‘We’ve finally made it’: Streamers ecstatic as Twitch finally add transgender tag – and hundreds more
Nikatine. (Twitter)
Twitch will be adding over 350 new tags to their platform this week in response to repeated requests and criticism from the streaming community.
The crucial new tags are related to identity rather than content, including transgender, Black and disabled tags, plus many many more.
Twitch will also be removing “ally” from the LGBTQIA+ tag – the A has been mistaken for ally, when in fact it represents the asexual community and a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities.
https://twitter.com/Twitch/status/1395912272711585793?s=20
Trans and other LGBT+ streamers have been campaigning for a trans tag for over two years, so while this news has been met with celebration, there has also been criticism about the fact the change took so long.
Twitch addressed this in their blog post.
“We’d like to thank our trans community for originally requesting the ‘transgender’ tag, and for their passion and persistence in pursuit of that request. This has been one of the most popular requests we’ve heard, and the simple truth is that we should have done this sooner,” it reads.
It explains how tags were introduced in 2018 to define stream content types rather than streamer identity, but this line was blurred with the LGBTQIA+ tag.
“We loved hearing creators share how [the LGBTQIA+ tag] has helped grow their community and discover others like them. It took us too long to embrace that there should have been hundreds of ways for creators to share who they are and issues they care about. The Twitch community is incredibly diverse and the tags available to creators should reflect and celebrate that.”
The new list of tags has been created in conjunction with specialist organisations like GLAAD, The Trevor Project, AbleGamers and SpecialEffect. Twitch will also accept suggestions on other tags, via the UserVoice platform.
https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1395913631104110593?s=20
Twitch also reiterated their Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy and moderation tools to ensure streams are kept safe.
There’s no official date on when the tags will be introduced, but on 26 May (9.30 AM PST) Twitch will be going live with more details.
Elated streamers have been sharing the news in celebration.
https://twitter.com/NikatinePrime/status/1395928119748415492?s=20
https://twitter.com/teamtranstopia/status/1395925830866456579?s=20
https://twitter.com/LuciaEverblack/status/1396620500768538626?s=20
https://twitter.com/ctrlaltquin/status/1395969741303558150?s=20
https://twitter.com/Frazleytastic/status/1395917648832213002?s=20
https://twitter.com/AnnieMayPlay/status/1395919311731109890?s=20
https://twitter.com/CriticalBard/status/1395915519484702723?s=20
The news has also been met with caution by some, partly due to the amount of time it’s taken for Twitch to implement these changes. The timing is also perfect for a Pride month PR move.
https://twitter.com/themiabyte/status/1396110779737325569?s=20
https://twitter.com/mstrssfox/status/1395918003867250689?s=20
https://twitter.com/biggusbennus1/status/1395918500808601606?s=20
https://twitter.com/ericanewgirl/status/1396142844641939456?s=20
There’s also currently a five tag limit on the platform, so some streamers are concerned this will prohibit intersectionality.
https://twitter.com/ReadySetBen/status/1396023310253797378?s=20
https://twitter.com/HeyArtie_/status/1396083905762054144?s=20
Others used it as an opportunity to remind people that these tags are not to be used by allies. They are specifically for streamers of that particular community.
https://twitter.com/the_juliancito/status/1395989992053354496?s=20
https://twitter.com/dominickevans/status/1395943526526033921?s=20
https://twitter.com/haughtychicken/status/1395958126159876103?s=20
The inclusion of a disabled tag is also not a reason to ask streamers potentially intrusive questions. The use of tags is in celebration of communities, not to point out difference.
https://twitter.com/AndreaLausell/status/1396309046630576129?s=20
https://twitter.com/ABlondeAvocado/status/1396162043590361100?s=20
For more gaming news, follow Gaymeo on Facebook. You can also email us with any news or tips on [email protected]
