The Queen of Twitch opens up about her experiences as a woman in gaming: “Have boys always been like this?”

Imane “Pokimane” Anys (26) is the most followed streamer on Twitch. Moving as a woman in a male-dominated environment is not always easy. In an interview with The New York Times, she spoke about her impressions as a woman in the gaming world.

Why is Pokimane the Queen of Twitch? Pokimane is the only woman in the top 10 Twitch streamers with the most followers worldwide. Her cheerful demeanor and family-friendly content make her an ideal showcase for the platform. She exudes an approachable girl-next-door charm.

Her colleague Amouranth, who is also extremely successful, is more likely to play the role of the stepsister like in a Disney film: Despite her popularity, there is no exclusive contract for the streamer.

Still, Pokimane has faced issues on the bright side of Twitch, too, from malicious comments to hate raids to fake pornographic footage of her and her co-workers. In an interview with the New York Times, she spoke about attitudes towards women online.

Pokimane was surprised by the level of misogyny

How does Pokimane feel about online misogyny? The streamer describes her first encounters with misogyny in the gaming world as “confusing and surprising”. She wondered if boys had always been like this.

It’s not all support within the streaming industry: many people in gaming don’t find misogyny objectionable. Pokimane says: For many, it’s not a big deal. Misogyny is detrimental to mental health.

How does Pokimane deal with misogyny? For the 26-year-old, her streaming colleagues are invaluable: they know what she’s been through and can confirm her feelings.

Having someone tell you, “No, it’s not okay,” can go a long way in keeping you from going crazy and thinking that what you’re feeling is somehow wrong.

Do nice boys turn into mean trolls during puberty?

Why are some viewers behaving like this? Pokimane has thought about this and shares her observations in the interview. She believes the accessibility and anonymity of the internet encourages negative behavior.

She also noticed something about the so-called unban requests, with which banned viewers can ask for an unban:

There are so many boys who say something at age X and three years later it’s like, ‘I’m so sorry, I have no idea why I said that and I’ve changed a lot.’ You ask yourself: Was it puberty? What has happened there? It feels like they’re trying things out. Like, “I’ll say the craziest, weirdest stuff and see what happens.”

So the streamer thinks it’s important to teach young kids how to interact with others online. This is all still unknown territory. She believes more reconciliation stories like this are possible when people realize that the things they are saying are not okay.

Pokimane brings together more than 23 million followers across their various social media accounts. In addition to the support of their fans, there are also a lot of unpleasant things that come together. However, the streamer has a system for easily bypassing social media negativity:

Twitch Streamer Pokimane Explains Why Hating Her Goes Wrong – ‘90% Of The Time I Don’t See It’