It’s not easy being a woman streamer, and the last few months have made it even harder. Social media accounts that target and denigrate high-profile Twitch streamers (who are often women or people of color) were once relegated to the more obscure corners of the internet; now they’re pushed to the top of the X algorithm. In March, three high-profile women streamers were stalked while streaming at the Santa Monica Pier, igniting a conversation about the dangers and difficulties of being so visible in a world increasingly dominated by misogyny.
Imane “Pokimane” Anys and Leslie “Fuslie” Fu are two wildly popular Twitch streamers (with 9.4 million and 1.2 million followers, respectively) who are both women of color and got their starts streaming Riot Games’ multiplayer online battle arena, League of Legends. For them, existence is an act of resistance, and success is a sign that they have overcome the odds stacked against them — their Twitch streams never delve into drama content or rage bait, offering instead a steady flow of sweetness, like a content chocolate fountain.
With nearly 10 million followers on Twitch, 6 million on Instagram, and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Imane “Pokimane” Anys is the most successful female Twitch streamer ever. She’s been creating content for over a decade and leveraged her success to start a talent management and brand consulting firm (RTS) and a healthy snack line called Myna. Speaking with Anys, it’s clear that the 28-year-old has had some impressive media training — she is bright, peppy, and positive for most of our chat, effortlessly threading the needle between addressing the issues women streamers face and preaching positivity.
She compliments other female streamers who have supported her journey, discusses how she finds a happy medium when expressing herself on streams, and brings up Hazelight Studios’ co-op game, Split Fiction (which both she and Fu have played on their streams to promote the game’s limited-time Friend Edition). As for attempts by the more reactionary corners of the internet to label the game “woke” because of its two female protagonists, named after Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares’ daughters? Anys calls the entire ordeal “kooky beans.”
“If that was on Twitter, I wouldn’t be surprised. Sometimes people just be saying stuff,” she says cheerily. “But I freakin’ love that Josef felt comfortable to express his thoughts in regard to this. I can only imagine the pressure on any developer or any game company in responding to comments like that. So, I really appreciate that he was so outspoken about it.”
Outspokenness is not often appreciated online, especially when the person speaking is a woman of color (even if that woman is as Disney-Princess-sweet as Anys). Couple that with the increased visibility of Twitch streaming, which can (and has) resulted in truly scary situations, like the man who accosted Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Brittany “Cinna” Watts, and Emily “Emiru” Schunk during an IRL livestream in March. It’s easy to wonder if Anys has ever felt overwhelmed by it all.
“There are moments where I was like, ‘This is a lot, but I can feel the support of people online and in my close circle, that makes me feel like I can overcome this,’” Anys says. “As crazy as it might sound, I felt like I had no choice but to overcome those difficult moments, especially because I had certain financial goals in terms of taking care of my parents or repaying them for their sacrifices, or wanting to achieve something. It felt like, yeah, this might suck, but what other choice do I have?’ There have also been moments, especially in the last two years, where I’m like, ‘this is just too much for one brain and one heart to handle. Maybe I should take a step back.’”
Anys has taken steps back before — in 2022, she announced a hiatus from streaming, and just a few weeks ago, she said on X (formerly Twitter) that she needed “a little break from the internet.” For her, the ability to take these moments to self-reflect away from the spotlight is a privileged position, one that’s only come thanks to her success.
“I’m really grateful,” she says. “I have the power to pick and choose, as opposed to just feeling forced to make a certain decision. I can take all the knowledge that I’ve gained and know when to push forward and push through, and maybe fight for certain causes and things that I believe in … it doesn’t get so overwhelming that I want to quit everything and move to some random farm.”
When asked if she ever gets exhausted, Anys cuts in before the question is finished, saying, “Although it can be exhausting, I wanted to interject and say, it can be equally fulfilling. Nothing hits harder than someone saying you inspired me.”
Speaking of inspiration, Leslie “Fuslie” Fu, owes part of her success to Anys and the Pokimane brand. Though the Chinese-American Twitch streamer is more off-the-cuff than Anys and slightly goofier, with a tendency to go on tangents (something she herself warns me of), it was Anys that inspired her to begin streaming League of Legends on Twitch.
“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years,” Fu, who started her stream career while getting her Master’s degree in education, says. “There’s been so many highs and so many lows — which is kind of how I define streaming.”
Fu’s highs include establishing a core group of “streamer friends” and following in the footsteps of Asian-American content creators like Ryan Higa and Michelle Phan, whom she looked up to as a young woman, long before she became a Twitch streamer.
“I grew up watching their content and realizing they were like me, they looked like me. I felt safer and more inspired to put myself out there because they did first, they paved the way,” Fu says. “As a child, I saw their faces. I saw that it was okay to do what they’re doing, that I could be successful at it. Without them, I never would have tried what I’m trying.”
Fu’s full-circle moment came when members of her Twitch community said, “Leslie, that’s how you are for me,” and she realized that she had become a role model for so many young Asian Americans.
“Sometimes I forget that I’m a woman, I forget that I’m Asian. And then someone will be like, ‘Thank you for doing this. You make me feel safe.’ If I can create a space where they feel safe and show them somebody that looks like them, it’s really special,” Fu explains.
But what about the lows? How does she reckon with being such a visible woman of color in a space still dominated by people who don’t look like her?
“It’s been pretty brutal, especially the past year,” Fu admits. “I want to say, with my whole heart, that it’s gotten easier and it’s great to see more representation, but, sadly, I think it’s gotten worse, especially social media, especially Twitter. It has been nothing short of draining. My solution has just been to kind of get off of it entirely, which is sad.”
That solution protects her somewhat from the rage-bait accounts like Drama Alert, which often focus on painting popular women streamers like Anys and Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter in a negative light.
“I used to be able to use so many platforms and feel safe, and find my people there, and now half the time it’s just rage-baiting, there are a lot of people just saying things to get you to say something back,” Fu laments. “I face less harassment because I’m not there as much, so [the harassment] kind of falls on deaf ears. It takes a special kind of mind to see everything online and continue to engage or to stay online with a positive attitude. I can’t say there’s a solution. It just sucks.”
Whenever she does get harassed, Fu reminds herself of how hard she’s worked to get here. “Sometimes it just feels like you want to give up, but then I realize, ‘No, I have spent 10 years building a career, creating a community, online, offline — there is way too much here that’s actually positive,’” Fu says.
Though Anys and Fu are very different women with different personalities, interests, communities, and more, they share similar sentiments about their path to Twitch fame and how others can follow in their footsteps (yes, they do think streaming is a viable option for young women and people of color, even in the current climate).
“Lean on those that are either similar to you or that you feel comfortable with, because I would not have made it as far as I have in streaming if it wasn’t for my female streamer friends or my male streamer friends who were supportive and kind and understanding,” Anys suggests For her, a solid support system is crucial when facing the seemingly endless criticism of people on the internet, as is doggedly refusing to give up on a dream.
“It’s good to remind yourself that you can still accomplish anything you want … try to be the one who proves everyone else wrong.”
Fu looks to fellow women to act as a lighthouse in the stormy sea.
“While [harassment] sucks, there is a form of empowerment that comes with finding other women in this space,” Fu says. “Sometimes I’ll even queue into an all-girl lobby, and those are magical.”
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