Pokimane Reacts To Mizkif Claim

Pokimane claims that women have an “easier” time getting into Twitch streaming in the early days since they stand out amid the throngs of hopefuls throughout the platform’s many categories.

She said; “When you have 100 viewers or less, there’s so many channels that when you’re a girl you stand out because there’s just less girls than guys on Twitch.”

Pokimane’s statements come amid a heated argument on Twitch, which has been sparked by the likes of xQc and Mizkif. They say that females have an easier time entering into streaming at lower levels, but that due to online gender bias, they will eventually meet a “glass ceiling.” 

According to Pokimane, women have the ability to achieve early success since they stand out. “When you’re scrolling, if you see ten guys and one girl, you’re more likely to click on the girl. They stand out more.”

The next step, though, is significantly more difficult “unless you ride the wave of a popular game.” On the ‘glass ceiling’ claims, Pokimane said, “At the end of the day, Twitch continues to be a male-dominated field, and when it comes to content, it tends to be easier to watch people you relate to. Until there’s more of an even demographic on Twitch, you’re going to have these issues. What I want to see though, is not comparing everyone. We don’t want to pit ourselves against each other. Let’s validate all our experiences, make it easy for everyone.”

The one issue that can arise from that initial 100, 200, 300 viewer explosion, Pokimane continues, is that these start-up female streamers can, totally by accident, collect a horde of “parasocial viewers.” These diehard loyalists aren’t the fault of any women starting out though, she adds⁠—it’s on the eager fans.

She explained; “If you only have 10 viewers, you’re giving a lot of attention to those 10 people, right? When guys are watching a girl and she gets more popular, some will get bitter they aren’t getting the same attention from their ‘queen’ now.”

Pokimane has sadly encountered this numerous times during her career, from her early days to the present.