Maybelline New York’s new campaign aims to combat gender-based harassment in video games by conducting a social experiment to see how male gamers would be treated during an online match if they looked like women. This is reported by GamesHub.
The video is part of Maybelline’s Brave Together mental health initiative and is called Through Their Eyes. The video profiles women who are making an impact in gaming Luminum and Paladin Amber about their experiences of online gaming with voice chat before engaging male gamers Joel Bergs and DrewD0g to experience it for yourself by playing with voice modulation and female player profiles.
From the start, Joel and Drew have a different experience than they’re used to, with several players simply leaving the match as soon as they hear them talking. After loading into the new game, it doesn’t take long for the other player to say “shut up bitch”, with other harassment aimed at the two influencers including suggestions to “go back to the sink” and “call me dad”. ” Both players also get a number of sexual “proposals” that were almost entirely muted for the Maybelline video.
Maybelline cites a recent study showing that 83% of gamers who identify as female have “directly experienced and/or observed abusive behavior or language while gaming online.” The video ends with a call for all gamers to “speak up and help each other” when they experience this kind of bullying.
Maybelline is not unique in trying to bring attention to this issue in online gaming. Recently Twitch streamer SteffyEvans called out gender harassment in online gaming, challenging herself to make sandwiches every time someone says it to her in-game, and pointing out how sexist comments still get thrown around in online matches.
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