All about women in gaming

The male-dominated world of gaming hasn’t been very inclusive—but it’s changing.

“It’s much better than what l’ve heard stories about,” says Judy Kristensen, one half of the gaming duo HisandHersLive with her husband Andrew. “Women have had to deal with sexist comments and rejection when it comes to competitive gaming for a long time. My experience in the esports community has been very positive, and I’m so proud to be part of the change.”

The Libraries and HisandHersLive are hosting an Apex Legends JukaBowl Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7:00 p.m. to promote the representation of women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community in the gaming industry.

The Libraries is also hosting an online talk by Judy and Andrew from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. before the tournament begins. Judy will discuss her path through gaming as well as the development of her tournament series and the importance of highlighting female gamers in a male-dominated environment. Andrew will discuss some of the technicalities of streaming, particularly when creating a dual stream setup.

Register your team here by Friday, Oct. 29 to participate in the tournament, which will be conducted remotely and be streamed live on the Libraries Twitch channel. At least one player from each three-player team must identify as female or non-binary, and one player has to be an NC State student, faculty, or staff member. Compete and you could win an elite gaming headset.

Through HisandHersLive, Andrew and Judy Kristensen created JukaBowl, a tournament series promoting women in gaming for Apex Legends. To date, they’ve raised and given back to the community over $100,000 in prizes. JukaBowl’s success has led to a contract with EA Sports to run tournaments.

“Andrew was always a gamer while I didn’t play my first video game until 2019,” Judy says. “I’ve always been competitive, and he knew gaming would be a perfect fit for me. Thankfully he was very patient and encouraging while I learned how to play. We hope to promote other couples to game together and encourage women to play competitively.”  

The Libraries has also been promoting inclusivity in gaming through its Raiders of the Lost Arcade series, as well as diversity in STEM fields more generally through its Making Space series. HisandHersLive is a perfect partnership match.

“The Libraries wanted to partner with HisandHersLive because they are active in the Apex community, especially when it comes to promoting women and non-binary folks in gaming,” says Lara Fountaine, Community Engagement & Visitor Relations Librarian. “Their tournament series, JukaBowl, was developed to highlight women in gaming, especially among a traditionally male-dominated game. I also wanted to partner with them because their stream setup is very unique. They're a streaming duo, and the way they've been able to develop their stream so that you can see both Judy and Andrew playing is really neat and complex!”