As one of the UK’s most followed female broadcasters on Twitch, Djarii embraces her work as a full-time content creator. It’s a career choice she seemed destined to make.
“Some of my first memories around video gaming were being in a store with my dad, and he asked me what color I wanted,” said Djarii, a partner with Elgato, a provider of hardware and software for content creators. “I didn’t know what my father was talking about. I just said ‘yellow.’ I ended up with a Game Boy in Pokemon yellow.”
Part of an extended family
For Djarii and countless others, gaming has served as a much-needed respite from life’s daily problems.
“As a kid, I was bullied and excluded a lot, so gaming became my escape,” she said. “Even in high school I was bullied. I would so look forward to going home and logging on and playing with my guildies, and feeling like this is some place where I fit in.”
Girl power
Women supporting other women is personal for Djarii. It’s no secret women face their own set of challenges when it comes to the gaming space and content creation. It’s so important to stick up for them, and call out toxic behavior. “It’s really tough being in this space. I should know,” Djarii said. “At the start, I didn’t have many allies. It’s lonely, so be an ally, and create this network of women.”
Djarii believes in protecting and taking care of each other. “We need to go above and beyond and out of our way to look out for our fellow ladies in this space.”
Reaching out to others
Djarii says it’s essential that minorities in the gaming community be recognized.
“I think it’s super important to see LGBTQ characters. You know, there are a lot of games where you feel like you can’t relate to the protagonist, and that’s isolating. That’s why it’s important to create characters that relate to all of us.”
A woman of many talents
Djarii’s roots on Twitch, like many, began in gaming. She participates in video games in numerous genres, from mmorpg to fps. Currently, Djarii is best known for her creative body art content.
In 2017, Djarii began combining her talents for drawing, gaming, and makeup, and introduced bodypainting to a new audience through Twitch. In 2018, she became one of Twitch’s first ambassadors.
As for her work in gaming, Djarii reiterated, “It’s so important to see a part of you in the characters you play, and it goes a long way in terms of making you feel like you’re a part of this community. Gaming has always been this safe space for us. It’s a place to get away from the real world, and there shouldn’t be anyone who’s not invited.”