Twitch has added support for more than 350 new streamer tags, including tags for “queer,” “transgender,” “Vtubers,” and many, many more. Many of the new tags are geared specifically towards gender, sexual orientation, nationality, mental health, and ability.
No changes have been made to how tags work–the new tags simply allow for streamers to have more options when it comes describing what their stream is all about and to help viewers find streams that may be of interest to them.
In regards to the “transgender” tag specifically, Twitch says the tag was one of the community’s most requested, and that “the simple truth is [Twitch] should have done this sooner.”
In a blog post about the new tags, Twitch goes on to explain why it took so many years for tags focused on gender and sexual orientation to be added.
“We intentionally designed that system for creators to be able to describe what they were streaming, not who they were or what they stood for,” the blog states. “We have maintained this distinction since that time, and we were wrong.”
Twitch goes on to say that “it took us too long” to understand that there should be more ways for creators “to share who they are and issues they care about.”
The new tags were created in cooperation with organizations like GLAAD, The Trevor Project, AbleGamers, and other groups “focused on the progress of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and marginalized communities.”
Twitch also recently added a new “Pool, Hot tub, and Beach” stream category to its platform in an effort to combat what many in the community began to refer to as “the hot tub meta” dominating the platform’s “Just Chatting” category.
GameSpot will be raising money for AbleGamers as part of “Play For All,” an upcoming, multi-week event which includes coverage of the summer’s biggest gaming news while also raising money for causes close to our hearts. You can read more about Play For All here.