I have been watching something strange happen. Not on the news, not in some distant corner of the internet, but right in the mainstream of our cultural attention. A growing number of our most prominent influencers are, to put it bluntly, absolute disasters. A streamer whose claim to fame includes a roach-infested house and dead rats in his kitchen. A pair of brothers who built an empire on misogyny and now face extradition on charges of rape and sex trafficking. A man who livestreamed himself harassing Black people with racial slurs, then allegedly shot one—and received over $130,000 in donations after his arrest. These are not fringe figures. They are not obscure trolls hiding in the shadows. They are some of the most visible, most followed, most celebrated personalities on the internet. And the question I keep coming back to is this: What the hell is wrong with us? At first, I thought it was simple rubbernecking. The same impulse that makes people slow down to stare at a car crash. A...
There is a controller sitting on your partner's desk, gathering dust next to the TV, or perhaps tucked into a travel case beside the bed. It has been there for years, and you have watched it being used countless times. You have seen the focus, the laughter, the frustration, the triumph. You have probably even handed it back a few times after a brief, hesitant attempt. But you have never really taken it. Not for yourself. This is an invitation to change that. Not as a favor to your partner, not as a concession to their hobby, but as an act of self-care, connection, and empowerment. Here is why. The Landscape Has Changed The first thing to understand is that gaming is no longer the male-dominated space it once was. According to the Entertainment Software Association's 2025 Global Power of Play report, 48% of video game players worldwide are women. In the United States, the gap has narrowed to 47% women and 52% men. Across 21 countries surveyed, there are actually more women playe...