'Breaking the stereotypes', Monika "Savage Girl Gaming" Highlights the Challenges of Being a Girl Gamer

India is emerging as a big gaming market, with over 507 million gamers playing games of different genres. With the introduction of various gaming titles, the young generation has started seeking careers in this field. However, a vast majority of gamers are still struggling to make their parents understand the scope of gaming in India. Things get even tougher if a woman wants to be a professional gamer. Despite the challenges, 43% of the 507 million gamers in India are female, according to a report by Lumikai.

Since the challenges are numerous, it becomes even more important to highlight the journey of those female gamers who have overcome the challenges in a "savage" manner. We present to you one of India's famous female gamers, Monika "Savage Girl Gaming," who is famous for engaging gameplay videos on YouTube.

Savage Girl Gaming sheds light on the challenges that female gamers face

Whether it's BGMI or any other PC title, Savage Girl Gaming has become the modern gaming sensation in the Indian gaming community. At the time of writing this article, the female streamer has 2.48 lakh subscribers on her YouTube channel, where she creates engaging gaming content and live streams. Apart from a gaming channel, the renowned female streamer also has a separate YouTube channel specifically for vlogging.

Savage started her gaming journey in 2020, during the lockdown. Speaking on her journey, Savage said, "I used to play games just for fun in college. Things started quite randomly when the entire nation was under lockdown. I told my parents about getting into gaming just because I was free and preparing my thesis for my BTech final year."

Savage also shared the problems that she faced at the beginning of her gaming career. She said, "One of the biggest problems was the toxic comments that were way too abusive and harassing. Some people used to target me by saying that I'm getting just because of my looks and not the gameplay." 

Savage further mentioned the issues that other female gamers face in the Indian gaming community. "Most female gamers in India lack support from their families." Even if they start creating gaming content, parents restrict them from continuing due to the filthy comments they get on their videos. Also, the gaming community is primarily dominated by males, female esports players are presumed to not have basic gaming skills. Hence, female gamers should have equal opportunities to showcase their talent in front of everyone."

Toxicity has been one of the major issues that female gamers have to deal with in the right manner. When asked about how Savage combats toxicity, she said, "Sometimes, we have to carry two different personalities to handle toxic viewers. Toxic comments usually get highlighted in the case of low viewing; however, when the channel grows, you get moderators who block those people who create an unnecessary mess during the live stream."

It's extremely important for the Indian gaming community to recognize female gamers' talent and eliminate stereotypes. Monika's "Savage Girl Gaming" is one of the prime examples of how a female can excel in the field of gaming. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel and follow her on Instagram; the links to them are mentioned below.

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SavageGIRLGaming

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/savagegirlgaming/?hl=en