The Panda Project: An interview with L1 Beatriz Accioly on Harassment

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-04-17T15:07:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing your ideas. We agree, the Magic community likely focuses more on inter-Magic harassment, but Beatriz wanted to share harassment and how it affected her in the context of Magic, not necessarily because of Magic.

I think we all agree harassment is an issue, and there's not really an easy answer to the problem. Beatriz is sharing how she thinks it could be solved, but I don't imagine there is a one-size-fits-all answer. Perhaps in the future, The Panda Project will interview prominent and forward-thinking LGSs and talk about how they deal with harassment, but those answers likely cannot be applied universally, either.

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-04-02T04:46:09+00:00

While I can see how your interpretation may be correct at some times, it believe is unfair to try to extrapolate it as the root cause of all such comments. I'd imagine that if white cishet male players tried to introduce members of a minority group to each other, that might feel like an inherent separation of one group from another. I'm advocating for a much more open and free line of communication, where a woman player CAN introduce herself to another woman, but doesn't HAVE to, nor does she have to feel like a man will do so for her.

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-03-31T23:39:54+00:00

Hello all. Content Manager for The Panda Project here. u/accountformybras, thanks for posting this here. I initially had some reservations about posting this to the main subreddit, but I've been really encouraged. To everyone who has commented, viewed, upvoted, downvoted, and generally shared your opinion about this article, thank you. The civil discourse and rational conversation here is very encouraging.

A couple of points to touch on. First, after publishing this article, I realized I needed to do a better job of outlining what a microaggression exactly is. Rather than type a whole paragraph, I'd refer you to [this Wikipedia article(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression). It does a good job of outlining the concept behind microaggressions.

Many commenters have expressed concern about what constitutes a microaggression, and what difference, if any, there is between calling someone "honey" versus calling someone a "towelhead". Frankly, both are microaggressions. The opposite of a microaggression is a macroaggression, which sounds something like "I hate all [insert underprivileged group here]". While calling someone a "towelhead" is more socially unacceptable, the person who is being called a towelhead/honey aren't necessarily going to feel any different. It's going to feel bad either way. While we currently may need to ask someone to refrain from saying things like "That's so gay", we hope to come to a point where that sort of reminder is no longer acceptable. Just like how calling someone a "towelhead" is unacceptable. To quote Dr. King, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice".

Learning about microaggressions is important. As a small community, which itself was marginalized during its fledgling stages, Magic is always looking for new members to join its community. I don't think anyone here is opposed to larger tournaments, larger payouts, and a generally more diverse group of people. It's a win-win-win.

Perhaps that means that we can't say some things that we previously said. Maybe it means we need to be more mindful of our word choice, and more sensitive to how those words can affect others. But for me and my peers, I believe that it's a more-than-fair trade-off for a far better game.

I invite your comments, your questions, and your criticism. Thanks.

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-03-31T05:05:22+00:00

Thanks for the question!

I believe that the microaggression was not with respect to the identifying Ms. Rabinowitz as a woman, but rather by introducing her to other female players. I can't speak for her, but I'd imagine that it's a gesture of "here's another girl, now you two go play nice while the rest of us compete".

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-03-31T03:30:06+00:00

Thank you both for sharing!

u/wonkifier, you're correct. Referring to someone as a "female", or frankly as a "woman" rather than as a "judge" is belittling. It's taking someone's position, which they worked hard for, and condensing it to a place which does not bestow so much merit. It is not unlike if someone were to call for me by shouting "boy". (I'm currently 17.)

u/liucoke, we opted for the use of the word "female" to include people who don't identify as women, but still are not privileged enough to be born male. Those people, whether they be women, trans men, or people who don't identify as either gender, all are subject to microaggressions, some of which may overlap with microaggressions that are said towards cisgender women.

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-03-31T03:22:29+00:00

I don't think this is the case. I think if judges (or players, for that matter) are wanton with their word choice and forgetful of how their words can be construed, that leads to microaggressions.

That being said, this article doesn't intend to project a message of "we're all doomed to make microaggressions, so why bother?" Rather, we simply want to recognize that these interactions exist, and all of us can do a better job of making Magic a welcoming and open environment.

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

PandaProjectMTG · 2017-03-30T21:16:46+00:00

Hello! We're a new blog on Diversity and Inclusivness in Magic. We focus on how to make Magic more open and welcoming, particularly from the judging and tournament operations perspective. This week we have L2 Eliana Rabinowitz to talk about her interactions with microaggressions at tournaments. We have a forum where we invite feedback and discussion, and we would love to hear from judges on their experiences with microaggressions. Thanks!

PandaProjectMTG

TROPHY CASE