When Magic: The Gathering was introduced to the world in 1993, gaming (both tabletop and computer) was a different beast. Given how male-dominated these spaces traditionally are, artists and marketers were solely focused on appealing to the male demographic, and that meant games had plenty of voluptuous women in need of saving.
However, Magic: The Gathering was unique in that the trading card game mostly tried to avoid this trope, albeit with a couple of notable exceptions. According to Magic's original art director, Jesper Myrfors, the lack of widespread “in-your-face” sexualization is because he instituted a “no babes” rule among the art team at the fledgling TCG (thanks, Wargamer).
For him, this meant no cards containing “artwork depicting a scantily clad woman in a submissive or weak position.” He explained this position in a Facebook post on January 4th, shedding light on Magic: The Gathering's original art direction.
Magic: The Gathering has included women from the beginning
“I really wanted Magic to appeal to a wider group than traditional fantasy. My gaming groups had included women for years, I saw the things about games that made it less appealing to women firsthand,” writes Myrfors. “I also strongly believe that women have a bigger role in fantasy than window cleaning. I made a point of hiring a lot of female artists on the game because I wanted Magic to have its own look, and I thought that in a male-dominated industry, the voices that aren't heard as often would lend that look easily.”
25 artists worked on Magic: The Gathering's debut set, and five of them were women. These were Amy Weber, Fay Jones, Julie Baroh, Melissa Benson and Sandra Everingham. While 20 percent may not seem like a lot, this was an impressive ratio considering how male-dominated the space was at the time.
“I wanted this to be a world that celebrated female empowerment alongside male empowerment and not just portray women as girls in need of saving,” Myrfors continues.
He admits that this rule was “not 100 percent enforced” and points to Earth Bind as an example (the card art shows a woman being held by vines in a manner similar to bondage).
“I knew that if I created this rule, I wouldn't be inundated with traditional fantasy women kneeling at the feet of powerful men or the artwork of pulp-era women in peril. Rare exceptions were allowed,” he explains. “… I just didn't want that particular subject to flood Magic: The Gathering. It had been done to death. It was a stereotype. I wanted Magic: The Gathering to be different, to be a new evolution in traditional fantasy.”
All these years later, Myrfors' initial approach to diversity and inclusion has continued to endure in Magic.
- Franchise
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Magic: The Gathering
- Original release date
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August 5, 1993
- Number of players
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2+
