Going Live Gayming: Creating Safe Spaces: Focus on three LGBTQIA+ Black Twitch Streamers

Details

Supervisors

Sepulchre, Sarah

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en études de genre

Abstract

This research focuses on the issue of the creation of safe spaces by queer Black gaming content creators on the live-streaming platform Twitch. After presenting the platform and the various sections useful to our observations, we will put forward a first question: why would they want to create safe spaces? To answer this question, we propose to analyse and consider the live-streaming platform, and this practice in general, as reproducing white cisheteropatriarchal power dynamics. Indeed, as we will try to demonstrate, people who are considered deviating from the stereotypical image of the gamer, that is, a white cisgender 'able-bodied' heterosexual male, do not seem to be welcome on Twitch. Whether in the form of direct or indirect violence, marginalised people in society also find themselves marginalised on Twitch. After conceptualising the platform as a unsafe space, it is important to define the concept of safe space. Although its use is disputed, we can note that its initial goal is to 1) protect marginalised people from all forms of violence, 2) create a sense of belonging and collective identity, 3) resist domination. Once this definition is established, we must ask ourselves a second question: who and for whom? We will therefore describe our sample taking on intersectionality and try to conceptualise the community which the twitchers, that have been observed, are trying to build these spaces for. Ultimately, we will ask ourselves a final question: how? From the use of tools created by the platform itself (tags and moderation), by way of community support, to their sheer presence on the platform, we will try to demonstrate that the contribution of our sample to make their streams on Twitch safer is not insignificant though limited.