Last week, Magic: The Gathering’s lead designer Mark Rosewater made a point to respond to two particularly problematic questions submitted to his blog. In his replies, he defends marginalized communities – including trans folk, people of color, and women – speaking out against prejudice, and further cementing his position that MTG is a hobby meant for all kinds of people to enjoy.
In the first question, which Rosewater posted an answer to on February 6, the questioner makes it clear they are concerned that the upcoming Lorwyn set "Will be fucked up by [some art style they don't enjoy and] the real world politic agenda (not so) subtly pushed in late sets." It goes on to note that "We want to see", as if speaking for all Magic: The Gathering fans, "Stories of faeries, kithkins, elves, goblins, Giants, merfolk and cinders in their beautiful fantasy setting, no trans they/them faeries that think they're kithkins".
In Rosewater's response, he states that "For far too long, fantasy, as a genre, was used as a way to reflect the worldview of those in power. It leaned into stereotype and reflected how the privileged wished the world was." He goes on to explain that modern fantasy doesn't look like fantasy back in its youth because it responds to a changing world, and has to capture a variety of lived experience, as opposed to constantly revisiting and reaffirming the same old worldview.
"Trans people, people of color, and women playing a larger role, are all part of modern fantasy because they’re all part of the actual world, and it’s important that our stories and world building be reflective of that." He ends with a note of hope, in that "Entertainment is at its best when it lifts everyone up and isn’t used as yet another means to ignore certain people’s reality."
The second post Rosewater deigned to respond to, he posted on Sunday, with a much more comprehensive dive into the subject. This time the questioner seems to have taken issue with Magic: The Gathering's "Push toward DEI": diversity, equity, and inclusion. They refer specifically to Captain Sisay, a character who is both black and a woman.
"I fear if you did it over again Gerrard would be trans, black and disabled just because. It also cheapens the stories of world devastation when characters worry more about their gender than Bolas destroying everything", the questioner laments.
In his reply, Rosewater notes that even the term 'push' seems to imply that "It's unnaturally here, that we’re forcing something that naturally shouldn’t be."
You can almost hear his knuckles crack and the shuffle toward the keyboard as Rosewater spends what commenters notice was "A little over an hour since the last post" composing his careful response.
"Imagine if every time you turned on the TV or watched a movie, no one looked like you", he begins, resonating with the sadness that comes from a lack of positive representation as a Jewish citizen of the US. "You just feel invisible and like an outsider."
Rosewater, clearly recognizing his privilege, admits, "I don’t think we did justice to Sisay as a character. Neither Michael nor I have any knowledge of what it’s like to be a black woman. Nor did we ever talk to someone who did."
He goes on to urge people to consider what it might be like to have a movie made of your life, one that's not representative of your life in any way, shape or form, other than showing your likeness. In putting that movie out into the world, people might assume "That was what you were like [...] because, you know, they’d seen the movie.
"That’s what misrepresenting people does. It not only makes them feel not seen, it falsely represents them, spreading lies, often stereotypes, making people believe things about them that aren’t true."
It's obvious this is something Rosewater feels very strongly about. To hammer the point home, he quotes “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression", making it clear that nothing is being taken away from MTG players by an increase in diversity. It only feels that way because of their privilege. He also believes that "Having a better sense of the rest of the world comes with a lot of benefits."
Rosewater has been outspoken about the subject of diversity and inclusion for some time, with previous posts on the official Magic: The Gathering blog furthering his point. This is yet another reminder that supremacist views are unwelcome in the MTG community.
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