It used to be a niche, geeky and limited social hobby when one to two players was the norm, anything more was relatively rare and it was all in one physical place. Humans are a social species and women in particular have and spend social capital. That's why social media is popular with women.

The second that the industry became a billion or more dollar industry is when things changed. That comic of the masses wanting to remove those who made that space is relevant in this case.

And the Halo Effect is a thing. Attractive people can get away with more behaviour compared to most people and particularly so compared to unattractive people.