The 19-year-old Twitch streamer Scarlett, known as “xoQueenScar”, showcases games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive on her channel. She is also active on TikTok, posting short clips from her streams. Recently, one of her videos went viral, where she was kicked from the game by her teammates, apparently due to her gender.
This is the situation:
- With just over 1000 followers, Scarlett is among the smaller streamers on Twitch
- On TikTok, she posts highlights from her streams and short clips for her more than 6000 followers
- These often address experiences she faces as a woman online
- A clip went viral in which she is allegedly kicked from a game in CS:GO due to her gender
On Twitch, “clips” of streamers are often made: short recordings that are not infrequently taken out of context. Here is the most popular clip on Twitch:
Team kicks streamer after she speaks up
What is shown in the clip: In the short excerpt, the streamer shows how she is voted out of the game by her teammates during a match. This happens immediately after she said something in voice chat.
One of her teammates reacted to her voice with the repeated question “Did I hear a girl?”, another one says she should disappear from “his” game. Scarlett interprets the kick as a reaction to her gender.
The German streamer and DJane “Sinitica” also tries to establish herself in a male-dominated scene. She recently showed the disgusting messages she receives from guys.
It’s not the first time: Scarlett posted the clip titled “Why CS:GO is not for women, Part 3”. In other videos, she had shown similar events. These incidents seem not to be limited to Counter-Strike. (via TikTok)
The clip goes viral: Four days after Scarlett posted the video on TikTok, it already has 2.2 million views (as of 25.07.2022). In comparison, her videos usually reach several hundred to a few thousand viewers.
On 24.07., the clip was also posted in the CS:GO subreddit and received almost 30,000 upvotes there (as of 25.07.2022). The comments are full of discussions about the content. The video has also appeared in other subreddits.
Female players report their own experiences
These are the reactions: The video has thousands of comments on TikTok and Reddit. Many seem to find the behavior of the teammates simply funny or even support it.
Sad reality: Others don’t see anything unusual about it. They say it’s just an average CS:GO lobby. Some even find the team relatively nice. The shooter has had a reputation for a particularly toxic community for a long time. (via Reddit, TikTok)
What other women say: Especially female gamers seem to recognize themselves in the clip. They report their own experiences. Sometimes, like Scarlett, they would be kicked out immediately. In other cases, the teammates would keep them in the team but be overbearing in voice chat.
Some even state that they would never use the voice chat of a game for these reasons or would not play online at all. They express their frustration that such behavior rarely has consequences for the players. (via Reddit)
Whether the recordings are staged or if there might be other reasons for the kick cannot be determined from the short clip. However, the comments reveal that it struck a nerve.
In this context, the voting system is also criticized. This allows players – as here seemingly without cause – to be kicked from the match by a simple vote. Other games have already abolished it for this reason. Whether CS:GO will take consequences from this and similar incidents remains to be seen.
Also, Twitch star Imane “Pokimane” Anys has often experienced online hostility. Now she needs a break from streaming.
