Ryan Gill

Abstract:

Esports have increased in popularity as seen with the wide audience that it attracts. Arenas are packed with fans and players are beginning to make large salaries (Baldino, 2022). The beauty of Esports is that it can easily be a co-ed sport, as it is without physical differences. The unfortunate reality of Esports, much like many other industries, is that women are underrepresented since a woman is not in top esports earnings totals until number 343, Canadian player Scarlett who has earnings just over $400,000 while women are almost half of all video game players (Baldino, 2022). In a recent Ted Talk, Mary Baldino conveyed what it feels like for women in esports, explaining how difficult it is for them. A rhetorical analysis of her impactful talk was evaluated to pull out Baldino’s arguments and reasons behind the gender disparity in Esports. Through examining the Ted Talk and outside research it can be seen that most female gamers go through three stages of Esports participation that ends with deterrence because of confidence issues derived from male harassment and hostility (Kim, 2022). Baldino’s rhetorical arguments follow this timeline, as she uses first hand accounts and logos to engage the audience. References: Berger, A. A. (2020). Rhetorical Analysis. In Media and Communication Research Methods: An introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches. essay, SAGE. Brinton, A. (n.d.). Pathos and the “Appeal to Emotion”: An Aristotelian Analysis. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/27743856?read-now=1&googleloggedin=true Kim, S. J., & Kim, Y. S. (2022). Gender Inequality in eSport Participation: Exploring the Social Process of Women eSport Consumers. Journal of Sport Behavior, 45(4), 79-107. http://ezproxy.siena.edu:2048/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fgender-inequality-esport-participation-exploring%2Fdocview%2F2757120877%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13858 Varpio L. (2018). Using rhetorical appeals to credibility, logic, and emotions to increase your persuasiveness. Perspectives on medical education, 7(3), 207–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-018-0420-2 YouTube. (2022). We Just Want to Play; What it’s Like for Women in eSports | Mary Baldino | TEDxDayton. YouTube. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBSdzJI8AL4&ab_channel=TEDxTalks.