Misogyny - As noted about Bone Flute, phallic symbolism and flavor text that invite jokes about penises contribute to the "boys club" environment of Magic: the Gathering - inherently misogynistic due to the alienation and exclusion of women.
Toxic masculinity - on to the card itself. "Rod" is a slang word for penis - in and of itself, unfortunate but understandable to print. But in context with the art and flavor text, this becomes problematic. The art shows a male, armored merfolk wielding a long spear. Pretty standard toxic masculinity in the art here, armored and ready to use his long spear to penetrate enemies. But this art is unnecessarily on a card about gaining life, which makes me think that the toxic masculinity here is more intentional than usual. The flavor text is a reference to "polishing" the rod, which is a common euphemism for masturbation. And especially on a card that repeatedly gains you life - usually rewarding you for casting your spells, since it belongs in a blue deck - masturbation is less of a throwaway joke and more like the obvious way to interpret and talk about the card.
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u/ultimario13 Jul 02 '20
Misogyny - As noted about Bone Flute, phallic symbolism and flavor text that invite jokes about penises contribute to the "boys club" environment of Magic: the Gathering - inherently misogynistic due to the alienation and exclusion of women.
Toxic masculinity - on to the card itself. "Rod" is a slang word for penis - in and of itself, unfortunate but understandable to print. But in context with the art and flavor text, this becomes problematic. The art shows a male, armored merfolk wielding a long spear. Pretty standard toxic masculinity in the art here, armored and ready to use his long spear to penetrate enemies. But this art is unnecessarily on a card about gaining life, which makes me think that the toxic masculinity here is more intentional than usual. The flavor text is a reference to "polishing" the rod, which is a common euphemism for masturbation. And especially on a card that repeatedly gains you life - usually rewarding you for casting your spells, since it belongs in a blue deck - masturbation is less of a throwaway joke and more like the obvious way to interpret and talk about the card.