"True gamer" culture on Twitch and its effect on female streamers

Abstract: The aim of this thesis has been to explore how messages in Twitch chats are affected by the gender of the streamer and the type of game that they are playing. Using a quantitative method, messages from twelve different streamers, male and female were downloaded and categorised depending on their content. The analysis used theories on game categorisation in order to understand the complexity of the games that the broadcasters were playing, and in combination with this knowledge and the results of the data collection conclusions could be drawn between the complexity of a game and the amount of comments regarding gameplay or appearance in female streams.The analysis used feminist theories in order to understand the underlying reasons for the observed exclusion of women in both the gaming world in general, and in the Twitch streams. This analysis showed tendencies in the Twitch audience to adapt a male gaze as they were more prone to comment on passive aspects of the female streamers. The thesis concluded that the "true gamer" culture seems to be affecting female streamer son Twitch in several ways, and that the exclusion of female streamers takes different forms depending on the game they are playing.