A new advertisement from Razer is making the rounds on TikTok and proving, yet again, that old-fashioned sexism in gaming is alive and well. Though meant to help promote the tech company’s noise cancelling headphones, the ad instead reinforces the stereotype that women–who make up 48% of all gamers, by the way–simply can’t stop talking.
Accompanied by the caption “Don’t let yapping get in the way of your winning,” the ad (first noticed by PC Gamer) depicts a man and woman sitting on a couch together. The man, both holding a controller and wearing a headset, awkwardly shuffles as the woman emphatically speaks to him. After a few moments, he decides to activate the headset’s Active Noise Cancellation feature. The woman’s voice is drowned out, while the text on the video reads: “Active Noise Cancellation: On, Drama: Off.” As of October 23, the advertisement is still up on TikTok.
Considering Razer’s history of making cute accessories geared towards female audiences, the advertisement comes as a bit of a shock. Though the ad might not be intentionally sexist, it plays into long-standing gender roles and is extremely dismissive towards the large population of women who also play video games. Coincidentally, a recent study by the Entertainment Software Association found there is a “nearly equal gender split” among video game players.