Pokimane recently pointed out that while women might have an “easier” time breaking into Twitch, female streamers have to contend with a “glass ceiling” when they become established on the platform. She said that women have a limit to their career potential on Twitch.
“When you have 100 viewers or less, there’s so many channels that when you’re a girl, you stand out,” Pokimane explained. “Because there’s just less girls than guys on this platform.”
The comments made by Pokimane mirror those of another popular streamer, Mizkif. “I’m going to say something that’s honestly true,” Mizkif remarked. “Women have a much easier time getting the initial 100 to 200 viewers.” He went on to say that “I’m sorry, it’s just the truth. And if you don’t think that’s the truth, then you’re wrong.”
Mizkif explained that “women have a glass ceiling and it's almost impossible to get through,” noting on the other hand that “men have an infinite ceiling. They are not hard capped. Women are hard capped at a ceiling of around 600 to 1,000 viewers.”
Similar to Mizkif, Pokimane attributed the early career success of women on Twitch to their visibility. “When you’re scrolling, if you see ten guys and one girl, you’re more likely to click on the girl. They stand out more.” She however said that “at the end of the day, Twitch continues to be a male-dominated field and when it comes to content, it tends to be easier to watch people you relate to.” She went on to say that “until there’s more of an even demographic on Twitch, you’re going to have these issues.”
Pokimane pointed out that parasocial relationships frequently go hand in hand with success for women on Twitch. She said that female streamers often end up with hundreds of “parasocial viewers” early in their career. “If you only have 10 viewers, you’re giving a lot of attention to those 10 people,” she said. “When guys are watching a girl and she gets more popular, some will get bitter they aren’t getting the same attention from their queen.”
Mizkif had previously made the same remark, noting that “it’s easier for female streamers to get more viewers, but I’m telling you, they also deal with way more shit.” He added that “women deal with stalkers, they deal with annoying fucks, and they deal with men bothering them.” Pokimane has dealt with parasocial relationships before, but "that’s just how it is in streaming,” she said.
