Labeling women as “attention seeking” often extends to “slut-shaming,” as misogynist elements of esports and gaming cultures use “attention-seeking” to refer to the presentation and use of the body to get that attention (Ruvalcaba et al. 2018 Siutila and Havaste 2019), the notion of “attention seeking” is widely used to dismiss women in esports and gaming (Ruberg et al. This chapter will focus on how mainstream pornographic themes appear to embed the notion that women gamers and esports players are “attention seeking.” While there is widely reported hostility and ambivalence toward the presence and participation of women in esports (Loebenberg 2018 Ruvalcaba et al. The erotic imagery that is discussed in the final section is selected from the cosplay of Meg Turney and Raychul Moore, who are both high-profile early adopters and prominent contributors in this cultural sector. The examples of Overwatch and esports porn discussed in this chapter have been selected because of their prominent circulation on pornography tube sites like Pornhub and XVideos. This backstory is especially relevant in the erotic portrayal of D.Va-who according to Blizzard Entertainment’s official lore is a former esports champion.
#PLAYWATCH MAGAZINE 4 LICENSE#
Footnote 1 While this material often takes deliberate artistic license with their depiction of the Overwatch heroes, in the processes of reproducing the characters into a sexualized context the artists and performers involved carefully convey a sense of their official aesthetic and backstory. It also prominently features in animated pornography made with 3D game engines and various other forms of fan-made art, which for reasons of space will not be discussed in this chapter.
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Overwatch pornography is made in many formats, from professional pornographic digital films available only to subscribers, and repurposed footage of online sex workers from webcam modeling sites, to high-quality erotic photography available through OnlyFans or Patreon subscriptions to streaming or cosplay microcelebrities. While Overwatch attracted this quality of attention from many, not all of those interested in “Overwatch” pornography may consider themselves players, nor do all players necessarily make use of these pornographic materials. In January 2017, only a little over half a year since the game’s release, Pornhub announced that “Overwatch” was the 11th most common search term for 2016 in their annual “Year in Review” (Pornhub’s 2016 Year in Review 2017). As such, it encapsulates the contemporary zeitgeist of the intersection of pornography and esports. The problematic pornographic themes reinforce the notion that Overwatch-and by extension esports, and gaming cultures more broadly-are predominantly masculine and do not welcome women.
In the case of Overwatch pornography, several misogynistic themes from pornography re-surface, but in a manner that is demonstratively peculiar to the sensibilities of the game.
Both mainstream pornography and gaming cultures, of which Overwatch is a part, have widely identified misogynistic elements (Consalvo 2012 Tranchese and Sugiura 2021). Discusses misogyny in gaming cultures by examining the misogynistic themes in mainstream pornography featuring Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment 2016).
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