Pokimane speaks out against ‘simp’ hate: “it reinforces misogyny”
During a recent Twitch stream, Pokimane called out ‘simp’ hate and explained how it reinforces misogyny and has affected her own relationships with male friends.
Simp, a North American term the Oxford Dictionary defines as “a silly or foolish person”, has been bastardized by the internet and is more commonly used to degrade a person who seeks affection from someone else.
The term ‘simp’ has become a popular insult on Twitch, YouTube, and Twitter for those who defend or praise female content creators. Pokimane’s community is often in the crosshairs of ‘simp’ hate as a portion of her viewers is younger boys seeking the streamer’s attention.
During a ban appeal segment on her June 26 stream, Pokimane reviewed the ban of a user who was “going through a simp hunting phase.” To which the streamer opened up about her feelings towards ‘simp’ haters.
Pokimane (Twitch)Pokimane disapproves of ‘simp’ hate
While reviewing a ban appeal from a user who was calling other viewers simps, Pokimane expressed to the user why he shouldn’t use ‘simp’ as an insult. She wrote that, if the user’s parents are still together, their dad probably simps for their mom, and expressed that ‘simping’ is just a normal part of loving other human beings.
She then addressed her viewers further communicating why she disagrees with the matter. “Isn’t it weird young boys are being told ‘simping’ is so terrible? ‘If you’re doting on a women, it’s so terrible.’ But it’s not.”
Pokimane went on to call ‘simp’ hate “sexist” and even claimed that it “reinforces so much lowkey misogyny”. She then opened up about how the negative connotations associated with ‘simps’ have affected her.
“Throughout my entire career as a female streamer, I have sensed – on numerous occasions – my male counterparts or male friends being afraid to stand up for me because they will be labeled simps,” Pokimane stated. “How else can you describe that but some weird internalized misogyny?”
At the end of 2020, Twitch banned the use of the word ‘simp’ following a revamp of the platform’s harassment policies. This led to streamers being both elated and confused, and Twitch had to clarify that action would only be taken against users who use ‘simp’ as an insult.