They Will Do Anything to Make You React: Deplatforming Racists from the Brazilian Gaming Community

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48783/gameviron.v17i17.198

Keywords:

deplatforming, racism, racist, antiracism, BlackLivesMatter, Xbox, Brazil, gamevironments

Abstract

This article discusses the deplatforming of a racist content creator and streamer from the Brazilian gaming community. It raises questions about the extent of success of deplatforming when platforms are also structurally oppressive. The case being discussed started after racist harassment during #BlackLivesMatter mobilisation after Floyd; and was led by players, creators, and allies aiming for an anti-racist gaming environment in Brazil. Narrative interviews (Rosenthal 2018) were conducted with the victims and articulators to understand the construction of this coalition. Their testimonies, combined with social media materials collected during and after the event, were analysed using the intersectional roulette (Carrera 2021) and show how platform structures, companies, and Institutions present significant obstacles in enforcing their Community Guidelines, Terms of Use, reporting system, and compliance with the Law. Nevertheless, it is still a noteworthy case of social justice, representing how the strategic use of technologies can benefit collective engagement.

Author Biographies

  • Mayara Araujo Caetano, Media Studies Department at the University of Turku, Finland

    Mayara Araujo Caetano is a Doctoral researcher at the Media Studies Department at the University of Turku, Finland. She is a visiting researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at the University of Tampere, Finland. Her research focuses on sexuality in online multiplayer games or virtual environments, online sex work platforms, esports, and gaming culture in Brazil.

  • Beatriz Blanco, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), Brazil

    Beatriz Blanco is a PhD student at the research lab CULTPOP—Pop Culture, Communication, and Technologies at the Graduate Program in Communication Science at the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), Brazil, visiting scholar at the Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany, and coordinator professor at the Multimedia and Digital Games Undergraduate Programs at the University Center SENAC São Paulo, Brazil. Her research focuses on social activism and online mobilizations in the gamer culture, especially the feminist women working as gaming content creators and streamers in Brazil. 

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Published

2022-12-22

Issue

No. 17 (2022): Special Issue "Social Justice"

Section

Peer-reviewed Articles