Hello! Once again, Eurogamer is marking Pride with a week of features celebrating the intersection of queer culture and gaming. Today, Ed Nightingale speaks to Emi “Captain Fluke” – esports’ most prominent trans caster – about the past, present, and future of LGBTQ+ representation in the industry.
“If I can use the position that I’m in from the sort of privileges that I’ve been gifted here in esports world, then I need to make sure that I can leave it better than I came in, and then I can leave it happy with what I’ve done.”
Emi “Captain Fluke” is an esports caster covering Rainbow Six: Siege and Valorant. In fact, she became the first openly trans caster of an esports major, a trailblazing position that’s come with ups and downs.
She began by experimenting with games and content on YouTube. As she always enjoyed talking over games, she tested out some commentating with friends. Over time those streams got noticed and she was eventually offered paid work, leading her to become a full-time esports caster.
“You never stop coming out. There’s never an end to it.”
A lot of that passion was tied to Siege. “Siege was a game that I fell in love with,” she says. “I think it scratched that itch in my brain where I love shooting games, but I love the chance of creative solutions. And that is the core of Siege for me.”
Esports as an industry has a reputation for being toxic and unwelcoming for anyone who isn’t a cis white straight male. But that’s slowly changing, as more diverse players and casters are joining.
“It’s definitely been an experience,” says Emi. “[Abuse] happens on a sort of day to day basis. It’s something where it’s, as awkward as it is to say, I hope a lot of just 13/14 year olds that don’t truly hold those views, but just hold the idea that they want to say things to hurt people. They want to be edgy, they want to be confrontational. They’re teenagers, and they feel invincible.