Girls being harassed by the League community

SuperStephanie·10/3/2014, 5:32:27 PM·47 votes·18,032 views

I posted a Reddit thread earlier about being harassed because my name is in my IGN, so people are aware that I am a girl. The people who commented on the thread reacted terribly, saying it was my fault for showing off that I am a girl. I shouldn't be told in detail how I'm going to be raped, or that I must be fat and ugly because I play. No one deserves that. I think Riot really needs to do something about this. http://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/2i7bj3/as_a_girl_player_i_am_so_sick_of_the_league/

139 Comments

RiotMaliceCity10/4/2014, 2:08:58 AM40 votes

Hey Stephanie,

I am so sorry to hear about the kinds of things you have to put up with while playing League. As a lady, I understand the kinds of harassment that can get thrown at us so easily by strangers.

All I can do is assure you that when you report players after a game, it does matter. Riot takes harassment very seriously, and our player behavior initiatives are working to weed out bad eggs. Anyone who thinks the type of behavior you described is acceptable has no place in our community. We will punish them and if they choose not to reform we will permanently ban them.

But I know that might be cold comfort so all I can do is apologize that you have had to put up with these kinds of behaviors. It would be a shame to lose you as part of the League community, we need all the ladies we can get!

Be sure to always report players. Pre and post-game chat are logged, though they were not visible in the original version of the tribunal. Your reports do matter!!

ValyrianBlade10/3/2014, 5:36:35 PM22 votes

Those kind of actions should result in permanent bans. I've heard the pre and post game chats are not recorded, so be sure to take screenshots of those and submit tickets if you have to. It's unfortunate but ultimately there's little riot can do on their own about the community, it is up to the good part of the community to identify the problems and bring them to riot's attention. Only when we do this effectively can we expect riot to deal with them.

Cylt10/3/2014, 11:59:52 PM14 votes

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Coffee Ray Gun10/3/2014, 5:45:47 PM10 votes

I honestly can't see how people could treat others like that. It baffles me to think causing others emotional hurt pleases people.

Secondly, who cares if you're a girl, a guy, or a potato, if you're a decent person in the game you shouldn't be treated any differently.

Lumus Avatar10/3/2014, 5:53:59 PM10 votes

The awful people on the internet are why games have to put a disclaimer that their ratings do not reflect online interactions and those interactions are not the responsibility of blah blah blah.

Point is, you should never be shamed or abused for being a girl or hiding or not hiding that fact. Everyone is just a player and people need to remember that.

The internet gives people a mask to hide behind while they say horrible things. Riot needs to modify Tribunal so it looks at pre- and post-game chat logs. It is ridiculous how people can be perfectly silent throughout the game and just tear into each other afterward because they know they won't be penalized for it.

It needs to change.

Oh, also Muting should continue into the post-game lobby. The last thing I want is to mute a toxic player and be happy* for the rest of the game only to get into the post game lobby and have to deal with them again while I'm reporting them.

BA Tetsuo10/4/2014, 4:13:28 PM10 votes

Things I've gathered from this thread:

Instead of standing for what you believe, you should inconvenience yourself to appease others.
Any attempts to change the notion the "games are for guys" is met with "well, just don't tell them you're a girl"
In 2014, a girl still can't play a game without someone telling them how they should get raped.
In 2014, people still think rape is a joke.

Anyway, I'm sorry you had/have to experience this, I wouldn't tell you to change your name, because fuck that. (hint: that's victim blaming.) "You're getting targeted because of your actions" and "you should change your name" imply that it's your fault that this is happening to you. (It's not) Just keep banning and reporting people and hope things change eventually. I know my female friends only play in majority groups of friends, and just insta-mute anyone on the enemy team.

Trylobyte10/3/2014, 5:58:09 PM8 votes

The upside of the internet: Everyone is free to say whatever they want. True freedom of speech in an anonymous environment so nobody can be punished for having unpopular or dissenting opinions and allows the free flow of information to be discussed among millions.

The downside of the internet: Everyone is free to say whatever they want. True freedom of speech in an anonymous environment gives a platform for bigots and assholes to spread prejudice and hatred while giving them an echo chamber of like-minded people assuring themselves they're 'correct.'

It just so happens that the 'gamer' community tends towards rabid misogyny, which is why any female in the 'gamer' community is going to get harassed almost constantly and have all manner of horrible threats laid against them. As a gamer myself, I find this pretty depressing that louder elements of the community are as childishly immature as they are, but unfortunately that's just how it is right now. Hope you don't give up because of a few dumbasses with keyboards, though.

SOLOQSUPERHERO10/3/2014, 7:24:32 PM7 votes

I really wanted to name my summoner Morton Salt Girl (ala https://img2.fastenal.com/productimages/MortonSalt_Logo.jpg ) but I didn't for this exact reason.
I'm gay, so believe me I feel your pain.

Good luck out there and just dont let it bug you as best you can.

CmereCupcake10/4/2014, 10:26:44 AM5 votes

Why does gender even get brought up? This is a free game on the internet... you know as well as anyone else that if you antagonize yourself by going "hey i'm a girl" then people are going to pick fun. How hard is it to use the mute function, if you are easily offended?

12tales10/3/2014, 8:03:49 PM5 votes

The people who commented on the thread reacted terribly, saying it was my fault for showing off that I am a girl.

There's a distinction between establishing a causal relationship and attributing blame. If someone offers me a beverage with a tranquilizer and I drink it, I will be knocked out because I accepted a drink from someone untrustworthy. And yet, the fault lies with the asshole who gives people spiked drinks.

Obviously, somebody harassing you for any reason, gendered or otherwise, is unfortunate. The people in that reddit thread, however, seem to be making the relatively practical observation that a name change would reduce the harassment you receive - I don't see anyone making the normative claim that your name entitles others to harass you.

I don't really care either way, but it's a pretty important distinction to make.

Zelilah10/4/2014, 7:35:41 AM4 votes

Hey SuperStephanie and all of the other ladies who've spoken up here! Just wanted to say hi and show my support :) As a fellow lady I too sometimes have to deal with some nasty comments and attitudes in game. The other day an opposing midlaner kept calling me a "stupid slut" and saying things like "f*ck me slut, you gotta make that money somehow you slut". So yeah, always lovely to hear that sort of thing. I think he was just mad though....kept deleting him with my Syndra ^_^ Anyhow, if you ever want to play with some safe folks feel free to add me (Zelilah) I play a ton (well at least when I'm not getting reconnect bugged :c) and I usually play with another girl and a guy who isn't nasty :P We play a ton of ARAM, some Teambuilder, and we're planning on starting ranked as soon as the reconnect bug gets some Raid. Hopefully your time on the rift is much better in the future! GL,HF

Astral Zephyroro10/3/2014, 8:53:58 PM3 votes

@12tales I dont think your understanding the point. She should not HAVE to pay money to "solve" a problem. While a summoner name change would most likely stop the issue it shouldn't be the established precedent. Yes, the name change will solve the problem but the means does not justify the end result.

Spiritun10/4/2014, 8:31:11 PM1 votes

Those kind of things don't happen in EUW..

No, but seriously. I have never seen someone being harassed because they were a girl in a match, and I have seen many kinds of name that could hint that (from Beyonce to common girl names).

Are you really not exaggerating?