Pokimane hits back at gender “biases” in streaming scandals

[jwplayer 3rV0GuQ7]Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys is one of Twitch’s most popular streamers — as well as one of its biggest female broadcasters — and as such, she’s hitting back at the double-standards she feels viewers have toward women on the platform.

Pokimane is a huge name in the online streaming world, boasting over 5 million followers due to her humorous interactions with fans in multiplayer games and her hilarious reactions to content online.

However, Anys is no stranger to backlash, with many critics hounding her social media profiles to harass her fans by calling them “simps” — not to mention always bringing up her viral no-makeup selfie.

These trolls, alongside the recent cancel-culture boom in the online entertainment space, seems to have struck a nerve with the streamer, who took to her personal Twitter account to air out her feelings on double-standards in the broadcasting space on July 20.

“In this industry, a girl f***s up: What a fake b***h, such a worthless piece of s***, also go die in a hole,” she began. “A guy f***s up: Omg king don’t worry, everyone makes mistakes, we know you have a good heart and will be here for you forever.”

• Read More: Mr Beast says “biggest video ever” is reason behind YouTube hiatus

“It sucks because I can understand why,” she continued. “Guys have an easier time relating to guys, and girls to girls, so if a community is male-dominated, there’s bound to be biases. But I hope that in this day and age, we can learn to be both fair and empathetic with others regardless of this.”

“It’s obviously a generalization of what usually happens in majority male industries,” she added in response to a critic’s concerns over her statement. “Not tryna be like, ‘eff all men,’ I’m just stating what I’ve generally observed being in this scene for seven years.”

Imane’s comments follow the recent exodus of fellow streamer ‘Fedmyster’ from Offline TV, who was ousted from the entertainment group for purported sexual misconduct towards its female members.

• Read More: Logic joins Twitch after striking seven-figure streaming deal

While it’s unclear if Anys was referencing this incident, several fans are speculating thus — as well as hitting back at her Tweets with such examples as Alinity Divine, another streamer who has sparked ire from male viewers for past offenses without being banned for them.

Fan theories aside, Anys’s Tweets have set off a slew of conversation regarding how women are treated by viewers for any on-stream slipups as the conversation around acceptable online behavior continues.