With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Video Game Live Streaming and Its Potential Risks and Benefits for Female Gamers
Twitch, a popular platform for social streaming in Europe and the Americas, describes itself as the leading community for gaming culture. As a window into said gaming culture, the women streaming on Twitch have the great opportunity to help shape the perception of female gamers within the gaming community but also in the eye of the public. This chapter gives an overview of Twitch and previous research addressing streaming. After presenting an argument for how and why female representation in this space matters, it describes three quite different women streaming on Twitch in more detail. Readers will take away an introduction to the possible risks and opportunities related to an increased degree of visibility for female gamers.