"I Love How I Can Be Myself" — M'sian Streamer Is Breaking Biases One Keystroke At A Time
With over 25,000 followers on Twitch and five years of experience streaming, Shu Faye Wong is a full-fledged streamer — but it's not the only thing that defines her.
Content creator, model, host, gamer, and Twitch streamer.
27-year-old Malaysian Shu Faye Wong holds many titles, but her identity as a gamer sparked at an early age.
Image via shufayewong (Instagram)
From playing old CD games on her PC to booting up WWE with her brother on a PlayStation 2, Shu Faye grew up in an environment filled with games.
In a conversation with SAYS, Shu Faye said that she loves being able to experience different worlds outside of real life. Being an avid lover of fantasy, she was drawn to mythical worlds filled with interesting lore — which propelled her to try even more games.
This desire to experience unique worlds ignited her passion to play games while sharing it with the rest of the world. Now, she has over five years of experience streaming video games online.
Her consistency and passion in gaming has garnered her over 25,000 followers on the streaming platform Twitch, as well as lifelong friends
Shu Faye appreciates the fact that she gets to meet new people when she streams. She loves hearing their stories, and gets ecstatic when she is able to share hers as well. As a result from interacting with the people who watch her content, Shu Faye ended up crossing paths with some people who have become her closest friends.
"I love meeting new people! It is what keeps me going," she said.
One unforgettable moment in her streaming career happened when her viewers planned a delightful surprise for her on stream
"My viewers made a discord group without me and made a PowerPoint presentation on what they loved about me and surprised me on stream. I shed tears of joy that night. One of my favourite moments definitely," she shared.
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
In the male-dominated gaming industry, Shu Faye has had to deal with sexism and harassment.
Image via MSUToday
When she initially started streaming, she was relieved to have been surrounded by a wholesome community who always supported her. But after gaining some popularity, she encountered a Facebook post that disheartened her.
Shu Faye told SAYS that the post itself was just a picture of her with an inspirational quote. However, there were an array of commentors who posted sexist and rude comments under the post.
"There were people who have never watched my stream before stereotyping me for being one of those 'typical' streamers who had no skills and showed 'assets' on stream to gain views," she exclaimed.
There were also instances when she found pictures of herself in forums, where random men were discussing her without her consent
In such cases, Shu Faye told SAYS that she would normally just contact the admin of the forum to have the images taken down. But this doesn't always work because once the admin of the post notices that they are getting complaints, they would just set the post on private and she won't have access to it anymore.
Due to these occasional and unfortunate incidents, she explained that she is still hesitant to post certain pictures that show off a bit more skin out of fear that she will get sexualised even more.
Despite these difficulties, Shu Faye remains steadfast in her desire to game and create content
From being named a Samsung brand ambassador to hosting an e-sports tournament called the KL Major — Shu Faye has accumulated many accolades for her efforts.
She believes that gaming is an experience unlike any other, and that it gives her an advantage in starting conversations.
"If I were to meet new people and the conversation gets dry, I will usually ask them what games they play, and you'll be surprised at how they can speak about it with such passion," she said in excitement.
Beyond content creation and gaming, she also loves building custom keyboards, collecting crystals, and doting on her pet gecko.
Shu Faye explained to SAYS that her favourite games are Valorant, DOTA 2, and MapleStory, as they all highlight an important part of her life
In fact, she mainly plays Valorant and DOTA 2 on her streams.
MapleStory holds a special place in her heart because it was one of the first online games she ever played. She liked it so much that she even got a MapleStory tattoo!
When asked whether she would go as far as to sell her bathwater or bottled up farts, Shu Faye said "no thanks!"
"But I am planning to sell 'normal' merch sometime soon! Keep a look out for that," she told SAYS.
She followed on to say that streaming by itself is not sustainable unless you make it really big, so she doesn't solely rely on it for income.
Despite this, Shu Faye mentioned that she still loves streaming and sharing a good time with her viewers.
"I love how I can really be myself and still be able to entertain people while streaming. I don't have to pretend to be anyone else but me, and I'm so grateful that my viewers enjoy that," she said excitedly.
To end the interview, we asked Shu Faye what advice she has for aspiring streamers, to which she said:
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Image via SAYS
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