Ah Twitch — the platform we all know and love.
We streamers come from all walks of life and through our hard work we continue to build our community. As a streamer, I know how great it is to interact with people from all over the world. We get to do this while also doing something that we all enjoy: playing video games.
But, there’s always the great debate about women who stream. That debate being whether we have it easier just because we’re girls. So, when a content creator by the name of Nyakkj is clipped “masturbating” for donations, it’s not hard to understand why it re-instigates the same debate and seems to fuel the idea that women can’t be serious about gaming and must have ulterior motives. While she’s adequately clothed during the clip, her actions are suggestively paired with some tell-tale moaning. The clip was brought to the attention of Twitch and she was dealt with swiftly. At the time I’m writing this she has been given a 24-hour ban.
The truth is, there are so many female streamers who put their heart into streaming and have never used their womanly charms to boost their channels. They work hard every day to get where they are and deserve it just as much as their male counterparts. So that is why instances like this are so detrimental to women in streaming.
It is already hard to prove that we as creators take streaming seriously and want to grow our channel by wholesome means. I don’t condemn Nyakkj for the way she chooses to conduct herself in her online life, but I do condemn her for where she chose to do it. She is entitled to act however she wants and she doesn’t deserve to be judged harshly for that. In my eyes, I think she has shown a certain power, for taking her sexuality into her own hands (that was an accidental pun). However, she abused the platform presented to us. This is a website devoted to gaming, creatives and other niche interests, not masturbation/pornography.
At the end of the day, she broke Twitch’s Terms of Service and I honestly believe a 24-hour ban is a joke. As if the misuse of the platform wasn’t bad enough, I feel that she simply got a slap on the wrist for the event. Other streamers have received permanent bans for what can certainly be viewed as less serious breaches.
The combination of the deed and the reaction from Twitch certainly does not help the negative views some may have in regards to female streamers. But, I wholeheartedly hope people remember that there are women who are not like this. Please go out to find – as well as support – some of the female streamers who do work hard to bring you content unlike that of Nyakkj.
– Xlilmissvixenx
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Twitter: @xlilmissvixenx
Twitch: twitch.tv/xlilmissvixenx
