How pretty or sexy do you have to be for eSports?

Girl gamers, there’s something we need to talk about.

I spent time talking to some of my fellow girl gamers over the weekend and came to a horrifying conclusion. I realized that many of them believe that in the gaming world, and particularly in the Philippine gaming world, a girl has to be pretty and/or sexy because that’s the only way she will get noticed.

First of all, I’d like to have a talk with whoever started the ‘you need to be pretty/sexy’ concept because I call bullshit on it. Are you telling me that I should stop gaming and writing about it because I don’t look like a cute Korean pop idol? It’s true that this world is superficial and pretty and sexy girls will get noticed, but gaming operates a little differently from general life. Being pretty and sexy isn’t a requirement if you’re a girl and want to be a gamer.

But why does it happen and why do people (not just girls) think this way?

It’s okay to mind how you look

Now before anyone misunderstands, I’m not saying caring about how you look is wrong. It’s perfectly acceptable for anyone to want to look good. Finding ways to make yourself presentable, pretty, or sexy is not only okay but encouraged, in eSports and in society in general. I’m sure we’ve all experienced being told by our parents to pay attention to grooming and proper hygiene.

When it comes to being part of eSports—whether as a player, a manager, a caster or an event organizer—people are expected to at least be presentable. Tammy ‘furryfish’ Tang has admitted that she used to care less about what she looked like and may tend to be lazy in that department. However, she also shared that when your picture gets around online, you start to realize that you need to have some self respect sometimes. This is the reason why she decided to pay more attention to grooming and looking good.

(See: Realizations from the confessions of a female gamer)

Sometimes, the way a person looks can be used to their advantage because whether we like to admit it or not, good looks do get attention. And if you have a pretty face, why not use it for positive gain? It’s not a crime, after all.

But not too much

What is a crime is when people go so overboard with their ‘marketing’ that you don’t know what they’re marketing anymore. I’m talking about stuff like pictures that will make you wonder what an overload of cleavage has anything to do with the latest Dota 2 patch.

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