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Stereotypes have a hard tooth in the world of gaming in France. Women still too often suffer from sexist remarks, insults and even threats of sexual assault. Among the victims, the players of fighting games turn out to be the most affected, according to a study by the IFOP.
66% of female fighting game enthusiasts said they had already been the victim of sexism in various forms compared to 40% of all female players, we learn in a Ifop survey, carried out at the request of the specialized site Gamertop.fr and the agency specializing in data Flashes.
The fairer sex represents a significant proportion of video game players. According to the study, 62% of French women are active players against 66% of French people. And the percentage is higher among women aged between 15 and 24, reaching 84% against 88% among men.
Differences between games
And yet, if women are indeed part of the “game”, they remain the target of remarks, insults and sexist insults. Certain categories of players even turn out to be more affected than others by this reprehensible behavior. In the line of sight: players of fighting games. They experience more physical remarks, obscene remarks or comments with a sexual connotation (49%), remarks, insults and sexist insults (48%), and threats of sexual assault (37 %).
In comparison, 24% of all female players say they have been the victim of remarks about their appearance, 23% of obscene remarks or comments with a sexual connotation, 22% of remarks, insults and sexist insults and 15% of threats of sexual assault. Solo role-playing game players are 60% declared to have been victims of remarks on the physique, 61% of obscene remarks or comments with a sexual connotation, 62% of remarks, insults and sexist insults and 46% threats of sexual assault.
This damning observation does not improve when we dwell on the treatment that female video game players undergo because of their gender. While 38% on average claim to have already been confronted with sexist criticism of their level of play, the percentage rises to 65% among female players of fighting games. The latter are also more numerous than the average, 58% against 34%, to have to deal with a paternalistic and condescending attitude. 48% of female fighting game players have been refused to talk or play with a player because of their gender.
Profiles more affected than others
Players aged 25-34 are the most numerous, at 61%, to have been victims or witnesses of at least one form of sexism, and 60% among those aged 15-24, compared to an average of 53%. Players aged between 15 and 24 are the most likely to be victims of at least one form of sexism at 50% compared to 45% among 25-34 year olds and an average of 40%.
We observe a higher percentage of victims among non-heterosexual women, 55% against 38% of heterosexual women, and even more important among victims or witnesses of at least one form of sexism, 73% against 52%.
The strategies adopted
Result of the races: to avoid being attacked, the players change their habits. This is how some refuse to participate in a voice chat (13%) or avoid playing an online game (10%), while others choose to leave a group or a game (12%).
In total, 40% of players interviewed said they used an avoidance strategy. Here again, current fighting game players are the most numerous: 66% against 62% of MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) players.
This study was carried out by Ifop for GamerTop via an online self-administered questionnaire, from March 17 to 29, 2023, with a representative national sample of 5009 people, representative of the French population aged 15 and over. Within this sample, 4,018 video game players (current or past) were interviewed, including 3,251 active players over the past three months.