SweetieGames

Razer has been a brand at the forefront of the girl gamer aesthetic. Sanrio collabs, pink headsets with kitty ears, pink keyboards, pink mice, pink gamer chairs, the list goes on. They’ve made it very clear that they are happy to profit from girl gamers, so how come one of their latest ads features harmful misogynistic stereotypes?

The ad in question, posted to the Razer TikTok, is selling their noise cancelling headsets and has the following caption: “Don’t let yapping get in the way of your winning 🗣️ The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro’s Active Noise Cancellation on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation cuts through the chatter, so you only hear what matters.” The 16 second video follows a man who uses the noise cancelling function to drown out a woman who is “yapping” to him while he plays games and also walks down a corridor while wearing them. As of writing this article on October 28th, the ad is still live on their TikTok despite heavy backlash.

It is extremely disappointing to see a gaming brand as big as Razer perpetuating misogynistic stereotypes about women, while also pushing outdated views that men play video games while their girlfriends “yap” at them about things they aren’t interested in. In 2025, there are so many better and more creative ways of advertising a noise cancelling feature in a gaming headset, so why fall back on old and unfunny tropes?

It is especially frustrating to see this coming from a brand that is charging premium rates for gaming accessories targeted at girl gamers, with some reviewers commenting on the most recent Sanrio collab’s poor quality. Tech content creator peachietech commented that some Cinnamoroll collab accessories had markups from non collab Razer items of nearly 40% for the headset and a whopping 75% for the mouse and both were of poor quality. These products are clearly targeted at girl gamers and Razer is asking them to pay far more for bad quality products, but they have no issue making jokes at women’s expense and allowing toxic masculinity to continue in the gaming community.

Comments on the TikTok were a mixed bag, with half of the comments being from disappointed women pointing out that the advert was harmful, and sharing the names of companies that other women can buy gaming accessories from in the future. The other half were from people commenting that women are too sensitive, or can’t take a joke, or how they are going to be buying more Razer products purely because of this ad. The video may only be 16 seconds long, and the joke is tired and unfunny, but what is truly concerning is the intention behind it and the message it sends to its audience. In a time where the vast majority of female gamers, nearly half of the gaming community as a whole, have experienced online harassment, threats and more, appealing to men in toxic circles is particularly upsetting. We need to see change and a zero tolerance policy towards misogyny and hate speech from not only the gaming companies and service providers themselves, but anyone involved in providing for the gaming community. That includes companies selling accessories!

Razer has kept the video live despite backlash, done nothing to combat misogyny in the comment section of their video, and have continued to advertise their feminine gaming products since posting that video. It may seem like a harmless joke to some, but their lack of action speaks volumes; they only care about the cash in the wallet of a girl gamer. Looks like I will be picking up my next cute headset elsewhere.