I got an interesting letter in my email and I thought I would try something new. I do a lot of question answering here on Tumblr but I thought it would be neat from time to time to allow you to see some of the mail I get. I am choosing the letters because I think they will start good discussions.

For those that want to email me, there is a link at the bottom of every “Making Magic” column. Note that while this letter is more positive, I will also experiment with posting letters that have more, shall we say, constructive criticism.

Without further ado, here’s a letter I got today:

Hi Mark,



Not so much a question, but I do hope this gets posted to your Tumblr.



I would like to chime in on the female representation in Magic debate. Full disclosure: I’m of the opinion that most mass media is ridiculously gender biased and that female representation, especially in fantasy settings, is not only skewed disproportionately in terms of numbers, but in terms of significance to the stor(ies)/setting(s).



That being said, I really feel M:TG should NOT be included in this category and in fact should be viewed as an example of how to do it right. I’m constantly amazed by how much female representation IS in M:TG, and how that representation is not simply stereotypical damsels in distress.



Women as depicted in Magic cards are very often strong, powerful and central to the stories. Furthermore, many of the women are depicted on strong cards that regularly see play. Off the top of my head, recent examples include:



- Hero of Bladehold

- Glissa, the Traitor

- Melira, Sylvok Outcast (important as the only anti-infect, cause man, F infect)

- Sheoldred, Whispering One

- Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

- Chandra Nalaar (various incarnations)

- Elspeth Tirel (various incarnations)

- Liliana Vess (various incarnations)

- Olivia Voldaren

- Kruin Outlaw

- Geist-Honoured Monk

- Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

- Markov Blademaster

- Scorned Villager

- Falkenrath Aristocrat



And in Avacyn Restored (not to mention Avacyn herself being the face of the set) there’s a WHOLE SLEW of powerful - both card-wise and character-wise - female characters.



And I swear, that’s just off the top of my head… because those are cards I actually see being played all the time. Not only are they strong characters, they’re strong cards that people - both men and women - love to play and strongly impact the game. Furthermore, those characters run the gamut of personality and character types. Some are heroes, some are villains, some are crazy and some are just plain awesome. The sheer variety of female characters in just those cards alone blows away 95% of what, say, Hollywood pumps out.



Are the number of females represented disproportionate to men in Magic? Absolutely. I wouldn’t say it’s 50-50 by any stretch of the imagination and the number of women in Magic could - and should - certainly improve. But I do 100% believe that you folks at M:TG are at least trying to do and ARE doing some things better than 99% of the other mass medias out there. So, thanks for that.



Just my two cents.



All the best,



- JPV