Twitch, the Amazon-owned entity, is the largest and most-frequented streaming platform on the web, and with good reason.Twitchis relatively easy to use as it provides content creators with a variety of tools to use for free and, with some effort, can bring in anywhere from hundreds to thousands each stream.
The platform has opened the door for many creators at all ends of the world and in different stretches of their lives, creating opportunities that appear to be endless. Fromyoung adults breaking records inPokemongamesto senior citizens gaining notoriety for their runs inLeague of Legends, gaming enthusiasts can find anything while encountering the website.
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Unfortunately, another aspect of the site is its flawed terms and conditions, which can lead to lines being blurred. User shirahiko, a popular Twitch streamer with over 20,000 followers, tweeted out the ability to title a stream “I HATE MEN,” while the alternative “I HATE WOMEN” was struck down by Twitch’s moderation policy. In her latest stream, she highlighted that her intention with the tweet was to point out the humor behind the double standard. WhileTwitch streamers have been struck down for sexist rants, shirahiko was only taking a moment to laugh about the idea that streamers could voice their hatred towards one gender but not the other.
Shirahiko stated she is a victim of sexist comments, ranging from profane slurs to being told to stop playing video games and go back to the kitchen. The tweet was met with some criticism, as responders pointed out the missed opportunity to discuss sexism in streaming on a larger scale, calling out a misrepresentation as a joke to be made on a matter many don’t consider funny. Sexism in gaming extends beyond the Twitch platform, extending to gaming studios like Ubisoft to the recently-exposedUndead Labs Studio being a toxic workplace. As of this writing, the original tweet has reached over 28,000 retweets, nearly 3,000 quote retweets, and over 318,000 likes.
Since the message went viral, Twitch has fixed the issue, placing bans on both gender-based hatred messages in titles. A Twitch spokesperson claims that due to machine-learning suffering from limitations, certain scripts read one as problematic and not the other, creating the discrepancy. While Twitch has come under fire for its Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy being skewed at best, the platform continues to correct problems as they arise, as it did whenTwitch cracked down on harmful misinformation. For now, streamers and content creators can take a deep breath in knowing this case of double standards was a simple misunderstanding.
