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Is there a negative stereotype among women in magic?

A

AshleyHall

Nov 25, 2007
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This post has been edited, thanks to all of the awesome and uber cool magic kiddos here at Theory11. Your advice and professionalism regarding my many postings here on this site has been invaluable....
 
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Actually this has been discussed before in these forums. But NO women are not looked down upon for being a woman. I feel that your insecurities have you looking for a reason of why your performances are not flooring people. People's reactions are from the performance handed to them not by the gender available. We should probably stay focused on showmanship. A woman runs my local magic shop and my assistant gets just as much attention as I do when comes to her magic. These questions can be trivial. I would work on your showmanship and place an application at your local magic shop.

Good Luck!

Shane
 
unfortunately gender is still a problem in this society.

In all legality, they are equal. To me, they are equal. To *******s, they aren't equal. That ain't right.

Women magicians are awesome! I think. Breaking the stereotypical "male Magician" and performing. If the intent of your magic is to entertain a crowd, then I don't see why women can't do that just as well. Being a good performer depends on nothing than determined will and skill- if a woman has that, then she can be JUST as goo if not Better.

I think that there need to be more female magicians. You can start the trend. Transcend the stereotype and prove the *******s wrong. In th end we are all performers of the art and should embrace every/anyone who wants to be a dedicated magician.

*sorry if offended anyone*
 
I find not too many woman are interested in magic. They simply don't pursue it. Magic starts typically when you are young and most girls or young woman don't have hobbyish hobbies. Much of the woman I know danced, sang, played instruments, did gymnastics, all stereotypical things woman did at younger ages. Its not particularily negative, its just natural that they pursue what they see other woman do, acting talents such as I have listed.

I would like to see more woman magicians, variety and spread interest is a good thing. For me though I don't really care deep into having variety into things, if they don't do it thats ok, if you're a woman magician I am not setting you higher as you are unique in that such way.

Just wanted to respond as these sort of variety question are always tossed about near me.

P.S. If you're offended (as some have been) that I don't set others higher for them being one of few in a popular area then cut short that comment because I don't care to answer to that anymore.
 
Yeah. I kinda agree with tsarothpaco. There aren't many women in magic so it is different and rare to see a women who is interested in magic. I think most people would take it as a positive occurence but there are the few bad eggs who might of given you that impression. Please. There is nothing wrong with women into magic/flourishing. I think it is great to expand our art past the gender barrier. We've already past the language and race barriers, lets keep it going. Let no one hold you back.

Hope this helped. =) If you want to talk more about this, PM me and we'll talk. =)

~FA
 
ManningMagic said:
unfortunately gender is still a problem in this society.

In all legality, they are equal. To me, they are equal. To *******s, they aren't equal. That ain't right.

Women magicians are awesome! I think. Breaking the stereotypical "male Magician" and performing. If the intent of your magic is to entertain a crowd, then I don't see why women can't do that just as well. Being a good performer depends on nothing than determined will and skill- if a woman has that, then she can be JUST as goo if not Better.

I think that there need to be more female magicians. You can start the trend. Transcend the stereotype and prove the *******s wrong. In th end we are all performers of the art and should embrace every/anyone who wants to be a dedicated magician.

*sorry if offended anyone*
Click to expand...


We'll you haven't offended me but one question without offending you. How old are you? And where have you seen prejudice towards woman?

These are important questions cause if your young in school then I couldn't argue with the fact that you have seen this kind of thing happen. But out here in the real world among us working adults most the majority effort seems to be people judge you on your performance not your gender. I have never in 17 years in magic have I heard of prejudice towards a magician because she is a woman. I think we need to be more productive on fixing her views then just jumping on board of her mispercieved views. If anyone is prejudice in magic it's haters on successors.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

Shane
 
I have seen many women demonstrators in my time and a fair share of women doing magic in the shops.
I worked in a shop that had a woman as the manager. She was an ok demonstrator but she was great at organising the shop and was really more into costuming.
I think that nothing should impede your dream Ashley. If you want it work for it and you will reap great rewards.
I have the privelege of knowing one of the best female magi out there. Paula Paul from Las Vegas is a world reknown female magician that does Stage and Close-up.
There is a great female magician by the name of Sue Ann Webster that you should look into. She has videos that are very clever in presentation and she is no slouch on technique either.


One last thought, whether you are a male or a female you must prove you have the chops, (basics and/or advanced) techniques down smooth. Once you can do that you should have no worries.

I wish you much success in your dream.
Snorri
 
I work for an online magic shop....

Does that count?
I don't think I have any kind of sterotype... I like to make my own.

Who cares what other people think, you can sell a trick being a male or female.

Katie
 
Seriously if someone doesn't buy from you or hire you because you're a girl, you don't need them. Now I'm not gonna tell you to go prove them wrong by becoming immesely successful in the field you were denied curtesy, that only happens in fairy tales and lifetime specials. But i can say move on, try it again with someone else, do it yourself, or go to court.
 
SHANE BLACK said:
We'll you haven't offended me but one question without offending you. How old are you? And where have you seen prejudice towards woman?

These are important questions cause if your young in school then I couldn't argue with the fact that you have seen this kind of thing happen. But out here in the real world among us working adults most the majority effort seems to be people judge you on your performance not your gender. I have never in 17 years in magic have I heard of prejudice towards a magician because she is a woman. I think we need to be more productive on fixing her views then just jumping on board of her mispercieved views. If anyone is prejudice in magic it's haters on successors.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

Shane
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I agree with you. I am young, only 17. Ins chool I feel like I do see it. I wasn't necessary saying in the magic community,but the world as a whole. I think someone should be judged on character, skill and work production.

thanks for your comment though-it helps clear some things up.
 
Has anyone ever heard of the YouTube-user "XCManipulater" or Decknique-er "Myst?" She's one of the best woman-magicians/cardician (I haven't seen a lot of them) I have ever seen!! Plus, she's not even 18 yet! Yet, her skill surpasses many I have seen.

Good Job, Myst.

That's pretty mean to exclude women from lectures and magic clubs.... I would like to see more women in the magic field for we need more unique artists!

I would like to see what a women magician would have to say about magic instead of the 12476'th male-magician.

..:Z:..
 
Hello folks, I am a student and I would like to learn magic tricks. I need the latest one but simple. My little sister is making me do a "magic show" with her. I need some good 10 year old magic tricks which are very simple and no jokes or anything you made up or think is funny. What are some good magic tricks to do for a simple magic show? Please help me with your good ideas. Have a good day.
 
Huh? Uhh dude I don't know how you managed to find this thread, but just post a new topic about it since it has no relevance to the actual topic. If you want to do a search, try searching the forums for terms like "Starting out" or "Beginners' books".
 
It seems that women magicians are quite respected and I personally become very excited when I see a women performing magic, especially if she does it well. I've gone to a few magic shops that have actually had women employees but only one of those actually had one performing and it was a wonderful experience because she blew me away. People that perform magic are a rare type it seems, but the beauty of magic is that it doesn't focus sex, race or religion it is simply entertainment and meant to be enjoyable.
 
SHANE BLACK said:
But NO women are not looked down upon for being a woman. I feel that your insecurities have you looking for a reason of why your performances are not flooring people.
Click to expand...

Hey Shane,

I've to be blatantly honest here; I believe your point of view expressed above is not only naiive, but also supports Ashley's suspicions about the view of women in magic.

The fact of the matter is magic is still a male-prominent performance art. When the average person thinks of a magician, they think of Houdini or Copperfield. The average person thinks a woman's role in magic is that of stage assistants or dancers, etc. I must point out that I don't follow such beliefs. I personally enjoy seeing quality work from anyone of any gender who puts the time into their material. However, if you ask around I think you'll find the vast majority of today's society will support such a claim: magicians are generally men. That in itself is a stigma that female magicians have to compete with.

Now, I've seen and worked with a fair amount of female performers, and I agree that most of them were never openly looked down upon. In fact, I remember many of them being praised. But simply because they were not criticized doesn't mean there wasn't prejudice involved. I remember going to a convention in the late 90s where a woman presented a manipulation act that was not only cliche but only mediocrely performed. She ended up placing in the top three of the competition despite many other acts being of better quality. Despite this, everyone in the audience was fully satisfied with her and felt happy she placed because she was a woman. I feel this same type of prejudice carries over into the professional side of magic as well.

Now again, referring to your quote above. Ashley specifically mentioned that she merely wanted to know more about women's perception in magic. She was interested in applying for a job at a magic shop and explicitly said she wasn't sugar-coating any insecurities. Your immediate response to the thread was directed toward her potential insecurities for not gaining the reactions she wanted in her performances. She never even mentioned how people respond to her magic, so I have to ask-- what made you go in that direction to begin with? What made you think she was getting poor reactions in performance? I don't intend to attack here in anyway; I just feel it's a valid point of discussion.

With all that said and done-- Ashley, there are some very successful female names in the business. They got to where they are through hard work and persistence. I also think they learned to expect and tactfully deal with the various opinions of their gender in a male-dominated art. I don't think you'll have to worry about getting a job if your work is of quality material-- but expect to see surprised looks A LOT from customers and fellow magicians into the future. Embrace what makes you different and have it work for you. That's the key to originality in magic and that's what will get you recognized.

Always,
RS.
 
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