Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: Alberto Rengifo, eSports

An 'eSports & Girlfriends' Satire Video Hits The Wrong Nerve

On Thursday, former League of Legends eSports player turned coach Alberto Rengifo posted a satirical video to his YouTube channel, and gave it the title "Girlfriends are Ruining the LCS." What follows is a two-minute video poking fun at the lifestyles of gamers, how having a life outside of the game is detrimental to competitive play, and that having a woman in their lives takes away from the skills they once honed when they were loners and "nothing else mattered and the game is all there was." You can see the full video below.

What the video fails to touch on, whether it be from the near-sincere deadpan attitude or lack of content beyond poking fun at fellow players, is the idea that this is a real argument that other eSports players and coaches have brought up, and those guys are sincere. It puts women in the crosshairs of angry fans when their teams lose and solidifies the stereotype that your average player is just a single loner with no life who can't meet anyone without being famous. It's already bad enough that the sport is dominated by men, and that competitors like Steph Harvey get overlooked and belittled harassed by fans on a daily basis. Not to mention the fact that much like the average workforce in North America and most of Europe, women make far less than men when it comes to team income and winnings. What the sport really didn't need right now, parody or

What the sport really didn't need right now, parody or not, is another knock against a gender that makes up half their audience. The entire industry of eSports needs a kick in the ass when it comes to gender equality and making a greater effort to include women on the biggest stages. There is no Title 9 for video gaming, there are few avenues for women to be drafted to teams (if coaches are even bothering to look for them), and there's no outreach to women in general beyond the general concept of liking a particular game. Putting any kind of blame on another gender for the failings of a player or a team, whether it be sincere or joking, serves little purpose and does nothing to appeal.

I'm sure in his own way, Rengifo thought he was doing his best to make fun of those arguments and slam players who genuinely blame their failings on the opposite sex. But the reality of the situation is that the video just doesn't convey everything it needs to. Or to put it another way: He nerfed his own clever buff and ss'd completely!

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