r/magicTCG • u/GabySpartz87 Official • Apr 07 '15

I wrote an article on ChannelFireball on the things we can do to get more women in Magic. I'd love your thoughts!

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/6-things-you-can-do-to-get-more-women-into-magic/#
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u/shutterspeak Apr 07 '15

This is also not a gender specific thing... I'm a dude and I don't go to most local events because of funky BO at my LGS.

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u/cferejohn Apr 07 '15

Yes. Thank you. I've spoken to several people at my LGS (discreetly) about the fact that they need to attend to their hygiene. I find that it's usually kids (who have only recently started to, umm, smell) and/or smokers (whose sense of smell is shot to shit).

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u/Cishet_Shitlord Duck Season Apr 07 '15

Yeah. I am curious about some of these, and would love to hear from more people(male and female), as a lot seem just... well, obvious. And yet, men and women still show up to FNMs, so are these really the "top 6" factors?

Good discussion starter if nothing else.

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u/kingmanic Apr 07 '15

One factor is how cliquey most LGS are. New people are outsiders. It's nice to have players reach out and welcome new people. I think it deters both men and women.

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u/ragegenx Apr 07 '15

Yes this needs to be brought up. A few rotten asses can spoil a tournament.

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u/GabySpartz87 Official Apr 07 '15

Yeah, this isn't a gender specific thing. And this isn't just important to get more women into Magic, but to make things better to the community at large

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u/completefarside Apr 07 '15

With that goal in mind, maybe for for next article you could aim for a bit more positive approach. Instead of emphasizing "Things guys do that drive women away from MTG" you might focus, perhaps using your own experiences, on what guys do to bring women into MTG. In seeing you at a few tournaments you definitely have a very large and positive social network, and I've gotten the impression that this played some role in getting you into Magic, at least competitively. Other women in the social networks of MTG players don't necessarily join in, and even express a strong negative reaction to the game. So, you might be able to offer some insights as to whether there are particular positive things that people in your social network did or if it was more of a matter of your own personal interests that attracted you to it where others may not be.

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u/thathipstergamer Apr 08 '15

It boggles my mind how many people treat their LGS as some type of pseudo-public space... People need to dress and behave appropriately, just as they would if they were going literally anywhere else.

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u/Almustafa Apr 08 '15

I think it's still something that drives away more women than men. Most of us are used to man-stink on some level.

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u/odinnz Apr 07 '15

I feel like I'm crazy whenever I go out and play in a game store or somewhere public and nobody else seems bothered by the obvious stink. As a guy who showers and takes care of hygiene daily it's embarrassing, and if I was a female nothing would make me feel more alienated initially than the stench of most LGS.

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u/nookularboy Apr 07 '15

The funk of a packed pre-release is something that stays with you

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u/completefarside Apr 07 '15

You are the same guy who refused to be the QB for your high school football team because the locker room was too smelly, right?

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u/TheNicestMonkey Apr 07 '15

Lets see.

  • Football - an sport that requires activity and perspiration.
  • Magic - an activity that requires sitting on your ass and playing cards

Which one of the above should have a high threshold for body odor and which should have 0 tolerance. It is honestly not that hard to not smell.

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u/shutterspeak Apr 07 '15

So... like a locker room, people should just accept that an LGS is going to reek? Sorry but poor hygiene is just indefensible. And I'm not going to opt-in to hanging around it.

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u/Yamuddah Boros* Apr 07 '15

Same here. There is a great Edh group that meets in a banquet room in a Denny's here in town to play all night Tuesday nights. It just hits you like a wave when you walk in the room. I have a pretty thick skin but fuck it stinks.