Women in Magic - The 2012 Edition
Jackie Lee’s follow-up to Womanhood: It’s Not A Draft Archetype.
All right, you got me.
This is my take on the “women in Magic” issue.
I’ve gone a decent while without writing such an article on StarCityGames.com, staying in the generally safe realm of theory and tournament reports. Sure, I occasionally throw in a side comment about some weird or funny remark I get about my gender, but it’s not a huge deal. In fact, it’s pretty representative of my experiences playing Magic. However because many people have recently asked, I feel the need to clarify what this actually means to me.
I wrotethis articlenearly a year ago, saying that as women Magic players, all we want is to be treated the same. But we’re not. Even in 2012, we’re not. Everything we do, everything we accomplish, must always, somehow, be weighed against the measure, “But didn’t this happen just because we’re women?”
Let me guess: you’re either interested to hear my take on it, or really tired and annoyed of the whole thing. After all, what is this, the fifteenth article written on the topic? Do we really need one more? Can one more article hope to change the world?
I think we do. And I know it can.
Think of it in machine terms. Preliminary assembly puts the constructing unit - the mother - on reduced service for, on average, one third of the gestational period, while consuming even more resources than she had before. Once born, a human is not functional; primary assembly requires, on average, seven years, during which the child is literally an energy sink, consuming time, attention, and food without any return except dung. To achieve full physical function requires, on average, about sixteen years. And this leaves aside questions of training and education, emotional stability, and disciplined intellect necessary for self-direction, all of which require even more time and energy to inculcate. If people had any idea just how expensive a human being is, they’d take better care of themselves.
Commentary - I don’t understand why there’s a Tumblr of some chick with weird boobs posing naked with Magic cards.
In one post she’s like “look at this Myr plushie I made for my boyfriend! I can make one for you too and then take dirty pictures with it if you want.”
Why do you exist? Why do you and your ilk insist on undermining every female geek who just wants to be taken seriously as a (nerdy) human being?
I’m talking to you, girl who submitted “I hate when I’m not the only girl at a tournament” to MTG Confessions. You too, girl deliberately wearing a low-cut shirt to a Magic tournament.
If you spent nearly as much energy strategizing as you do trying to make yourself into a neon vagina sign, maybe you wouldn’t have to rely on your tits to get attention.
Oh, and to the girl who submitted the MTG Confession that she only started playing MTG because her guy friends wanted her to play the dumb bitch role at tournaments?
Get new friends.
MtGFan’s response: The girl in particular, actually makes a living (or supplements her living) though softcore camera shows. That’s a-okay, since she choose that particular path. No, what do people call it, “slut-shaming” here. She’s proud of her body and the idea that she plays Magic the Gathering, a game she enjoys and is willing to share. That’s absolutely within her right to do, and your right to complain about. Not taking a side on this subject, but rather a much bigger one:
The problem isn’t girls who show their boobs and play Magic the Gathering. The problem is when people think (or actively take part in) girls who play Magic the Gathering must be using their womanly physical charms on a mostly male audience.
This kind of sexism or discrimination has to stop. Much like how many of my friends who are women can’t use their voice on XBox LIVE without being called “a 12-year-old boy,” or being asked to “show us ur tits if you’re really a gurl.” That kind of behavior is immature and is something the rest of the gamer population need to stand apart from.
Remember, each person is a representative of the medium you happen to be partaking in. People should also be aware that just because so see a sample of the population doesn’t mean all of the population is that. Not all MtG female players show their breasts or are trying to captivate you. Not all MtG men are misogynistic douche bags. Every group has its vocal minority.
If you haven’t yet, read my article on Why Elitism Kills Games. A lot of the same logic can be applied here.
To play the Devil’s Advocate, it is slightly annoying when you realize that this completely parallels the minority of girls within the gaming community that love nothing more than to take pictures of themselves with a headset, holding a xbox 360 controller and shouting from the rooftops “I’M A GIRL. AND I PLAY VIDEO GAMES.”
That is asinine and completely unnecessary.
But I don’t know this particular girl who likes to take pictures of herself naked with cards on her breasts, and I’m going to be optimistic and assume she genuinely enjoys the game of Magic: the Gathering as much as she enjoys and is comfortable with expressing herself in the nude.
And if wants to do that, then so be it, nobody is forcing anybody to look or to have to put up with this girl if they don’t want to.
Just let small things like this go, play Magic, and always keep mana up for a counterspell.
(via holyballls)
Commentary - I don’t understand why there’s a Tumblr of some chick with weird boobs posing naked with Magic cards.
MtGFan’s response: The girl in particular, actually makes a living (or supplements her living) though softcore camera shows. That’s a-okay, since she choose that particular path. No, what do people call it, “slut-shaming” here. She’s proud of her body and the idea that she plays Magic the Gathering, a game she enjoys and is willing to share. That’s absolutely within her right to do, and your right to complain about. Not taking a side on this subject, but rather a much bigger one:
The problem isn’t girls who show their boobs and play Magic the Gathering. The problem is when people think (or actively take part in) girls who play Magic the Gathering must be using their womanly physical charms on a mostly male audience.
This kind of sexism or discrimination has to stop. Much like how many of my friends who are women can’t use their voice on XBox LIVE without being called “a 12-year-old boy,” or being asked to “show us ur tits if you’re really a gurl.” That kind of behavior is immature and is something the rest of the gamer population need to stand apart from.
Remember, each person is a representative of the medium you happen to be partaking in. People should also be aware that just because so see a sample of the population doesn’t mean all of the population is that. Not all MtG female players show their breasts or are trying to captivate you. Not all MtG men are misogynistic douche bags. Every group has its vocal minority.
If you haven’t yet, read my article on Why Elitism Kills Games. A lot of the same logic can be applied here.
I encourage you to keep this conversation going through reblogs and replies at Disqus. I’d really like your feedback.
I appreciate that you’re engaging the topic.
The problem isn’t this girl, she just happened to be what spurred my thoughts at the moment. My thoughts being that there are two prevailing ideas of girls who play magic: 1) They’re that girl in the skimpy Magic card dress who rely on their looks or 2) They’re not good at Magic.
Fantasy games and art all sexualize women to a level I find disconcerting (I presume because of the assumed target audience). I find myself actually getting excited when I see a woman depicted in MTG art wearing armor that might actually protect her in a combat scenario. Guys by and large get badass armor and girls get to superglue hubcabs over their nipples and hope for the best.
I want the badassery of a lot of female MTG players to get the recognition it deserves, but when Tumblr posts reinforce the “I hate when I’m not the only girl at a tournament”/”look at me oh em gee i luv magic cards LOOK IT’S MY BOOBS” mindset it starts to seem hopeless.
Cheers for intelligent conversation!
One of the reasons I follow http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/. It even has a few MtG arts in there like Naya Hushblade and Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
One of the ways you, me, and the rest of the population can do to fight attention-hungry folk is to starve them at the source. Deny them the attention.
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Commentary - I don’t understand why there’s a Tumblr of some chick with weird boobs posing naked with Magic cards.
ianthe:
I’m sorry, that last sentence made me chuckle. Here’s some of Jason Chan’s female characters in MtG:
Even when Jason Chan’s art isn’t well armored women, there’s a reason why. They’re angels, or shaman who don’t normally enter battle themselves, or otherwise have a power that protects them that is self-explained: