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71,000 times a day - this is how often the term “Simp” was used on the Twitch gamer platform last December, according to the data analysis agency Stream Hatchet.
On Twitch, gamers can broadcast computer games and receive donations from viewers who can also chat in chats.
A new guideline from Twitch forbids the word "Simp" now more or less, at least in offensive contexts one should no longer be allowed to use it there - otherwise the ban threatens.
But what does “Simp” actually mean?
According to the website "Know Your Meme", the term was first found in the English-language "Urban Dictionary" in 2005, the explanation there is: "A guy who tags along with hot girls because he thinks it will get him laid." “A man who chases after attractive women because he believes they would sleep with him.” Since 2019, “Simp” has been on a steep climb, particularly through the Tiktok social network.
Young users posted videos there in which they ironically greeted men in the "Simp Nation".
This means a reservoir for men who are unsuccessful with women, even though they invite them to dinner or do something unpleasant for them.
Meanwhile the internet is full of picture jokes that caricature “Simps”.
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Why did Twitch feel compelled to adopt the new regulations when "Simp" is just funny internet slang?
"In the online world, a 'simp' is understood to mean someone who supports a woman, for example with money, comments or likes, but who hopes for a sexual relationship in return," explains 28-year-old gamer Eva, whose account BloodyNyuu around 71,000 people follow Twitch.
“Simp” dismisses the kindness a man shows a woman as a means to an end.
Accordingly, women are manipulable beings whose right to exist is sexual availability.
So not only men are insulted with this term, it also has a misogynous core.
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23-year-old Pia knows the gaming scene by the name Shurjoka.
Over 135,000 people follow their account on Twitch.
You and Eva often observe that Twitch users refer to others as "Simp" if they were friendly to the female users.
The two women believe that this would muzzle men.
The Twitch user Waidwerk knows such a situation only too well.
He reports that he was often referred to as "Simp" - for example when he was defending a woman against sexist comments.
Waidwerk thinks that "Simp" is now being used completely outside of its meaning.
“Of course there are men who expect too much from streamers and think that they have a right to a donation through donations or the like.
However, the term itself is used today to refer to someone who agrees with a woman's opinion.
If someone feels very attacked, he might think twice next time about defending a woman. "
"Big Sexism Problem"
In the online world, the misogynous meaning of the word "Simp" increases depending on the virtual space and user group.
In the so-called Manosphere, for example in online forums of misogynistic groups like “Incels”, “Simp” is often understood as an acronym for “Sucker Who Idolizes Mediocre Pussy”.
In English: "Loser who idealizes a mediocre 'pussy'".
The use of the word “incel” is now only allowed on Twitch if it is not meant to be offensive.
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Members of this online subculture describe themselves as “involuntarily celibate” and argue that women only look for attractive men, so-called alpha men, as sexual partners.
They see themselves as unattractive “beta men” who are victims of a women's strategy because they do not have sex themselves.
According to their worldview, they are entitled to sex with a woman who is often referred to as "it" in the scene.
Thousands of followers of this movement cavort on platforms such as “Reddit” or “4chan”.
If one of your pages is closed, you will find yourself together in a new online sphere in no time.
Susanne Kaiser, author of the book "Political Masculinity: How Incels, Fundamentalists and Authoritarians Mobilize for Patriarchy", recognizes parallels in the meaning of the word "Simp" with the worldview of misogynist groups like the "Incels".
“People there believe that the sexes are fundamentally hostile to each other and play a game with each other.
In this game you only win if you bet something, ”explains Kaiser.
"A 'simp' fits this picture by definition: He's a man who manipulates women with favors in order to receive sexual consideration - and loses the game." Unsurprisingly, this essentially misogynous term at one time increases, in which misogynist groups spread more and more on the net.
"We have a big sexism problem on the Internet," says gamer Pia.
A survey by the children's rights organization Plan International last year shows that the Internet can be a dangerous space for women.
Of 1003 girls and young women from Germany, 70 percent said they had been threatened, insulted or discriminated against on social networks.
“If a woman is harassed, it is her own fault.
If it is successful, it will be asked which type it is.
You're not valued at the same level as male players, ”says Pia.
An American study from 2016, which examined over 70 million messages in the chats of 200 streamers each, came to the conclusion that the appearance of women was commented on far more often than that of the male players.
The most frequently used words in chat among female players included “breasts”, “babe” and “sweet”, while words such as “melee” and “leaderboards” appeared most frequently in male streamers' chats.
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Pia believes that the term Simp is used so often on Twitch because a change is currently taking place on the platform.
“There have never been so many successful female streamers.
This is especially a thorn in the side of those who have problems with women anyway, ”says the gamer.
The scene has long been considered a male domain, but at least since female gamers have been involved in major esports competitions, this idea has been shaken.
"Hegemonic masculinity is getting more and more difficult," explains Susanne Kaiser.
This means the idea that a man takes over the dominant social position within society while the woman submits.
This was triggered, among other things, by the #metoo debate or discussions about the criminal liability of catcalling, the undesirable, overly aggressive commenting or addressing women.
“Terms like Simp demean people and create inequality.
Some men use this word to enhance their own masculinity, ”says Kaiser.
She looks forward to the new regulation with hope: “I believe in the performative power of language.
These established ideas about men and women also come about because such terms are allowed to be used. ”Will the new regulations on Twitch actually help to ensure that the term is actually less used?
According to Stream Hatchet, the term appeared almost twice as often the day after the new guideline was promulgated: around 140,000 times.
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