Esports Gender Segregation Is Absurd
Welcome to another edition of our weekly gaming insights. This week, we are diving into a persistent and glaring issue within the world of competitive gaming.
Recently, a professional League of Legends player known as Bwipo was suspended after making bizarre comments on a livestream. He suggested that women are biologically less capable of competing in esports due to their menstrual cycles, claiming there are times of the month when they simply should not play competitive games. The backlash was swift and appropriate, leading to his suspension and a public apology where he promised to do better.
This incident highlights a much larger, systemic problem. It is 2025, and it still needs to be stated clearly: men are not inherently better at video games than women. There is no physiological trait that makes someone of a particular gender more skilled at clicking a mouse, processing information, or executing complex strategies. The code of the game does not care about the player’s identity.
Yet, the professional esports scene remains overwhelmingly dominated by men and is effectively segregated. While there are no official rules barring women or nonbinary players from competing in major tournaments, their presence is vanishingly rare. Separate, siloed leagues exist for women and gender nonconforming players, but these competitions receive a fraction of the financial backing, marketing, and prestige afforded to the mainstream, male-dominated circuits.
The earnings gap is a stark indicator of this disparity. The top male esports player has earned over 7 million dollars in prize money. The highest-earning female player has won less than half a million. There are hundreds of male players who have earned more than her. This does not even account for the lucrative sponsorship deals that are primarily available to men.
So, if the reason is not biological, what is it? The answer is simple, uncomfortable, and pervasive: sexism. The gender imbalance in esports is a direct result of the misogyny that permeates our broader society. It is easier for some to blame women for their own exclusion than to confront an ugly truth that grants them privilege.
This bias is baked into the talent pipeline from the very beginning. Young boys who show skill in gaming are often met with encouragement, support, and investment. Young girls and nonbinary players face a different reality: they are often sexualized, harassed, belittled, and subjected to a constant barrage of toxicity. They are forced to consistently overperform just to be taken seriously, an exhausting gauntlet that silently pushes countless talented players out of the scene before they ever have a chance to go pro.
This status quo is not immutable. Change begins with a fundamental shift in perception. We must collectively recognize how absurd it is that an industry about mastering digital worlds is segregated by gender. We must notice the hyper-masculine marketing, the exclusive language from casters, and the lack of representation. We must extend the same excitement, faith, and support to young women and nonbinary players that we do to young men.
The mental shift is the first step. Remember that skill at video games is divorced from identity. Recognize that sexism is an artificial barrier holding the entire industry back. The next time you watch a tournament, notice the imbalance. Getting comfortable with this truth is the only way to start changing it.
In other news this week, the James Bond game 007 First Light got a March release date. Stardew Valley is surprise-updating again with version 1.7. The Diablo development team at Blizzard successfully voted to unionize, a positive step amidst ongoing industry layoffs, including cuts at Crystal Dynamics and Firaxis. BioShock creator Ken Levine showed off new key art for his long-awaited game, Judas. And Hollow Knight Silksong’s release was so impactful it crashed digital storefronts, though debate continues on whether its difficulty is punishing or perfect.
A Nintendo Direct is scheduled for Friday, and the Flame Fatales speedrunning event, featuring women and femme players, continues through the weekend.
