Twitch bans usage of ‘incel, simp, virgin’ but still no trans tag to be found
Twitch has always had a hit and miss approach when it comes to LGBTQIA issues – aka, they attempt to do something inclusive for the people that uses them, but ends up screwing up in the process. Their Stream with Pride this year was a prime example of that. So, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that Twitch doesn’t have the best reputation in regards to protecting and promoting trans streamers.
But let’s first look to their most recent Town Hall. It’s here that Twitch announces new rules, regulations, and whatnot. One of the first things that was announced was that Twitch will no longer allow the use of certain words. These words being ‘incel,’ ‘simp,’ and ‘virgin.’ At least, as The Verge clarified in their article, not in a derogatory and abusive way.
As The Verge states, the new policy was spotted by esports consultant Rod Breslau, and will go into full effect in January.
What makes this new policy feel somewhat hollow, however, is that despite the LGBTQIA Twitch community asking time and time again, there still has been no confirmation on when trans streamers will be able to have their very own Trans tag on the streaming giant. In fact, the only news that was received was that Twitch had been working on a tag, but scrapped it to go straight back to square one.
The reason why this feels so defeating is that, despite the LGBTQIA community at Twitch asking for a trans tag time and time again, it is still being pushed aside while words that target mostly heterosexual men are once again being pushed in front of some real issues. And while it can be argued that the trans tag will be used by trolls to hate, trans streamers have already stated their own opinion about that.
Veronica ‘Nikatine’ Ripley, a streamer on Twitch, posted a Twitter thread after the Town Hall stream, stating that, “as a longtime trans content creator on Twitch, I can confidently say that I get harassment no matter what tags I use.” They continued. “Additionally, being trans IS content to other trans folks. Saying “identity isn’t content” is flat out incorrect. Tell that to a questioning midwestern kid. Tell it to someone struggling with dysphoria. Being trans IS content to other trans folks.”
Ripley argued that hate towards trans folk on Twitch is guaranteed no matter what tag they use and, if they were to receive any hate at all, it’d at least be prudent to allow the community to “face that hate together.”
Twitch has yet to make any more comments about their decision to scrap the in-progress trans tag they had been working on. However, it’s safe to say that the streaming giant has a lot more to do in order to improve their platform for LGBTQIA creators.
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