Women On Twitch Go Without Makeup To Support A Fellow Streamer (2024)

Earlier this week, one of the most followed streamers on Twitch, Pokimane, surprised viewers by kicking off her stream sans makeup. On Monday, the Fortnite player, podcaster, and IRL streamer decided she’d walk her fans through what it takes to do her makeup for one of those streams. It ended up touching off a wide conversation about women, makeup, and unrealistic expectations.

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Early on in the stream, Pokimane even predicted that there might be backlash to her showing her naked face, but she still felt like this was an important thing for her to do. “I know not having makeup on is unusual, and some people might meme me for it, or say whatever,” she said. “But I think it’s good to not always just be promoting ‘I look like this naturally.’ Because girls just don’t. When you have makeup on, you look like you have makeup on.”

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What happened next was, given the nature of the internet, inevitable: a barrage of insults pointed Pokimane’s way from men and teenage boys. Fortunately, this was quickly followed up by a wave of support for Pokimane, as fans and other streamers rallied behind her to point out that that people’s expectations were unreasonable, and that nobody’s face is naturally up to society’s absurd standards all the time.

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“Hate to break it to you, but if you think you’re going to find a girl who looks flawless with and without makeup, you’re going to have a hard time,” said Omen community manager and streamer Sloane. “Also you have to be really insecure to make fun of someone else’s looks. Time to grow up.”

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“People shocked about how Pokimane looks w/o makeup just outing that they probably haven’t had a girlfriend. Even worse outing that they’ve never had a female friend consider them close enough to hang out with no makeup on. Big yikes,” said League of Legends analyst Mark Zimmerman.

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“If all these internet kids are surprised that Pokimane looks different without makeup, they’re going to be really surprised what I look like when I have yet to feast upon the blood of innocents to preserve my eternal life that day,” said game designer and streamer Brian Kibler.

Other women streamers even began posting pictures of themselves without makeup, in order to demonstrate how much effort goes into it and that—shock of all shocks—they, like Pokimane, look different with and without makeup!

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“This is gonna sound crazy but...did you KNOW that girls aren’t born with black lines on their eyes, their skin isn’t flawless, and get this, their hair isn’t perfect when they wake up either???? WOW THIS IS SUCH CRAZY NEW INFO FASCINATING DISCOVERY,” said Twitch and Discord partner Girlwithyellowspoon in a tweet accompanying makeup-free pictures of herself.

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“For Pokimane and every girl in the world: Rock the bare look, or a face full of makeup,” tweeted Miisty, another streamer who posted a picture of herself. “Rock your hair all messy, or completely done up. You’re beautiful no matter what you decide to do. If you judge someone for ‘too much makeup’ or lack thereof, you can frick off dudes.”

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Men having unrealistic expectations of women’s appearances is hardly a new thing, but one of the central selling points of Twitch is the perceived accessibility of streamers. Viewers can, in theory, spend whole mornings, afternoons, or even days with their favorite streamers, getting a front-row seat to intimate spaces like their homes and bedrooms. That does not mean, however, that streamers can just let their hair down on stream. It may seem like they’re your virtual pal kicking back, having a laugh, and playing video games, but it’s a performance—one that can take a toll over time. This goes double for women, who are expected to look all at once flawless and natural, so as not to break the illusion that they’re just regular people chilling out.

“When it comes to online personalities, especially popular ones, they’re often held to the same standard as your typical entertainment celebrity. In short, all perfect all the time,” Miisty told Kotaku in a DM.

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Pokimane, other streamers say, is very good at makeup, which may have added to viewers’ surprise at seeing her without it. “Her makeup is super clean and natural looking,” streamer and cosplayer Tiger Lily, who also posted pictures of herself in support of Pokimane, told Kotaku in a DM. “It accentuates her natural features rather than adding unnecessary focal points (like dark lipstick on a mouth or dark eyeshadow on the eyes, etc).”

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“If you don’t know anything about how makeup works, you might think she barely wears makeup at all,” Tiger Lily said. “So I think people were shocked when their perfect image of her was shattered by the fact that she doesn’t look like that all the time. They were shocked to the point that they thought they had been ‘duped,’ when in reality they were just ignorant about the ways makeup works and also ignorant to the pressures women face to look beautiful all the time.”

Both Miisty and Tiger Lily decided to post pictures of themselves because, among other reasons, they didn’t want Pokimane to feel like she was staring down the inconsolable hordes all by herself.

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“I just wanted to call out the fact that Pokimane chose to be brave, vulnerable and human with her fans, and that it was met with immaturity,” said Tiger Lily. “Even though I don’t know her personally, I didn’t want her to be alone facing all that criticism.”

“To be honest I’ve never posted a picture with zero makeup and zero photo editing,” said Miisty. “For years the thought never crossed my mind, it was to always look Instagram/Twitter perfect. Makeup, no blemishes, filters, etc. I still look at the tweet I posted, and my stomach starts aching all over again. But I’m happy that I did it. To show support for Poki, women who are struggling with self image issues, and myself.”

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Though the experience can’t have been pleasant, Pokimane seems to be taking things in stride, reacting to a comment from a pro Halo player about how she’s “hoarding the world’s greatest skin care routine from the rest of us” by posting her whole skincare routine and thanking her supporters.

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“I’m at peace with myself, my body & my imperfections, and I wish the same someday for anyone who feels the need to hate on someone else for such shallow reasons,” she tweeted yesterday.

Today, she posted a series of no-makeup selfies to “conclude” the saga. “No one looks good 24/7, and a lot of different things can affect someone’s appearance!” she wrote. “We’re all only human, so let’s be kind to one another.”

Women On Twitch Go Without Makeup To Support A Fellow Streamer (2024)

FAQs

Women On Twitch Go Without Makeup To Support A Fellow Streamer? ›

Earlier this week, one of the most followed streamers on Twitch, Pokimane, surprised viewers by kicking off her stream sans makeup. On Monday, the Fortnite player, podcaster, and IRL streamer decided she'd walk her fans through what it takes to do her makeup for one of those streams.

Who is the most famous female Twitch streamer? ›

Top Female Twitch Streamers
RankNameHours Watched
1ironmouse1.69M
2Gingy1.45M
3Emiru1.39
4mira1.35M
6 more rows
Feb 6, 2024

How much money do Twitch girls make? ›

Female gamers who stream live plays can earn anywhere from minimum wage to six figures. In 2020, the top-earning female Twitch streamer, Imane Anys—whose gaming alias is Pokimane on Twitch—earned more than twice the annual salary of a plastic surgeon, raking in over $550,000, according to Statista.

What percent of Twitch streamers are women? ›

Only 15.6% of Twitch streamers are female, compared to 50.4% of general population. While 17.8% of US population are Hispanic/Latino, only 10.2% of Twitch audience are latino. Only 3.9% of streamers are African Americans compared to 13.3% of us population, a significant misrepresentation.

Who has the largest female audience on Twitch? ›

As of March 2024, the most-followed channel belongs to Ninja with over 19 million followers. The female streamer with the most followers on her channel is Pokimane with just under half of Ninja's followers at 9.3 million.

Who is the most subbed female streamer on Twitch? ›

In November 2021, Kim Mi-Young, known by her Twitch username kkatamina, held the record for the most-subscribed female Twitch streamer with 73,623 subscribers until March 2022, when VTuber Ironmouse broke the record during her 31-day subathon with 171,818 subscribers.

How much do you make a month on Twitch? ›

5 – 10 average viewers: $50 – $200 per month. 20 average viewers: $200 – $400 per month. 50 average viewers: $500 – $750 per month. 100 average viewers: $1000 – $1500 per month.

What age group uses Twitch the most? ›

Twitch age demographics 2023 (%)
AgePercentage of users
16-2441
25-3432
35-4417
45-547
1 more row

Is it easier for women on Twitch? ›

My short answer is that girls tend to have an advantage of discoverability/viewership while guys tend to get shown more respect. I think the latest stats to come out said out of the top 500 streamers, 14 are women. I agree men generally are shown more respect, I say generally not always.

What games do girls play on Twitch? ›

Which games do female gamers like to play? Some of the most popular games that female streamers on Twitch like to play are CS: GO, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Call of Duty, PUBG, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. CS: Go and Fortnite, in particular, are very popular among the top female Twitch streamers.

Who is the most watched female streamer in 2024? ›

Most watched female streamers worldwide 2024, by average viewers. In June 2024, Twitch content creator Emiru had the highest number of average viewers among the most popular female streamers across several platforms.

What are streamer girls? ›

Contrary to the early days of Twitch streamers primarily being male, female gamers have carved out their own place on the site, sharing expertise and gaming talent. Twitch streamers are forces to be reckoned with as they can highlight brands and products in their streams to a variety of devoted viewers.

Who is the most popular Twitch streamer? ›

Twitch Streamers with the most followers
AVG Viewers
#1Ninja4,460
#2ibai30,984
#3auronplay41,964
#4Rubius22,937
41 more rows

Who is the girl streamer of the year? ›

Mexican Twitch streamer Samantha Rivers bags the Streamer of the Year award at the Esports Awards 2024.

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