Bearscape Shows That Magic: The Gathering Needs To Respect Fat Characters
Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast revealed the Pride Across The Multiverse Secret Lair promotion for Magic: The Gathering. Eight cards with new illustrations by LGBTQIA2S+ artists, the limited-time reprints celebrate all aspects of the LGBTQ+ community, while also raising funds for LGBTQ+ youth charity The Trevor Project. Featuring everyone from Alesha, Magic's first trans character, to the marriage of the first gay Planeswalker Ral Zarek and a newfound romance between Saheeli and Huatli, there’s a lot for all members of the community to enjoy.
However, there’s one card the community latched onto, and it quickly became the game's latest meme. The community’s response was almost entirely positive, but the Secret Lair's reprint of the green enchantment Bearscape still highlights a frustrating stance many people have towards fat bodies, especially in both gaming and the LGBTQ+ community.
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As a quick crash course of gay parlance, bears are a subset of the community who tend to celebrate the more masculine end of the gender presentation spectrum. Compared to other groups in the gay community, such as twinks, bears tend to be physically larger, whether that be through fat or muscle, and are generally hairier all over. Therein lies the visual pun of Bearscape – an enchantment that makes 2/2 Bear creature tokens being depicted as gay bears rather than actual, ursine bears.
Even though I'm a fat, hairy gay guy, I personally don't identify with the bear label, and feel uncomfortable when other people put me in that box. Regardless, the reveal of Bearscape made me feel seen in a way many other Pride products don't. People with body types not too
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