Within Smash there are several high profile Smash players like CT | Nyani and Aether | Xaltis who regularly attend and even commentate at events. Community projects like Smash Sisters, special side events hosted at tournaments for female players, have trans-women competing regardless of their current status within transition. "I'd say [Smash] is a safe haven from problems at home," Cosmic Witch, a trans Smasher, told us. "Everyone is supportive and very nice." Xaltis, who attended the first Smash Sisters event, also had a glowing review: "Smash Sisters has done wonders for me, the all girls event allowing me to participate even though I am trans made me feel great about myself."
The First #SmashSisters Event Had Crew Battles At Genesis 3
While the Smash Sisters event was heavily praised, Nyani mentioned that some trans-women who had not yet transitioned were worried about if they belonged at the event: "The heartbreaking part for me was seeing that there were certainly a few pre-transition individuals who expressed not feeling like they belonged. Though i felt that it came more from a personal place of shyness rather than them feeling the environment didn't welcome them." However, she was firm in saying, "Smash Sisters is for ALL the sisters."
Some have expressed concern with the potential for trolls or those trying to 'make a statement' to potentially bring down the event as well due to its acceptance of pre-transitioned competitors. "Why shouldn't, say, notorious troll Angel Cortes don a dress and claim to be trans for a day just to try and snipe some prize money?" Nyani wondered. "The idea here is that we don't really define being of the female gender by looks or anything and gender identity is something that only you can know for sure about yourself. There's no solid grounds to refute them doing so, and challenging someone on it gets into the sketchy territory of aggressively gendering someone."
Despite this, she felt confident such a thing would likely not happen, or if it did, it wouldn't be very impactful. "I think the big thing is that so far, there has been no actual prize money involved in Smash Sisters events. So really, aside from just trying to 'make some kind of statement', there's not much reason for anyone to try to do that. Even if they did, wouldn't it more so just make the statement that Smashers are just super accepting of everyone? Overall the most important thing is that it seems the events are being respected, and if it's an attitude of respect we're seeing then efforts to undermine these events from within the community should be pretty uncommon."
Xaltis With A Luma In Tow
Even outside of events catering to women, many trans Smashers have found attending live events to be a very positive experience after transitioning. "The majority of the smash community seems to treat me as if nothing has changed," Snakeee, another transgender Smasher, told us. "I definitely prefer that over people being negative about it, but really I appreciate the ones that notice my changes in a positive light, and even pay me compliments."
Xaltis recalled her first time coming out to the community at a major event: "My first event I came out to the community was EVO 2015. Only my South Florida scene knew about me at that time. But most of the Smash community at EVO was accepting of it."
As sad as it is, even within our accepting community there are still dangers for these women at events. "Nobody should have to have any worries when attending events! Trans, CIS, purple, elves, even Sonic mains. Everyone should be able to waltz in worry free, pal around with the other players, and smash some bros." Nyani said. "However, I understand that this is not the world we live in."
Xaltis discussed on how the community still has issues despite its generally positive nature: "Not every player has been supportive of this, some have even said negative things about it. Stream chats continue to remain negative about it, but I think over time they will get better."
Nyani herself was personally outed as trans during some serious issues involving Alex Strife, a once prominent tournament organizer for the Apex tournament series. Other trans-women receive harassment at events as well. "For events there is the stream chat and maybe a few people who will give you weird looks," Xaltis explained. "This also goes to when you get food at places near the event." Nyani also added, "A lot of people fail to realize is, especially for trans people early in transition, or those of a lower level of passing, the threat of violence can be very real."
With these risks in mind, Nyani had ideas on how events could be made a better place for trans-women to attend: "I think the biggest thing is probably something that carries over from society in general, and that's respecting the identities of trans people based not so much on what you see, but on who they feel they are. Or more simply, don't judge non-passing trans individuals, especially behind their backs. A lot of us are coming from different points in transition, some further along than others. So, some people may be eager to use pronouns that fit their desired gender, while some may be shy to start doing so until they feel they're 'passing'. Same goes with names, and clothing."
A unique issue with players transitioning in the community is the alias they use while gaming. "A lot of long-time members of the community have been finding the confidence to transition in recent years," Nyani told us. "A VERY important thing about this is that if they choose to change tags, that needs to be respected. In Smash, a tag is basically your name within the scene. As such, a lot of trans individuals, myself included, will associate an old tag with their old self, and very much prefer not to be called by it. I don't want to hear any 'Hey didn't you used to be (x)' types of comments - focus more on the now."
Both Nyani and Xaltis had words of encouragement for those within the community who are transgender. "Believe in yourself," Nyani said. "If you feel your identity doesn't match your gender role, physical presentation, or what have you, don't get caught up wondering if that makes you weird, defective, or if it's just silly. You are who you are, and nobody knows that better than you. A lot of people are going to have a lot of things to say about it, but at the end of the day, what's the MOST important, is what YOU think about you. Learn to value your view of yourself above all others, learn to love yourself for who you are, and you'll be invincible."
Xaltis had this to say: "I always wish I would have come out and started everything when I was younger. But MAKE SURE your families would be okay with it; in some cases families are not always supportive of the transgender lives and make it hard on their kids.
Don't be afraid to be yourself, whether you're a trans girl or a trans boy. Everyone should be welcomed in the Smash community. Just have fun and play the game while hanging out with your buddies. There's many people who are accepting of transgender people, so don't be discouraged if you come across a couple who aren't accepting or supportive of you."
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Editor's Note: We may have room to improve, but as a whole our community is a positive force in the world of competitive eSports. As transgender women break barriers within eSports and find acceptance, hopefully our community serves as a shining example of how things should be done. Our community can accept any and all with open arms, and all are welcome here on Smashboards. Feel free to discuss in the comments, but be sure to keep things clean.
