1. Introduction
[1.1] The popularity of professional sports (e.g., National Football League, Major League Soccer, etc.) has resulted in the creation of extended communication spaces that allow fans to build further connection and community outside of game day interactions, that is, fandoms (McMurtry and Frías 2018). Rising in ubiquity, and parallel to professional sports, is the competitive video game sport industry esports, which has seen a similar rise in fandoms surrounding key players, teams, video games, and streamers. Previous communication-based research on esports fandoms has sought to uncover fans' motivations for supporting and watching esports (Barney and Pennington 2023), as well as identify predictors between esports fandoms and professional sports fandoms (Brown et al. 2018). However, a dearth of research remains on esports fandom experiences. As such, this symposium, based on four rich case studies, seeks to explore the role of memorable messages in esports fandoms in influencing how esports players who identify with historically marginalized identities perceive their positionality and belonging within esports.
2. Marginalization and esports
[2.1] Over the last decade, video games have grown from a casual form of entertainment played at home or in video game arcades to a new form of competitive and professional sports (see Pizzo et al. 2022 for a full review of esports history). As argued by Anthony D. Pizzo et al. (2022), esports involve human-to-human competitions and do not include human versus digital opponents (i.e., artificial intelligence). Due to the digital nature of esports, people can connect locally and globally, as they are able to play, watch, stream, create, and discuss their favorite games and players with like-minded community members from around the world as players, content creators, and fans.
[2.2] While esports have grown in popularity, providing the space for people interested in gaming to come together, the community is not without its challenges. Scholarship has argued that esports remain clouded by stigmas, stereotypes, and a perceived toxic culture (Pizzo et al. 2022; Rusk and Ståhl 2024). Within the United States, video games have traditionally been considered masculine, white, and privileged (e.g., requiring significant time and money) spaces (Rusk and Ståhl 2024). Thus, research has argued that the culture is toxic, particularly toward historically marginalized groups as both players and fans (e.g., women; Black, Indigenous, people of color [BIPOC]; LGBTQIA+; Chidi-Ogbolu 2024; Pizzo et al. 2023). This toxicity often manifests through verbal abuse (Darvin et al. 2020; Fletcher 2020; Orme 2021) and other forms of discrimination and harassment (e.g., exclusion from gaming, little to no representation in games, etc.; Hayday et al. 2021). This exclusion and toxicity is not just limited to gaming but also occurs on content creation and streaming platforms, such as Reddit, Discord, and Twitch (Cisternino 2024; Todd and Melancon 2019), which have fandom forums and subcommunities dedicated to specific games, players, and content creators.
[2.3] Interestingly, this exclusion runs counter to the perspective that sports should encourage socialization and promote character-building (Pizzo et al. 2022; Tang 2018). While several studies allude to a toxic culture that may limit the participation of historically marginalized people (Darvin et al. 2020; Fletcher 2020; Hayday et al. 2021), there is a dearth of research on how people who identify with historically marginalized identities may experience messaging about their position and belonging within esports communities and fandoms.
3. Theory of memorable messages
[3.1] The theory of memorable messages refers to the idea that sticky messages (i.e., distinct communication units) are messages that remain with a person over time and are "influential to the message receiver through behavior or identity formation and assessment" (Cooke-Jackson and Rubinsky 2022, 2683). In other words, they are messages that are considered significant to a person over the course of their lifetime that play a role in expectation building and decision-making (e.g., what someone should expect during a large life event, how someone should feel about their identity, how someone should perceive their role in a community, etc.). A memorable message can take many conversational forms ranging from direct advice and fables to ambient sociocultural messaging (e.g., girls do not play video games; Cooke-Jackson and Rubinsky 2022).
[3.2] Memorable messages are important to consider as memories help us navigate everyday life, shape our identities, and guide our behaviors (Cooke-Jackson and Rubinsky 2017). Memorable messages have been explored through a variety of topics such as mental health (Kuang et al. 2021), educational experiences (Kaufmann et al. 2021), and socialization into new organizations (Barge and Schlueter 2009). Importantly, scholars have argued that memorable messages can help encourage motivation and connection in times of uncertainty (Kaufmann et al. 2021) and promote resilience during adverse experiences (Kuang et al. 2021). To date, scholars have not considered the role of memorable messages in esports fandoms; however, memorable messages may play a pivotal role in the experiences of people from historically marginalized groups within these communities.
4. Methods
[4.1] Four interviews were conducted with esports players over the age of eighteen who identified with one or more historically marginalized identities (e.g., woman, person of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, etc.). The definition of esports player in this research is based on the work of Nikita Khromov et al. (2019), who defined an esports player as someone who plays single or multiplayer online games competitively, competing in sanctioned international leagues or tournaments, or playing on an officially registered team. An esports player may not have an esports contract, but does have relevant game skills or status. Within this research, we did not consider political groups a historically marginalized identity. Participants were recruited via listservs, university-affiliated esports teams, social media platforms like Facebook, communities/forums on Reddit and Discord, and snowball sampling.
[4.2] The four interviews conducted sought to provide preliminary insights into historically marginalized esports players' experiences in esports fandoms as demographic data reports that 75 percent of United States gamers/fans identify as white (Clement 2024) and 72 percent identify as male (Pangarkar 2025). Already a small community, the focus on a small dataset in this research allowed for in-depth engagement with the richness of participants' responses and also allowed for the researchers to engage in a situated, reflexive interpretation of the data in line with the data analysis methodology, thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2019; Geertz 1973). Future research should expand on the preliminary findings of this work and consider using larger sample sizes, as well as different data collection methodologies to gain further insights into historically marginalized esports players' fandom experiences.
Table 1. Participant pseudonyms and self-descriptions
| Participant Pseudonym | Participant Self-Description |
|---|---|
| Kate | Self-identified bisexual woman with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) |
| James | Self-identified man of color |
| Rene | Self-identified woman of color |
| Alex | Self-identified nonbinary |
[4.3] The interview protocol and recruitment materials were Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved. During the interviews, questions sought to create space for participants to discuss their experiences and memorable messages they experienced in esports fandoms. The interviews resulted in 164 minutes of audio (average interview time forty-one minutes) and 139 pages of transcribed data.
[4.4] Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke's (2006) six stages of thematic analysis (i.e., familiarization with data, thorough and systematic coding of the data, theme development, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report) were used to analyze the data looking for individual and collective experiences related to memorable messages for marginalized community members in esports. Each member of the research team first reviewed the data to get a comprehensive understanding of the dataset as a whole. Second, each member of the research team developed individual codes to make sense of the data. In a one-hour meaning-making session, individual codes were brought together and collapsed into overarching themes. During this session, the themes generated were reviewed against the dataset as a whole to make sure that the themes were representative of the dataset. Themes were then finalized and defined. Representative quotes were pulled from the interviews that illustrate the themes. Quotes from participants were not edited in any way (e.g., eliminating vocal fillers, correcting tense, etc.) to maintain the integrity of participants' responses.
5. Defining esports fandoms
[5.1] Participants described esports fandoms as including professional/competitive players, casual gamers, and nonplaying watchers, and described the significantly intertwined and fluid nature of actual gameplay and fandoms. Specifically, participants explained that within esports, someone can simultaneously be a player (i.e., creating the original content of the fandom), a creator of fandom content (e.g., creating game edits or discussing game strategies), and a passive consumer of original/fandom content (i.e., engaging in fandoms outside of gameplay). For example, throughout their interview Alex described fitting into all three categories fluidly as an active esports player, subreddit moderator, and consumer of fandom content (e.g., listening to YouTuber game commentators like Markiplier and attending the 2023 Valorant Champions competition). Kate similarly held multiple changing roles as an esports player and now esports team liaison and event coordinator. Rene also held positions as an esports player and a creator of fandom content "making some stories based on that lore [of Mobile Legends]."
[5.2] This definition of fandoms as including both gameplay and the creation/consumption of fan content actively and passively is distinct from other nongaming fandoms (e.g., movies and books) and professional sports fandoms, which do not provide the same levels of autonomy, fluidity, and engagement to community members. While we recognize that nongaming creators (e.g., authors and producers) and professional sports players may take fan thoughts and opinions into account, there is still a level of separation in authorship of the original/source content. Esports provide additional levels of authorship and autonomy to community members. Therefore, because esports gaming and fandoms are extremely interlinked, participants often did not differentiate during the interview the role they were in (i.e., player, fandom content creator, consumer) when they received memorable messages about their position and acceptance within esports, ultimately communicating the idea of being a player and fan as coequal.
6. Identity-based messages
[6.1] Participants described receiving memorable messages about identity representation in esports during gameplay, through discourse in fandoms, and through broader societal messaging. These messages often communicated inclusion and exclusion of what identities were allowed, welcome, and valued in esports spaces. Specifically, participants (1) described that video game characters from historically marginalized identity groups were often not considered strong or desirable characters, (2) shared the harmful messages they experienced as members of esports fandoms, (3) explained how broader societal messaging impacted their decisions and ability to join the esports community at large, and (4) communicated how they resisted toxic, marginalizing messages.
[6.2] Participants explained that women were not considered strong characters in games and described how this knowledge was readily discussed within gaming fandoms. Rene explained how she initially did not choose a specific character because "I was like, wow she's so girly, I don't like her." Rene went on to further explain that "some players think of women as a bit weak. Not just weak, but, by weak I mean that women usually play [the support roles]." Considering women weak was twofold, as Rene described that (1) women characters in games may have limited abilities and that (2) other players may assume the player behind the character is also not good at the game because they might be a woman. These messages were communicated to Rene during live gameplay, as well as through interactions in the fandom communities she subscribed to learn more about the games' stories and lores. Over time, Rene realized that this was a character she enjoyed playing as and decided to play as this character regardless of the messaging she received from others. But Rene did note that this came at a cost. Other players interacted with her differently when she played as that character as, Rene explained, "there's this stereotype that like girls mainly use her or even worse, like she's a slut, she's basically sexualized."
[6.3] Rene and Alex also shared stories of hate speech they encountered while engaging in esports fandoms on different platforms like Discord and Reddit. Rene explained that some of her friends with ADHD shared how toxic esports fandoms can be for neurodivergent folks, stating, "[Fandoms on Discord are] not a place for people who are marginalized, especially for those with mental health stuff." As a result, she "intentionally stays away" from these communities. As a moderator for a subreddit on a popular esports game, Alex described how exhausting it was to read degrading and dehumanizing comments about women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community from fellow esports community members: "I have deleted unreal comments of just, things people say, where it's like, even though they're not said directly to me, it's just so emotionally draining to like, know that there's people that believe this about me." Rene and Alex both mentioned that these interactions could get discouraging over time.
[6.4] Overall, broader societal messaging played a role in how participants perceived their role in esports. In all four interviews, participants mentioned expecting some sort of hateful treatment from fellow esports players, content creators, or consumers/fans because of ambient social messaging about the video game community. For example, Alex recounted that they grew up watching their father as a programmer and their brother playing video games, but they were not supported in their interest in playing because of being raised a girl. Alex explained, "It was the family PC, but I never used it because he [their brother] was always on it. And so, I didn't really get the opportunity to game growing up." Alex shared the memorable message that "it was kind of like, oh, well, 'girls don't do that as much.' And so it was, like, not as supported." Alex explained that following gaming content creators like Markiplier and jacksepticeye during this time helped keep them connected to gaming fandoms when they were not able to play, acting as their "access and window to gaming," until they built their own computer at 19. James described an assumed toxicity of esports having played off and on since being a kid, stating, "Playing video games in general is pretty toxic. Because when you're playing online, it's always gonna be toxic no matter what." Rene explained that she did not play video games growing up because she initially thought esports were "toxic and competitive" based on what she heard from her brothers and societal messaging. It was not until an online class during COVID-19 required her to game that she got connected to esports herself. Lastly, after describing a situation in which Kate's gender was weaponized against her by a fellow esports teammate, Kate explained that "going into it [gaming] since a young age, I knew as a woman in gaming, they get, not exactly the best treatment all the time." Kate continued on to express that "I feel like esports will always be dominated by men. It's kind of like the upper echelon esports will always be dominated by men just because it's like a men thing. Sports and stuff is more of a men thing."
[6.5] Although everything from the depictions of characters in the games to the fandoms and broader sociocultural messaging sought to communicate exclusion, participants found ways to build community and resist exclusionary, toxic, and harmful messages that they encountered when engaging in esports and esports fandoms at large. Kate mentioned being "stubborn as fuck" in the face of marginalization and explained that after she left some toxic gaming fandoms and groups, she was "happier and better in this community." Kate described how her participation in esports fandoms resulted in lifelong friendships: "I met my best friend in esports." James and Rene similarly expressed how esports fandoms resulted in valuable friendships in person and online that they still maintain today. Alex talked about building fandom communities for people who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community and working with mentors who specifically support LGBTQIA+ players. Alex also explained the importance of the fandom community surrounding Potter (Christine Chi), one of the most successful female Valorant coaches, for challenging narratives that women cannot play or coach esports teams at the same level as their male counterparts.
7. Conclusion
[7.1] Just one stream of a popular esports event (e.g., actual gameplay, content creator stream, fan-created content, etc.) could include tens of thousands of messages that relate positively and/or negatively to marginalized communities. Thus, through four exploratory case studies, this symposium sought to focus on the messages that marginalized people described as memorable when engaging in esports fandoms to helping identify trends in which messages, negative and positive, are most impactful. Participants ultimately shared that the construction of esports fandoms, being heavily interconnected into gameplay, resulted in messages communicated to them, about them, and around them that set specific expectations of treatment and perceptions of acceptance within esports. Overarchingly, these messages perpetuated exclusion and subjugation based on identity in esports fandoms. Although participants mentioned being "stubborn as fuck" in the face of this harmful rhetoric and messaging, over time, repeated messages can result in a variety of negative outcomes ranging from a decline in mental health to leaving the esports fandoms entirely.
[7.2] From a young age, memorable messages played a role in participants' understanding of who is allowed to play, connect, and engage with the esports fandom, as well as set the precedent to expect toxicity if one chooses to become a member of esports fandoms. In line with current research, the findings above demonstrate that memorable messages experienced within esports fandoms, based on identity, can have a significant impact on one's perception of self and sense of belonging within a community (e.g., staying away from gaming because they assumed it to be toxic or expecting hate speech because of being a woman in esports; Cooke-Jackson and Rubinsky 2022; Orme 2021). Narratives within these fandoms today still reinforce harmful stereotypes and perpetuate the idea that esports are masculine, white, and privileged spaces in which historically marginalized identities should be excluded or are seen as lesser (Darvin et al. 2020; Pizzo et al. 2023). These narratives even go so far as to set the expectation that the culture in these spaces will never change because, as Kate described, "the upper echelon esports will always be dominated by men."
[7.3] However, changing the memorable messaging discourse related to and within esports and its fandoms may be an important starting point for countering the ambient sociocultural messaging of inclusion in esports. Memorable messages can serve as an avenue to transfer knowledge, motivate collective action, and change community norms. Participants in this study described their own resistance to toxic and harmful messaging by carving out spaces to build community for themselves when ones did not exist, supporting and developing fandoms around women seeking to move up in the world of esports, and fostering friendships and cultivating mentoring relationships with others who also identified with historically marginalized identities.
[7.4] Overall, this research sought to understand the role of memorable messages in historically marginalized esports players' perceptions of esports fandoms. As a preliminary case study exploration into the memorable messages within esports, some areas for future inquiry may include the role of memorable messages related to nationalism versus globalism, resilience for overcoming toxic experiences, and a more granular exploration of individual versus team game experiences in esports. Disrupting exclusionary memorable messages within esports and its fandoms as expecting and assuming toxicity based on identity is an important step for fostering more equitable and inclusive gaming fandoms.