Exploring the experiences and wellbeing of competitive women, transgender, and gender diverse gamers

Lolansen, C, Burleigh, TL ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3405-140X, Cahill, L ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7897-0862 and Morley, E, 2026. Exploring the experiences and wellbeing of competitive women, transgender, and gender diverse gamers. Cogent Social Sciences, 12 (1): 2635762. ISSN 2331-1886

Preview

Text 2585671_Cahill.pdf - Published version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Video gaming offers various benefits, such as social connections and improved wellbeing. However, as competitive video gaming continues to grow, gender-related harassment of women, transgender, and gender diverse (TGD) gamers in competitive environments persists. This study explored the experiences of gamers in gaming communities, their mental health, and gaming imposter syndrome across genders. The study also explored women and TGD gamers’ experiences of gender-related harassment. Findings showed that ∼87% of women and TGD gamers reported gender-related harassment and employed a range of avoidance action to minimize harassment. They also reported greater worries about engaging in gaming communities, greater gaming imposter syndrome, and poorer mental health. The findings highlight the pervasiveness of gender-related harassment in competitive video gaming and the reliance of short-term coping strategies among women and TGD gamers. While identity-specific communities may offer support, structural and cultural changes are needed to foster inclusive competitive gaming spaces.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Cogent Social Sciences
Creators:	Lolansen, C., Burleigh, T.L., Cahill, L. and Morley, E.
Publisher:	Cogent OA
Date:	2026
Volume:	12
Number:	1
ISSN:	2331-1886
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/23311886.2026.2635762 DOI 2585671 Other
Rights:	© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	05 Mar 2026 10:49
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2026 10:49
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55365

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads