Ninja has come under fire for his controversial comments about his decision to avoid playing with female gamers, sparking a huge debate about the role of women in the world of gaming.
Tyler Blevins, best known as Twitch’s biggest livestreamer and Fortnite pro, recently announced: “I don’t play with female gamers.”
Speaking to Polygon, Ninja went on to explain his controversial decision, saying: “If I have one conversation with one female streamer where we’re playing with one another, and even if there’s a hint of flirting, that is going to be taken and going to be put on every single video and be clickbait forever.”
Ninja has made no secret of the fact that he’s happily married.
Of course, Ninja’s comments have angered a lot of people in the gaming community who believe that Ninja’s stance on male-only gaming is adding to the exclusion of females who play.
This “won’t stream with women for fear of jeopardising his relationship” stuff is just one of many ways that women in games are held down and gated from opportunities afforded to men by deep rooted misogyny that relegates us to be girlfriends or promotional sex objects ?
— ally mclean (@allymcleangames) August 12, 2018
People took to Twitter to debate the issue, with one user tweeting: “This ‘won’t stream with women for fear of jeopardising his relationship’ stuff is just one of many ways that women in games are held down and gated from opportunities afforded to men by deep rooted misogyny that relegates us to be girlfriends or promotional sex objects.”
Women are holding themselves back more than anything. Shut up and go make shit happen. Thats how you change minds. You want Ninjas opportunities? You want to be the biggest female in comp esports? GET AS GOOD AS HE IS AND NO ONE WILL CARE WHAT GENDER YOU ARE.
— Remix™ (@MikeGronato) August 13, 2018
Not everyone was feeling the anger towards Ninja though, with one Twitter user ranting: “Women are holding themselves back more than anything.
“Shut up and go make sh*t happen. That’s how you change minds.
“You want Ninja’s opportunities? You want to be the biggest female in comp esports?
“GET AS GOOD AS HE IS AND NO-ONE WILL CARE WHAT GENDER YOU ARE.”
Gender is a hotly-debated issue for gamers, with “Twitch Thots,” a lack of wildly successful female gaming YouTubers and few professionals in the world of esports.
Where do you stand on the latest Ninja controversy – is he trying to protect his private life, or is he making a statement about women in gaming?