Psychiatrist turned Twitch streamer Alok Kanojia, better known by his online alias of Dr K, shared an interesting take regarding the popularity of the hot tub meta dominating Twitch.
Throughout 2021, the hot tub meta has taken the Amazon-owned streaming platform by storm with many of the top entertainers on the site streaming in bikinis from pools inside of their homes.
The meta has proven to be quite controversial, with many streamers speaking out against it and pushing to have hot tub broadcasts removed from Twitch.
Others, however, such as 100 Thieves icon Rachel ‘Valkyrae’ Hoffstater don’t see the issue with them, claiming that men want to see attractive women in bikinis for free.
With the community divided, the topic of hot tub streams surfaced on Trainwrecks Scuffed Podcast, where Kanojia provided his own unique perspective on the meta.
“It feels to me like some of these streamers are, and I’m not really sure who, but when you think about it, it’s like a killing field. It’s like, you show up, you wear a bikini and like, who is the audience and what is your competition?” he stated.
In a way he is right. In terms of content, hot tub streamers themselves are the attraction and the reason why people tune in. Unlike IRL streamers who vacation places and tour the world, hot tub streams take place from a living room or sometimes an outdoor pool.
After pondering how many “naked bodies” are on other sites, Dr K wondered about the amount of scantily clad bodies on Twitch by comparison.
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“What’s the relative viewership?” he asked. “I don’t even know if people are consciously doing this, but from a psychological perspective, it’s like a cigarette company showing up at a pep rally in the [5th] grade.”
He went on to further compare the Twitch meta to women in bikinis selling beer and how it’s been done to death: “Why are people watching it on Twitch? I think there could be other elements to it, besides the sexualization.”
According to Dr K, the taboo and boundary setting of Twitch is what makes the hot tub streams even more successful.
“I wonder if they’re getting equally aroused by the fact that this is happening on Twitch,” he said.
The analogy was well-received by other members of the podcast, suggesting that he may be onto something. Regardless, however, the Twitch hot tub meta continues to be a controversial topic, so much so that even mainstream media has begun covering it.
We’ll have to see how Twitch decides to tackle this problem going forward, but for the time being, the site hasn’t announced any changes to what is and isn’t allowed to be broadcast as it pertains to hot tubs.
