Stigma and Digital Constrains as Inhibiting Factors for the Social Mobility of Gamers

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of stigma faced by professional esports athletes as an emerging socio-professional group. Using data from public opinion surveys, industry reviews, and international research, it shows that institutional recognition of esports in Russia has substantially outpaced its legitimation in everyday consciousness. The article proposes a four-component typology of stigma (including the bodily, characterologi-cal, gender-based, and professional-status-based components), which was reconstructed from E. Goffman’s approach. The study also identifies the phenomenon of simultaneous contradictory institutional decisions – an acknowledgement of esports as a sport and the medicalization of gaming activities. A counterintuitive effect of increased gender-based stigma against the backdrop of a growing female audience is documented. It is ar-gued that digital constrains of 2024–2026 have formed a new technology-driven layer of stigma specific to the Russian context. Theoretical implications for the sociology of professions of the digital era are outlined.