The Overrepresentation of Cisgender Men in Esports Research

Aim: This perspective article aimed to explore the balance in gender diversity of participants in empirical esports research.

Methods and results: Publications listed in the Esports Research Network academic research database were examined, and the number and characteristics of participants utilized within the research were recorded. 120 publications and 85,765 participants were included in the analysis. Analysis revealed that 65 studies (54.17%) included cisgender (i.e., a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth) men and cisgender women, 20 studies (16.67%) included cisgender men only, and 2 studies (1.67%) included cisgender women only. Fourteen studies (11.67%) included cisgender men, cisgender women and transgender (i.e., a person whose gender identity differs to their sex assigned at birth) participants, and 0 studies included only transgender people. The remaining 19 studies (15.83%) only provided the number of either cisgender men or cisgender women, with no other details regarding the sex or gender of other participants. Out of the 85,765 participants, 69,698 cisgender men (81.27%), 13,907 cisgender women (16.22%), 94 transgender participants (0.11%), and 2,066 participants of unknown gender or sex (2.41%) were included.

Conclusions: Cisgender men inclusion in esports research appears to be notably higher than cisgender women and transgender folks, and future research should address this disparity.