Lanvy Nguyen grew up as a competitive kid, with activities like dance playing a significant role in her upbringing. However, after facing health challenges, her focus shifted from sports to gaming.
However, Nguyen said she wasn’t introduced to video games until later in childhood. She said her male cousins often withheld it because of her gender, even though they “were all equally kids.”
This wouldn’t be the last instance of being left out because of her gender. Even though Nguyen has been the president of the Humber Gaming Club for a year, she said she feels that many members don’t see her that way.
“Some people just don’t believe me, and I feel like it’s because of my gender. I did have experiences where I’m like, ‘Hey, you can come to me for this,’” Nguyen said. “Some people just want to disregard that and try to bring Bernard in.”
Bernard Mafei, senior administrator for Humber Esports and mentor for Nguyen, is no stranger to these concerns. Both Mafei and Nguyen said there are times when members are genuinely unsure of who to ask. Still, Mafei said he didn’t like the feeling of members not trusting Nguyen.
“I’m a guy and they go, ‘Well it’s gaming, he’s a guy, and he’s in a higher position,’” Mafei said. “There’s no reason for them to not put their faith in her as a leader.”
Nguyen isn’t the only one in the organization to face discrimination because of her gender.
Lina Shim, team lead for Humber Esport varsity teams, said although her experience is on the lower end, she’s still had her fair share of stories.
“People assume I’m not there as a staff member at events. I’m just someone’s girlfriend, or a bystander to just sit and look pretty kind of thing,” she said.
A more extreme instance she witnessed was outside of Humber Polytechnic when Shim received the opportunity to act as a team manager for the multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends (LoL).
LCS (League Championship Series) Game Changers was a program from July 2023 to September 2023. Riot Games, the developers behind LoL, hosted the event. The tournament offered opportunities to players and staff of marginalized genders.
But it didn’t work out that way.
Shim said it was normal for these events to face backlash. And in this event, the main target was trans women. Many viewers watching the event live posted derogatory comments, some even saying that trans women were taking spots from “real women”.
It eventually got to a point where comments on the tournament’s live stream had to be disabled, as viewers began accusing every single person on the screen of being transgender.
“I remember feeling powerless on what I can do because we’re just so drowned out by the majority,” Shim said.
Shim said a male colleague at the event reassured these concerns, the colleague telling Shim that it’s important that he speaks up for her and other women who endure instances of sexism like this.
“He’s right. We can only speak up so much as ourselves, especially if we feel like they’re not listening,” Shim said. “It’s nice to have the support of the people around you, and then hopefully get to a place where, if you say that once they go, ‘oh, okay’,’ and they just listen.”
Despite these challenges, Shim and Nguyen said they are both grateful for the opportunities they receive within the organization to have their voices heard.
They received an opportunity from Mafei to speak at a diversity panel at last year’s Winter EGames fundraiser hosted by Plan International, a non-profit organization focused on advancing children’s rights and equality for girls, and Mohawk College.
The event, held at the Bell Gaming Centre in Toronto last December, emphasized women’s experiences and showcased initiatives that uplift women within the esports industry.
Nguyen said being able to speak at this event was the biggest highlight of her esports career that year.
“Especially for marginalized groups, it’s really nice to see that there’s more girls in this industry,” Nguyen said. “It makes you feel like you’re actually having my voice heard and I feel like I’m making a difference for the other little girls out there that want to play video games like boys do.”
Shim said despite her initial shyness, the event left a mark on her as a woman in the esports industry.
“There were amazing women talking about their experiences and how much they do and I’m like, damn, they’re so cool and so smart,” Shim said. “I would just love more opportunities for other people to feel and experience that because of all the assumptions and what women feel.”
Alyssa Gray, a former team manager for the first-person shooting video game Valorant with Humber Esports, said a reason it was important for her to hold that position was to show that women belong in esports.
“Even if I have to work twice as hard to prove myself to people, prove that I can do this job. I don’t want to give people what they want,” she said. “I don’t want to let them drive me out of this community, because why would I do that?”
