Feature articles

When the Voice Reveals the Body: Embodiment and Barriers in Esports

March 24, 2025

Egil Trasti Rogstad
Nord University

In just a few decades, esports has evolved from a narrow interest to a global industry worth billions of dollars, where professional gamers compete at a level comparable to traditional athletes. In this digital arena of competition, there is a widespread notion that sex and body do not matter. In this virtual world, where players represent themselves through avatars and screen names, you might think that identity and physical appearance are irrelevant – that it’s the skills that count and that everyone is on an equal footing.

But behind the screens hides another struggle – a struggle that is about body and sex, and skin color, among other things. Because in practice, it is not the case that the body can be completely disconnected from virtual reality. Especially for women players, the body is often brought into the game in unexpected and challenging ways. Technological interfaces, such as microphones, make it impossible to be completely anonymous in esports. When a woman player uses her voice to communicate in team-based games, her sex is immediately exposed – and that’s when the social barriers can appear.

Even in virtual environments, where body and sex should be irrelevant, social norms and expectations emerge – whether through the voice, the representation of avatars, or notions of who ‘fits in’.

This perspective is illuminated in my latest book chapter “Virtuell kroppsliggjøring og kroppens sosiale betydning i esport” [Virtual embodiment and the body’s social significance in esports], where I draw on the Swedish researcher Jenny Sundén’s theory of “online embodiment”.[1] The theory challenges the idea that digital spaces are sanctuaries where one can escape the social significance of the body. On the contrary, as I show, technology often brings embodiment into the game in ways that can exclude, marginalize and shape the experience of belonging – especially for women.

A strong example of this is the story of Chiquita Evans, who in 2019 became the first woman to participate in the prestigious NBA 2K league. Evans’s entry into the league was celebrated as a historic breakthrough for women in esports, but her experiences quickly showed how sex identity can still be a challenge in the digital space. In a team-based game like NBA 2K, communication is the key to success. For Chiquita, it was therefore necessary to use her voice to collaborate with her teammates – to discuss strategy, signal movements and build effective interactions. But the moment she used the microphone and her teammates understood that she was a woman, the dynamic changed drastically. Suddenly, she found herself systematically excluded from the game – the team refused to pass the ball to her, making it impossible for her to participate on an equal footing with the others. What was supposed to be a digital arena for collaboration and competition instead became an arena for exclusion, where her sex was used as a reason to prevent her participation.

Evans described how she had to work harder than her male competitors to be taken seriously. She had continuously to prove that she deserved her place and was met with comments that put her skills and right to participate under the microscope. This shows that embodiment in esports is not only about the physical body, but also about how technology – such as microphones – amplifies the experience of sex and body in the digital space. And even though esports is an activity where you do not physically compete on a court, it is still the body that often determines whether you are included or excluded. Even in virtual environments, where body and sex should be irrelevant, social norms and expectations emerge – whether through the voice, the representation of avatars, or notions of who ‘fits in’. This bodily presence becomes especially noticeable when players deviate from what is perceived as the norm in the esports community, which is still strongly characterized by masculine ideals. Therefore, it is important to understand how technology contributes to embodiment and how this affects women’s experiences in esports. For many female gamers, the fear of harassment and exclusion leads them to choose to hide their identity or avoid the use of their voice, which in turn reinforces the underrepresentation of women in esports. Highlighting stories like Evans’s is an important step toward more inclusive gaming environments where everyone can participate and feel a sense of belonging – regardless of sex.

To combat these invisible barriers, active work must be done on several levels. Game developers should contribute by promoting diverse and realistic representations in their games. Esports organizations must have clear policies against discrimination and harassment. And perhaps most importantly, we must challenge the cultural expectations that limit women’s participation in both physical and digital spaces. Evans’s experiences remind us that even in a world where most things take place through screens and avatars, the body is never completely absent. It is present in the voice, in the representations, and in the perceptions of who ‘belongs’ in a particular environment. Recognizing and understanding this is an important step towards creating a more equitable and inclusive esports world, where everyone – regardless of sex, body, or background – can participate and succeed on an equal footing. It’s not just about playing to win – it’s also about fighting for the right to be part of the game.