle assures that the idea behind the study not only aims to create a campaign focused on women, but is also part of a medium-term plan for the organization.
”We want to carry out tangible actions that contribute to a safer and more inclusive gaming world for women, going from being e-Sports to We-Sports. In collaboration with Riot Games, in alliance with its successful Valorant license, we are going to establish safe environments so that women can play and compete without feeling any type of bullying or discrimination for the simple fact of being women ”, explains the executive.
The Nivea manager comments that the plan is to organize a series of women’s tournaments that serve as a platform to maximize female gamer talent and reach a sufficient level to compete regionally and globally.
“We want to be able to measure and control the impact of our actions in order to verify if we are on the right track and our strategy is working, so that throughout the campaign we will be monitoring the evolution of inclusivity within this territory. “, mentions.