Pride Month Streamer Spotlight: MxPlumbee on Twitch | Game Rant
June may be almost over but it’s still Pride Month, meaning lots of LGBTQ community members are still celebrating how far the LGBTQ community has come since the start of the movement. While June is a time for the community to come together to celebrate the joy of being LGBTQ, it’s also time to reflect on how much work remains to be done. Additionally, LGBTQ voices should be highlighted all year long, not just during June.
In celebration of Pride Month, Game Rant talked to a variety of LGBTQ Twitch streamers to make sure their voices are heard during Pride Month. Up next in the Spotlight is MxPlumbee, a variety Twitch streamer who tends to specialize in comfy, cozy games and vibes. MxPlumbee, also known as Bee, hasn’t even been streaming for a full year yet but has already created a fantastic community on Twitch for themselves and others.
Bee started streaming in October 2020, so xe are coming up on celebrating a full year of streaming. They originally started streaming because they saw how The Sims content creators on YouTube turned to Twitch to stream other games and connect more easily with their community. Bee also recently graduated from university and moved back home during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, so xe found that streaming was a good “temporary solution” for xir loneliness, but it turned into a lot more.
"So, rural Wisconsin is not the most queer, disabled person friendly, and I'd just come from uni where I'd been very out and outspoken about who I was and very involved. So I decided to start streaming myself for the opportunity to build my own community centered around the values I have."
Their moniker, MxPlumbee, is a combination of three different things. First, “Mx” is the gender-neutral honorific, so those who don’t want “Mr” or “Ms” as an honorific use “Mx” instead. Bee has a background in education, so xe are used to using Mx. The “Plum” part of their name comes from The Sims’ plumbob, the green diamond-like shape that appears over Sims’ heads in-game. Finally, “bee” is xir name, Bee.
Despite being on Twitch now, Bee actually didn’t get to play a lot of games growing up. Bee is very open on stream about the childhood xe had, talking about how xe had to focus on school and family relationships more than anything else. Aside from watching their siblings play video games, Bee only really got to play one game—The Sims.
"The Sims will always have a special place in my heart. Even if at some point it didn't become the game we played the most often, I think it would always hold a special spot for me as the game that got me on the platform, the game that I started with, and kind of the game that introduced me to the realm of video games."
Bee also talked about how fun it’s been to see The Sims evolve into a “more directly queer supportive game,” especially The Sims 4 with some updates that have removed some of the gendered aspects of the game. They also love the storytelling and creativity that comes with playing The Sims, as well as how it can help queer people explore their own identities.
"My mom was always like, 'Why are all your relationships, um, gay?' And I'm like, 'I don't know! Don't ask me questions!' It all makes sense now."
While The Sims will always be a special game to Bee, it’s not the only game xe play on Twitch. Their top three games are The Sims, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley, saying that they tend to stream a lot of “cozy simulation games.” While those games are the most common for xem, they aren’t the only games played on stream. If there’s a special stream or co-op happening, Bee is more likely to branch outside of that cozy space but otherwise, they mostly focus on community engagement without playing super intensive games.
While there’s no wrong way to stream, Bee knows that xir streams are not as high energy as other streamers, but that’s okay with xem. Bee talked about feeling “a little lost at sea” when not fitting the mold of having high-energy streams, but knows that there are so many different consumers out there that there’s definitely an audience for every kind of content. Xe also know xe have xir limits as a disabled person and can only manage so much at a time, so having a cozy stream suits xem just fine.
"The relationships you build I think is the coolest thing, like if I were to stop streaming tomorrow, I have built several relationships that I am confident would continue with community members, with mods, with fellow streamers that have moved far beyond the realm of Twitch and streaming."
Bee loves that they’ve been able to make long-lasting friendships with people and curated a community that doesn’t judge them, instead being incredibly supportive. Xe also enjoy the connection xe get to have with xir community on Discord and Twitch, as the latter is designed in a way that makes connection very easy. While they’ve made a lot of lasting friendships online, they still know that parasocial relationships are applicable when streaming and they can’t get to know every viewer they have.
The best thing Bee has been able to do from the start of xir channel is setting up clear boundaries and reminding viewers of them often. While numbers are important to growing on Twitch, to Bee it’s more important to create a welcoming space and community for others. If that means dropping “the ban hammer” on one person who’s not fitting in with the rest of the community, it’s worth it to keep the others safe instead of focusing on keeping every viewer purely for numbers.
"I've gotten to the point where there are nine million other broadcasters, so you can go find someone else to put up with your shenanigans, but it's not me."
Bee has a background in education, so xir platform is used to educate people and help facilitate conversations about important topics. However, what’s most difficult for Bee when navigating Twitch is how accessible it is, especially to disabled creators:
“There's a lot of 'hustle culture' involved with Twitch and content creation which is very ableist and hard to keep up with sometimes. I would love one day for this to be able to be a steady form of income for me. I don't think I would ever rely on Twitch fundamentally, as it's just too dangerous to do that, but I would love to see it become more consistent for me, just as a disabled creator who really has a hard time finding a position in the regular industries that accommodates me. Whereas being your own boss, you can kind of accommodate yourself."
Besides streaming cozy games on Twitch or collaborating with others, Bee is a co-host of the Humans of Twitch, a different channel dedicated to interviewing and telling the stories of other streamers. Bee always loved the Humans of New York style of content, and one day it struck them that they now have a platform and could do something similar to it. Xe believe in the idea of vulnerability being used to help people connect, and Humans of Twitch taps into that vulnerability and the creation of empathy.
Bee can be found on Twitch, TikTok, and Twitter at MxPlumbee. Those looking for a cozy experience should drop by xir stream for a fun time. Viewers who are interested in learning about other streamers on Twitch should stop by the Humans of Twitch stream, which is actually booked with guests until 2022. Bee may not be partnered yet, but they can only go up from here.
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