Chinese women players’ experiences of oppression and resistance in Honor of Kings

Abstract

Guided by a Chinese intersectional feminist theory perspective, this research identifies and describes the lived experiences of women’s oppression that Chinese women have while playing HoK, the consequences of these experiences for Chinese women who play HoK, and the resistance and coping strategies they use to deal with these experiences. Women’s oppression includes the systemic and often discriminatory challenges and barriers faced by women, in this case within the esports industry and with women’s gaming identities. While esports continue to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry, issues of gender-based harassment, discrimination, and violence within the industry similarly continue to grow. Several research studies have separately examined these issues in esports, but very little research has intersectionally examined the experiences of Chinese women. The context of esport in China is of particular importance to study, not only because of the sheer size of the esport industry in China but because of the complex history of gender relations in China, with women experiencing limits to their inheritance rights, education rights, marriage freedoms, social rights, and political rights. 10 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) were conducted with women HoK players as the primary form of data collection, while unobtrusive data and autoethnographic data were used to supplement and support the interview data. All interviews were conducted in Chinese, audio-recorded, and transcribed into English. All ten participants experienced harassment and discrimination related to their gender identity. Participants in the study identified two significant consequences that result from experiences of discrimination and harassment in HoK. First, it leads to decreased participation. Second, it lowers in game performance and confidence for women. All 10 participants reported some resistance to these negative experiences. These forms of resistance and coping took many forms, such as 1) reporting, 2) blocking and muting, 3) verbal confrontations and arguments, 4) teaming up with friends, 5) gender swapping, and 6) mutual support among women players. Based on this research, seven main strategies for creating meaningful change in HoK are also proposed.