Subject: Girls in Magic
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 19:22:20 +0000
From: Sara Camarata <camarata@wam.umd.edu>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

(Please put this in the issues forum)

HI! I just started reading things here and ran across this thread and
had to add my two cents.

I am a girl player. (27 yrs. old) Although I was exposed to MTG WAY back
in late '93 I didn't start playing until Dec. '96. Since then at every
single, and I mean EVERY SINGLE, tournament I have been to I have had at
least one guy sit across from me and say something along the lines of
"Gee, I never played a chick before..." Mind you, I have been to many
tournaments, not just pre-releases. My husband and I attend all the
qualifiers we can. The only one I have missed in the last year and a
half was because I had a final in college that day.
I guess I should get to some kind of a point. I have never been treated
rudely at a tournament. But then again, I have never been treated with
quite the same level of, I don't want to say resepct, erm, expectation
as a guy. What I mean is most (not all by a long shot) guys see me and a
little look gets in their eyes that says, "hmmm easy mark."
What attracted me to the game was the fantasy of it. I loved the "purty
pictures" and so on. Then I discovered it was an awful lot like chess,
and poker all rolled into one! And with imagination to boot! Every girl
I have shown the game to has loved the strategy, the art, the randomness
of the game. Generally of all the gals I've shared this game with it's
boiled down to one thing that has scared them off the game. Competition.
Not that these girls weren't competitive, oh some of them are, they play
tennis, volleyball, even lacrosse, so these are not wusses. It's been
the antics of the less than mature players they've seen. None of them
can understand the furor over the game. It's supposed to be FUN, yet
they see temper tantrums and cheating and so on. SOme of them reported
rude behavior. Some of this I attribute to the difficulties many girls
have in the RPG SF/Fant. etc. environment. Some guys can't seem to
handle having "babes" around without losing their heads. What can be
done about this? Not really a heck of a lot I think except to tell
female magic players to stick in there. There are treasures among the
dross and the game is too much fun to give up because of a few immature
players. I am really glad I play MTG. It's provided my husband and me
with hours of fun. We have a hobby we can enjoy together.

Sara Camarata