Sports, both physical and online have been seen to revolve mostly among the male gender, however women have also been involved in sports since the early days even though it wasn’t so common in many cultures. We interviewed few Nigerian women in esports to find out what it means to them to be gamers and the first interview we’ll be putting up is one with Kittie, a professional player and an entrepreneur.
In Antient Greece, Women participated in foot races at some festivals and Spartan women participated in wrestling, discus and other such games as men did.
In this modern age, women have also flooded the sporting industries playing football, tennis, basketball, wrestling and the likes and becoming professionals while at it, bagging worldwide recognitions and awards. In this same manner, women have been invoved in the esports industry in Africa and the world as nearly half of the world’s gamers are women and girls, however only a few of them are professionals in the industry.
Q: Please introduce yourself
A: I’m Oke Denise Marilyn, an entrepreneur and a gamer
Q: I know gamers have a special name what’s yours?
A: Kittie
Q: What games are you involved in and what do you like about esports?
A: I play call of duty mobile, mortal Kombat, God of war, GTA and a host of other videos games. I love that esports is diverse and competitive.
Q: Do you think there are games particular to men or women?
A: No, I don’t think there are games particular to women, both male and female can play all types of games.
Q:What is your favorite memory associated with esports and how long have you participated in it?
A: My favorite memory associated with Esports is playing with my fellow teammates in a team called AwesomeMina, each and every girl there rocks, shout out to them. I’ve made some beautiful friendship in esports. I’ve been playing games since I was about 9/10 years old.
Q: Are there opportunities for women in esports in Nigeria?
A: Yes, there are lots of opportunities for female gamers, we can also participate in competitions alongsides our male counterparts.
Q: Do you look up to any female gamer? Who and why?
A: I look up to myself actually, I’m a great female gamer although I rarely have time to play games these days.
Q: As a lady in an industry dominated by men, do you feel intimidated sometimes?
A: No, I never feel intimated, I only get appalled by the toxicity from the males sometimes.
Q: On a scale of 0-10 how would you rate the toxicity from male gamers
A: From male gamers, 7/10. Although, I’m toxic myself🥶😹
Q: What do you think the biggest barrier females in Nigeria face in esports is?
A: The biggest barrier I think females in Nigeria face in esports is fear and the toxicity from the esports community. Fear of their male counterparts beating them or dominating them in games.
Q: What do you think can be done about this?
A: I just feel more ladies should actually be courageous, they can get as good or even better than the males
Q: What does it mean to you to be a woman in esports?
A: Being a woman in esports means you’re strong and courageous. Kudos to all women in esports.
Q: What team do you play with now?
A: I’m with Outlaws at the moment, although I’m not in the comp team because I don’t play competitions for now, I’m quite busy.
Q: Do you have any achievements in the industry?
A: I’ve won several competitions
Nominated for Rog: Most beautiful female of the year
Rog: Best female gamer of the year
WKD: Best female gamer of the year
Q: Impressive! What advice will you give to a young women in esports just starting off ?
A: As a young girl starting off in esports, I’ll advice you to always be relentless, practice, don’t be scared of anyone, you can always be at the top.
Q: Do you mind dropping your handles on social media?
A: Snapchat: Kittiesplash1
Instagram: Kittiesplash
Twitter: Kittiesplash
Q: Thank you so much for your time, it was nice chatting with you.
A: You’re welcome
One beautiful female gamer here, you can check her out on social media and drop comments on this post if you have any, we still have more beautiful women in esports to interview, make sure you keep checking out this website for fresh updates.
