I Stream, You Stream, We all Stream: Gender, Labour, and the Politics of Online Streaming

This dissertation examines the experiences of women who livestream videogames on the Twitch.tv platform. Like other areas of video game culture, participation in livestreaming is shaped considerably by identity, making the space more welcoming and accessible to some, while excluding and ostracizing others. To date, much of the research that has been done in the area of streaming is concerned with streamers who have a large following and/or derive their main source of income from streaming. Rather than directing more attention to those streamers who have attained success as Twitch would frame it, this study is centered around a group of streamers unique from those who are typically the focus.

Qualitative, ethnographically informed methodologies frame this research project. Data was collected from several sources using four methods. First, I examined Twitchs policies in detail. Second, I maintained my own Twitch channel for 2 weeks. Third, I purposively sampled 50 Twitch channels run by women, then recorded and analyzed 90 minutes of each of their streams (all publicly available). Finally, I conducted semi-structured interviews with five women who stream on Twitch.

Using the lens of intersectional feminism and that of affordances, I argue that the Twitch platform and its features shape, guide, limit, and even manipulate interactions between and with humans. This is especially evident when examining the myriad ways monetization of the platform influences interactions, social practices, and relationships, irrespective of any given streamers intention to monetize their channel. In particular, the transactional nature of social connections made through the Twitch platform change peoples perceptions of their relationships to each other and their sense of community.