  VTubers, or Virtual YouTubers, are live streamers who create streaming
content using animated 2D or 3D virtual avatars. In recent years, there has
been a significant increase in the number of VTuber creators and viewers across
the globe. This practise has drawn research attention into topics such as
viewers' engagement behaviors and perceptions, however, as animated avatars
offer more identity and performance flexibility than traditional live streaming
where one uses their own body, little research has focused on how this
flexibility influences how creators present themselves. This research thus
seeks to fill this gap by presenting results from a qualitative study of 16
Chinese-speaking VTubers' streaming practices. The data revealed that the
virtual avatars that were used while live streaming afforded creators
opportunities to present themselves using inflated presentations and resulted
in inclusive interactions with viewers. The results also unveiled the inflated,
and often sexualized, gender expressions of VTubers while they were situated in
misogynistic environments. The socio-technical facets of VTubing were found to
potentially reduce sexual harassment and sexism, whilst also raising
self-objectification concerns.
