Of the very few number of women I’ve been close with, they all had one thing in common. Whine, whine, whine. Blah, blah, blah. I never understood their constant need for attention. Things like being too good to walk alone at night—you already take all your friends with you to the bathroom. They don’t need to be with you every second of the day. Periods. Hormones. Childbirth. Yadda, yadda, yadda. So what if someone cusses you out for declining their advances? They have feelings too, you know!
If it sounds like I’m a sexist pig, it’s because I was. Like many things in life, sometimes a drastic shift in perspective is the only way people truly change. An event so profound it rocks the foundations of our understanding. An event that leaves nothing in its wake so all that’s left to do is rebuild, discarding the pieces of ourselves that have made us miserable, hateful creatures and replacing them with empathy, kindness, and care.
For me, that event was last Thursday evening when, after building a brand new [c]Teysa Karlov[/c] commander deck, I sat down with friends for an evening of EDH.
I chose [c]Teysa Karlov[/c] because my deck was built around a hybrid aristocrat and token theme. And yet, when I sat down and revealed my new deck to those I considered close friends I was met with ridicule and crude remarks. I was shocked. “You don’t understand,” I said. “Look at her text. She’s an incredible commander with remarkable abilities.” They didn’t see her for her worth as commander, but only as a woman. And to them, women were only good for a short list of specific things.
Throughout the evening I was referred to as ‘sugar tits’. Spells and interactions were explained to me as if I couldn’t read. Cross-table alliances were formed against me since I was an “easy win”. Rules were broken and when I tried to correct them, they merely moved on with the game then asked “if it is pink.”
Even though I won the game despite the entire table working against me, I was told I must have cheated. I asked what everyone’s problem was, and they said they were just joking and that I “must be on my period or something.”
After going through a situation far worse than any woman has every experienced before I can attest that I understand the plight women face on a daily basis. I lived it and came out the other side with a better understanding. For example, I now know she’s talking to me because we were paired this round, not because she’s into me. Blinders removed I now see the err in my ways and vow to be the example for men everywhere. I have become an ally.