Rape threats, cyber groping and sexual insults – Cat Rodie investigates the dark side of gaming
At age 15, Noni Och had no reason to pre-sume she was unsafe as she sat playing a video game in her cosy bedroom adorned with posters. But as she navigated further into the globally popular World of Warcraft, she began to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Using voice chat to communicate, Och hoped to swap tactics with other players. But when it became apparent that she was the only female in the arena, things took a nasty turn. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick up as the men began to gang up and intimidate her with a series of invasive questions. “What are you wearing?” “How old are you?” “Are you legal?” After she stopped responding, their aggression increased. Then, one of them told her he was masturbating. “He started moaning and calling my name,” she says. “I felt like I was going to be sick.”
Shaking, she left the voice chat and closed the game. “I didn’t play for a long time after that,” admits Och, now 21. “I was too ashamed to tell anyone about it. I blamed myself.”
The demographics of video game culture have changed dramatically since the 1980s and ’90s. It is no longer an area dominated by young men – in fact, the Entertainment Software Association in the US estimates that, although numbers fluctuate from year to year, women have made up about half of gamers globally since 2014. But despite women now representing a significant stake in what has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, the last decade has seen gaming become notorious for sexism, sexual harassment and trolling.
It’s an issue that has remained largely unchanged for years. A 2012 US study found 80 per cent of gamers think sexism is rampant in the gaming community, and revealed that 63 per cent of women had been called c**t, bitch, slut or whore while gaming.
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Marie Claire Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Marie Claire Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WHY WOMEN SHOULDN'T BE DISCOUNTED
Four game-changing women share why they want economic empowerment included in the conversation this International Women’s Day
home HAVEN
Sophie Bell, founder of Peppa Hart, invites us into her calming quarters, writes Samantha Stewart
BEHIND THE SCENES with PETER PHILIPS
An intimate backstage moment with the legendary creative and image director for Dior Makeup
MIAH MADDEN
The Australian actor on her biggest fashion crime, party tricks and the women who have shaped her
TAYLOR SWIFT
As she hits our shores in February, music writer Cameron Adams charts the unbelievable career of the world’s biggest music artist, from her Nashville country music roots to her record-smashing Eras tour
The road to NIRVANA
Editor Georgie Abay lands in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for the adventure of a lifetime
makes SUN sense
What if we saw a suntan for what it really is: a visible sign that skin has been damaged? Sherine Youssef looks behind the golden facade
RUNWAY to DEBT
Modelling agencies are ecruiting young people who have fled war-torn African countries and are living in extreme poverty. They are flown to Europe to take part n fashion castings, but some return within days or weeks, often laden with debt
CALLUM TURNER
The British actor shares tales from the front line, why you should play your heroes and his love for Free Willy
ALL ABOUT JESS
Chart-topping Australian singer Jessica Mauboy talks love, lonliness and music legend Whitney Houston on the eve of her new release, Yours Forever