Voost Kain
Banned
Over the weekend, a clothing company decided to release its first garment specifically targeted at women. Unfortunately, it forgot to involve any of them in the clothes’ design, creation (even though they did) or marketing.
In an emoji-filled tweet on Sunday, Indian esports clothing company Cranium Apparel shared that it wanted to “do something for the female gamers”. Something that said “Stay Strong… We Respect You”. Something that would give these hardworking women “a new identity”, and show the company’s support for them.
So, apparently in pursuit of that goal, it announced a new product. Behold: The esports dress.
Loose esports jerseys have been the industry standard uniform for competitive video gaming teams for years. The few women in the scene, such as Overwatch player Geguri, tend to wear the same jerseys as their male peers. Though some have expressed desire for a more fitted jersey so it can accommodate their breasts without being oversized, a gaming dress was not something most people contemplated.
But it’s here now, so I guess we have to deal with it.
The gaming community’s response to Cranium Apparel’s esports dress has been swift and incredulous, most finding the offering condescending. Even those who thought the dress looked cute were put off by the company’s patronising messaging, which they felt demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the concerns held by women in gaming.
Women face significant barriers when trying to enter the world of competitive gaming. Both overt and covert sexism permeate the male-dominated industry, creating a hostile environment for women who dream of becoming the next big esports star. Undue emphasis is placed upon their appearance, and their abilities are constantly called into question.
It’s a difficult and often demoralising battle, and responding to these struggles with a dress is remarkably tone-deaf.
Since the announcement, Cranium Apparel has been busy tweeting responses to the widespread criticism. It has stated that the company did conduct research with women during development of the dress, and has “a bunch of women” working on future products. It also stated that it’s working on jerseys fitted for female bodies.
This seems more of an attack on the apparel being a dress than really misunderstanding women gamers honestly.
Plus if you want to be upset at something I'd suggest the price tag of $53, that would be worth the backlash imo. Dang.
Also apparently they did consult women on the design, yet most of the articles act like it never happened and that they had no women involved. There's actually a lot more social media rage on this than I put in the thread, but I really don't see why, a good chunk of the attackers don't even seem to play games.