Hello! Once again, Eurogamer is marking Pride with a week of features celebrating the intersection of queer culture and gaming. Today, Ed Nightingale talks to Emi “Captain Fluke” —the most prominent trans caster in sports — about the past, present, and future of LGBTQ + representation in the industry.
“If I can use the position I’m in from the kind of privileges I’ve been given here in the world of sports, I have to make sure I can leave it better than I came in, and then I’ll be able to leave. I’m happy with what I did “.
Emi “Captain Fluke” is a sports presenter covering Rainbow Six: Siege and Valorant. In fact, it became the first openly trans caster of a sports major, a pioneering position that has come with ups and downs.
He started experimenting with games and content on YouTube. Since he always liked to talk about games, he tried some comments with friends. Over time, these flows were noticed and she was eventually offered a paid job, which led her to become a full-time sports presenter.
Much of this passion was tied to the siege. “The siege was a game I fell in love with,” he says. “I think it scratched that itch in my brain where I love shooting games, but I love the possibility of creative solutions. And that’s the core of Siege for me.”
Sports as an industry have a reputation for being toxic and unwelcoming to anyone other than a white cis heterosexual man. But that is slowly changing, as more diverse players and casters come together.
“It’s definitely been an experience,” Emi says. “[Abuse] it happens in a kind of day to day. It’s something where it is, no matter how uncomfortable it is to say, I hope a lot of 13/14 year olds don’t really have those opinions, but they just have the idea that they mean things to hurt people. They want to be nervous, they want to be confronted. They are teenagers and feel invincible.
“I also know that there is a great community that, while it may not be vocal every day, they look at me and look at the rest of the LGBTQ + community, and they see someone behind them.
“They’re not giving it, but every now and then you’ll get a ‘thank you for what you’re doing’ message. And I think it’s that weird dichotomy of people who want to hurt you. The strongest, and the people who want someone look further into them they will be silent because they need it most. ”
Just a quick video about my thoughts that day and being LGBT + in sports. pic.twitter.com/kM4YVk03gB
– Emi | Fluke (@CaptainFluke) May 11, 2021 To view this content, enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings
Undoubtedly, Emi was wary of going out into the industry. She began the transition before becoming a professional sports presenter, but as she says, “Never stop going out. There’s no end.”
Eventually, as his work grew, he realized he had to go out in public. However, online games are a very young and immature industry, while the advent of voice chat became “a great incubator for that troubled energy of teenagers who thought they had a room where they could say anything”.
“A very strange and toxic environment has been created that is slowly being cleaned up,” he says. “But I think [coming out] it had an element of “I know this isn’t going to be great.” Well, I have to do it because … shit. ”
As her notoriety has grown, Emi has received a lot of positive support from her closest colleagues. “I haven’t had any kind of negative interaction in terms of anyone I’ve worked with directly,” he says.
And as his career has developed alongside other already established casters, his colleagues have supported him on his journey.
“They’ve had questions, I think it’s always something I’ll never shy away from or close,” he says. “I think it’s obvious when someone is curious and someone who is malicious. I know it’s often said that we shouldn’t be the educators of people, but they should try to educate themselves. But I understand a lot that I’m the first of this industry to do this, at this level.I am the first with whom many of these people have an interaction.I have to be receptive to the idea that people will have questions.
“And I have to understand that I will have to answer it while I’m in this role. I’m very excited about the future where there are more people in this role and it becomes less of a thing. That has put me off and I can disagree a bit and “But I know that my responsibility right now is to be able to answer at least some of these questions.”
Rainbow Six Bear: Siege.
What also impacts the audience are the games themselves. Last year, Siege added his first trans character to Osa, as well as a visually impaired character, a gay character, a Native American character, and, more recently, a non-binary character.
“I want to give a shout out to all the editorial staff behind the game, and the creative staff, because they’ve been working on a fantastic push for diversity,” Emi says.
And Ubisoft is facing a tough battle. “Siege was originally built with this protomilitary style. It attracts a lot of younger cis white players, and especially male players,” says Emi. “Per [Ubisoft] to continue “fuck, we will continue to push for more openness and diversity,” I think it’s great what they’re doing. And I think it’s the hardest audience to do. ”
Valuing, on the other hand, has a more inclusive audience because Riot has built the game from the ground up to have a diverse list of playable characters that appeal to a wider audience and to focus on women in sports with The Game Changers.
“[Riot] he has been very open and accepting towards this ideal, ”says Emi. of audience has one of the highest populations of people who are not men. And that’s rare in sports. ”
In short, when the games themselves are more diverse and inclusive, they attract a more diverse and inclusive audience. This is something Riot and Ubisoft are well aware of, although in the past they have been criticized for their less than progressive corporate cultures.
“It’s naturally appealing to you to see things you can relate to. And it makes you get into the atmosphere, it takes you into the environment, we support the teams where you can see each other,” says Emi. “And that’s something these games have built and have an audience thanks to that.”
Emi “Captain Fluke”.
Emi has had great success in her role, in particular, she recently won the Gayming Magazine Award for Best LGBTQ Contribution to Sports. And while she feels pressure to be the first openly trans sports pitcher and a sense of responsibility as a role model, she also aims to stay on the ground.
“I think the pressure I felt was that it had to be perfect, which no one is. Social media has tricked you into thinking that,” he says. “So I think there’s this pressure that I felt from ‘I always have to make sure I don’t slip.’ But then the understanding and understanding is that I haven’t done it to this point. with which I think I can sleep and with which I am happy, because it is already “.
Earlier this year, the first Six Major Siege tournament of the year was held in Charlotte, North Carolina. And, after the pandemic, this allowed Emi to meet the fans in person for the first time.
“Having so many people of diverse gender or allies or who know someone, who approach and talk and can only have conversations with these people, was a time when I feel like I’m doing something good,” he says. .
“And it’s what allows you to move on because otherwise people are worried because it’s not doing enough. But I think that to people who matter, you’re always doing more than you’ll ever know. And sometimes you have to do it. .remember that. ”
As a result of the visibility of Emi – and other diverse casters – the face of sports is starting to change and people who take up positions are realizing it. The future is certainly more positive, compared to the toxic reputation of sports.
“I see all the faces that come out, that break the mold of what is understood,” says Emi. “And the talent they have is what comes from a passion that I think has finally been unlocked by being able to see people like them represented at the highest level.”