Abstract

With an emphasis on virtual engagement, creativity, and diverse competitive platforms, eSport is being explored as a new activity to achieve development outcomes within the Sport for Development (SfD) movement (Kidd, 2008). Research has shown the potential of eSport to provide opportunities for social interaction, bonding, and building social capital (Trepte, Reinecke, & Juechems, 2012). This exploratory research, conducted in 2019, examines the current eSport landscape and utility of eSport as a space to enact social inclusion and more specifically, in-line with SfD agendas and goals, positive experiences for women and girls. Three interactive focus groups were conducted in the UK and USA (N = 65) involving key stakeholders, including game publishers, SfD organisations, eSport teams, tournament organisers, and gamers. Supplementary interviews (N = 16) were conducted to allow for richer accounts and perspectives to be examined. Findings exposed the contested notion of social inclusion within online gaming communities as evidenced by the dominant masculine dynamics of digital spaces. Consistently those engaged in eSport claimed social inclusion and inclusivity were the most significant features and offering to the SfD movement. Yet, simultaneously the same voices exposed toxicity in the form of gender inequality and discrimination as the challenge embedded within eSport among its rapidly growing participants and spectators. This article empirically examines gender dynamics within eSport spaces, using Bailey’s social inclusion theory and Lefebvre’s spatial theory, and critically presents new opportunities to the field of SfD.

Highlights

  • IntroductionESport’s (largely digital) potential for inclusion (dos Santos, Moreira, Coutinho, & Maia, 2018) lies in its virtual accessibility through online streaming platforms, like Twitch, which have been instrumental in the development, engagement, and global reach of eSport

  • Applying Bailey’s (2005) conceptual model of social inclusion and Lefebvre’s (1991a) conceptualisation of space as a theoretical grounding, we suggest that social inclusion in relation to gender is fractious and contentious within eSport, in part due to the multiple and competing agendas of the industry

  • The implications of this are significant for both the consideration of eSport’s insertion into new spaces (SfD and mainstream sporting platforms) and the nuanced approach to scrutinising gender dynamics. This is relevant to examinations of eSport where the spatial, relational, and experiential outcomes are often blurred and distorted by the contestation between gaming values and brand loyalty versus the reality and quality of experience

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Summary

Introduction

ESport’s (largely digital) potential for inclusion (dos Santos, Moreira, Coutinho, & Maia, 2018) lies in its virtual accessibility through online streaming platforms, like Twitch, which have been instrumental in the development, engagement, and global reach of eSport. It is critical to consider the, often concealed, gender dynamics to understand what influence they may have on access, engagement, and participation. Within Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs; e.g., e-commerce, computer games, emails, and the Internet), there is a known global digital gender divide, with women having lower engagement with ICTs compared to their male counterparts (Huyer & Sikoska, 2003; Wagg, Cooke, & Simeonova, 2019). Gender specific social and structural barriers, such as education and cultural practices, influence access and have led to this disparity. It is via empirical analysis that we explore this gendered discourse within digital gaming environments

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