Abby J. sent in some photos she took at Toys ‘R’ Us of a bunch of classic board games that are now marketed specifically to girls. We know they’re for girls because they’re all pink:
Of course the girls’ version of Scrabble would spell “fashion.” I assume the boys’ version spells “motorcycle” or something of the sort…though probably with fewer letters, I guess.
The Monopoly game (called the Boutique Edition) looks like a jewelry box:
I don’t know what Mystery Date is all about–I mean, I can guess, but I’m not familiar with the game, and not actually sure I’d want to encourage kids to go on mystery dates, but whatever. Both Abby and I found the pink Ouija board odd. I didn’t know they really still sold them. My grandma came across an old one when they were cleaning out my great-grandma’s stuff a couple of years back and she took it and gave it to my teen-aged cousin. My aunt took great offense and sent it back. My grandma, who is a devout Christian, took offense at my aunt taking offense (and implying that Grandma was giving her grandchildren satanic toys) and now keeps it around and lets kids play with it at her house. She also declared my aunt “no fun” and “too churchy.” If you knew my grandma, or had ever sat there and watched her call out to Jesus to help her find her missing spatula (he complied and made it appear in the drawer where she always keeps the spatulas), you would understand why I nearly choked on my food when she referred to someone else as “too churchy.” Now she’s decided that the Harry Potter movies are not, as so many people she knows had told her, satanic but are instead quite funny.
Anyway, that’s a long rambling unimportant point for a post that just illustrates how much we identify girlhood today with pink and feel the need to make gender-specific version of games where a single version seemed to work perfectly well in the past.
Reader Rachel sent in this photo she took of Legos being clearly marked as “boys’ toys”:
NEW! Sara P.-S., Liz, and Danielle F. sent us links to the new “girlz” version of the PSP (Playstation Portable) because, as Sarah says, it is apparently so “skewed towards boys that they have to specifically advertise the fact that girls [can] play with it”:
NEW (Apr. ’10)! Sunlight Snow sent in a version of Jenga aimed at girls called “Girl Talk” Jenga. Not stopping at the pinkification of the game, the producers decided to add sharing and gossip to it. Each plank now offers a question that girls are supposed to discuss. Apparently precipitous balancing and impending collapse is not fun enough, girls must add desperate crushes and dreams of becoming a veterinarian!
Comments 62
Alix — May 14, 2009
"Mystery Date" is a game dating from the 60s. It was boring then. I can't imagine that it's any better now.
md — May 14, 2009
Hasbro, ToyRUs etc, have probably already sold a Scrabble or Monopoly Board to almost every family in America... so this is obviously just a way to sell more. They haven't developed a decent new board game in ages and instead of doing something creative have just re-packaged the old stuff in a new colour. They are clearly running out of ideas.
Jesse — May 14, 2009
"I assume the boys’ version spells “motorcycle” or something of the sort"
Actually boys games don't exist, they're the default. The female is the 'other' that needs special marketing.
P.S. I know someone is going to link a 'boy's' game and show me up now. =P
Krista — May 14, 2009
This bothers me more than it reasonably should.
Kasey — May 14, 2009
WTF? As if boys and girls don't have enough of a difference in toys as it was. I thought we were safe when it came to board games seeing as how most are gender neutral (as should be Scrabble and Monopoly etc). This is disturbing.
Michelle — May 14, 2009
I don't even want to know what kind of gender stereotypes run rampant in that game of LIFE for girls...actually I do. I'm a masochist.
Matt K — May 15, 2009
I rest easy knowing that if I ever become a parent, one thing I will at least do right is not subject my children to terrible "roll, move" games like Monopoly, LIFE, and so forth.
I think md hit the nail on the head with the idea that this is a way to sell more games. These games stick around in people's houses forever -- the only way to sell more is to make slightly different versions (this is also why, for example, Hasbro won't sell replacement Scrabble letters).
girl — May 15, 2009
ouija fail... it looks like a bulk-size box of "feminine hygiene products".
scamps — May 15, 2009
I love pink things.
But I hate that they're constantly marketed as "standard issue" for females.
cliff — May 15, 2009
I saw a similar photo spread regarding boys and girls bike names. Girls' bikes were named to the effect "dreamcatcher" and "rainbow" whereas the boys' bikes were named "warrior" and "speed demon." We can all appreciate the insight good marketing provides, but I wonder if the bikes and board games are just sloppy stereotyping -- do they really turn a meaningful profit for the manufacturer? Being the stay-at-home Dad of a nine-year old girl I know that the marketing has had some effect, but its waning. Which gets me to question why we need pink packaging on more adult, teen oriented games such as Monopoly and Scrabble. Mystery Date I get, but Monopoly?
FreshPeaches — May 15, 2009
I would have been so insulted when I was a girl if someone bought me one of those (and I LOVED board games).
I am totally flabbergasted by the pink Ouija Board...
Sara — May 15, 2009
This reminds me of how, when I was a kid, I asked for a lego set (my brother always got legos to build things like airplanes and ships and castles, etc). Mine was pink and had flower pieces. Needless to say, I wasn't happy and would sometimes sneak my brother's toys.
I'm kind of furious that "Scrabble," a game about having a really awesome vocabulary, has been reduced to something "designer". And why why why would Monopoly need to be pink and shaped like a jewelry box? Are girls only going to play these games if they think it's related to fashion? Cuz, uh, I played these games growing up EVEN THOUGH there was nothing "designer" about them.
W. Eric Martin — May 15, 2009
The most important lesson to draw from this display is to not shop for games at Toys R Us. Head to a specialty game store or an independent toy shop and look for titles from HABA, Ravensburger and Gamewright (for the younger crowd) and from Days of Wonder, Rio Grande Games, Z-Man Games and many other modern game publishers (for older kids and adults).
Ben Clark — May 15, 2009
Eric is correct. Most of the games sold in the mass market stores are simply not very good games for any gender. There are a wide variety of games available in the specialty market that could be called "gender neutral".
A good place to start when looking for alternatives to the pink dreck pictured above is boardgamegeek.com. There's an excellent list of games there put together by the father of a 5 year old girl:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/41426
yvonnegrapher — May 15, 2009
A dissertation should be written on the sociology of games, if there hasn't been one already.
Recently, I had to do some research on boardgames for a report. I studies two games: LIFE from the 1990s and MONOPOLY, bubble economy version from 2006. It was VERY interesting the social norms enforced in both. LIFE assumed that your goal was to die rich and retire at Millionaire Estates, along the way you may encounter troubles like contracting Moo-shu flu, etc.
Monopoly, the mega edition, from two years ago was bigger, badder, and faster. Why be limited to buying railroads, when you could get the whole depot? Money starts at $1000 bills. Instead of modest, square green plastic houses, you can upgrade to a shiny, silver skyscraper.
I also saw themed Monopoly, one based around M&M's, another around dogs, and yet another around Disney characters. I can't possible imagine what that is supposed to socialize one to be.
yvonnegraphy / Sociology of Board Games — May 15, 2009
[...] Sociological Images recently posted pictures taken at a toy store of board games targeted towards girls. Of course, they’re pink. The box of Scrabble spells out “f-a-s-h-i-o-n” and girls’ Monopoly comes in a pink, velvet-lined jewelry box where you can keep game pieces. [...]
Rachel — May 15, 2009
I saw the following sign on some Legos at Target - it made me sick, just like these pink games.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11234011@N06/3453691914/
Miriam — May 15, 2009
Ugh. If anyone ever gave me a pink version of any of these games, I'd return it for the original. Not that they would - pink and girly are definitely not my thing.
I find it disturbing that gender stereotypes are still forced on children of both genders. It really feeds into identity issues for girls and boys who don't fit the norms - I was a smart, musical, tomboyish kid, and at 25 am still trying to figure out how to present myself as a feminine straight woman without sacrificing other parts of who I am.
T B — May 15, 2009
Recently I was in a department store, and I was looking through the toys -- from a sociological perspective.
In this mainstream toy version of the world -
- girls grow up to be mommies
- cars and other technical equipment are for boys (and men)
- boys (and men) should appreciate violent combat (e.g. little toy figures holding guns)
etc
etc
This gender role stereotyping is over-the-top enough that it seems crude -- if not trite -- to point out a lot of it. Yet, it's all very real, and it all matters. I also find that people tend to just accept all of those mainstream toys; so the impact of anti-feminist toys (as well as other objectionable aspects of those toys) is allowed to stand, largely uncontested.
Anyway, if anyone ever tells you that feminism is a battle that was won back in the '60s (or even before that -- in the age of the suffragettes),
send them to a department store --
with a little guidance as to what to look for while they're there (since feminist consciousness isn't widespread).
Sexist Marketing Friday | mooreroom — May 15, 2009
[...] the stupid: Dell has created “Della,” a laptop that is also a fashion accessory. As a Mac user, I understand wanting a stylish piece of computing hardware; and I can see the [...]
Wyjaśniło się, które gry są dla dziewczynek — May 16, 2009
[...] Wielka sieć sklepów z zabawkami w USA - Toys ‘R’ Us - wprowadziła specjalną linię gier dla dziewczynek. Niestety dobór tytułow ogranicza się do gier popularnych typu Monopoly czy Scrabble. To czym wyróżniają się te tytuły to RÓŻ, RÓŻ i jeszcze raz RÓŻ. Mistrzowie marketingu wiedzą co trzeba eksponować, aby wzbudzić zainteresowanie młodej damy. Więcej zdjeć znajdziecie na blogu Sociological Images. [...]
Amanda — May 16, 2009
You automatically get triple points for words like "pretty" "dress" and "oven." Words like "car" "drill" and "freedom" actually cost you points.
The jail in Monopoly is now a Weight Watchers where you stay until you are acceptable to society again. The Chance cards say things like, "Your boyfriend has dumped you for someone cuter and more popular. Pay $100."
The spirits in the Ouija either compliment or insult your outfit.
Checkers a girl can only play with a boy. The boy can jump her as many times as you want. A girl who jumps a boy gets called a "skank" or a "whore" throughout the game. Two girls are not allowed to play this game together.
Yonah — May 16, 2009
Notice the "Every word's a winner!" on the Scrabble box. Feeding into the "it is bad for girls to be competitive" meme, perhaps? Or just a "don't be afraid to fail here!!!" message, against the default, unspoken, "you aren't as smart as boys are."
geoduckling — May 16, 2009
Is it bad that my first thought as I scrolled down and saw all that pink was "well, this is off season, breast cancer awareness month is in October". Then I actually read the text....grrr.
D'you think they'll actually sell? To me most of them (especially Life, and Monopoly) seem like their only real audience would be among collectors. I mean, it just doesn't seem practical, because board games need many players, and having such an obviously gendered board game would be a liability in a mulit kid household. And aren't board games a thing that kids mostly do with dads?
The ouija board was the most laughable to me. I mean, the mysterious looking board, pointer thingy and box are part of what makes it "work", creating an air of mystery and exoticness.
Yonah: the everyone is a winner thing could mean "girls such" or it could just be part of that trend where everyone gets a trophy for trying.
Jinzo — May 16, 2009
Oh My GOD.
Scrabble for girls ? Because they dont use the same words as the rest of the world. Intelligent comments and words fail me as I am stunned.
omnigon — May 16, 2009
What if the pink colored monopoly game is attractive to young girls who are already conditioned to respond to pink anyway, and now we are secretly getting them to learn how to become real estate magnates? eh, net benefit, maybe?
Marianne — May 17, 2009
This issue has been making me crazy enough to pull my hair out for the last ten years, which is when my first daughter was born. While all stores that sell toys label them as "boys" or "girls", I will say that Toys R Us is the worst offender as far as taking the separation of boys and girls toys to extremes. I routinely shop at Target, and have seen no girl versions of board games there.
If you want some real fun, go check out a Halloween costume store or party store in September or October......girls can dress in any costume a boy can as long as it is sexualized appropriately. He can be a pirate....she has to be a sexy pirate in a short skirt, etc.
Tara Mobley — May 17, 2009
The pink board games are pretty bad, but the pink versions of basic infant/toddler toys might be worse. I wonder what effects an all-pink Rock-a-Stack has on a developing brain...
elena — May 18, 2009
Thanks so much for this. I wrote about it today at my blog, and tracked down a special election edition of the 60s tv ad for Mystery Date:
http://elenabella.blogspot.com/2009/05/pink-r-us-grrrrls.html
elena — May 18, 2009
PS to geoduckling above: unfortunately, there is a pink Breast Cancer Awareness version of the Scrabble game, too. Also found a remake of a Mystery Date ad from the 60s:
http://elenabella.blogspot.com/2009/05/pink-r-us-grrrrls.html
I agree with W.Eric Martin re: consumer actions suggested by this post.
Cait — May 18, 2009
I'm speechless with amazement/horror. What idiot thought that was a good idea?
Worth noting that there's an interesting wee project in the UK called "Pink Stinks" which sounds a bit reductive but is basically an awareness raiser for exactly this kind of thing. They also on Facebook (of course!).
http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk/
Myself, I'd say all American readers of this article should write to toys R Us with their own personal opinion, explaining just how often they'll be purchasing products from their stores from now on!
emma moore — May 18, 2009
I'm absolutely horrified by this. Which I really shouldn't be as it's all around us but seeing it like this is just appalling. If I ever have a moment of doubt about whether our campaign pinkstinks.co.uk is worth it, then this is what spurs me on. Sadly, things like this crop up ALL the time.
Me? I hate pink. « Dating Jesus — May 18, 2009
[...] But we know these games are for girls because they’re pink. [...]
Meep — May 18, 2009
Jesse, have you seen the new version of Risk? The tagline, if I remember correctly, is "are you man enough?" or something to that effect. So no more taking over Mordor (or, uh, whatever you take over in the non-LotR version).
I am a girl, I like pink, but even I am disgusted by the sheer amount of pink on that shelf. (To give you an idea, whenever my roommates find a mystery item, they throw it on my bed if it's pink; not that they hate it, I just love it.) I'm debating showing my mother the Scrabble set; I don't know if she'll laugh or cry.
Play Like a Girl | A.J.Scudiere — May 19, 2009
[...] mine that have led to a different attempt at making old games new again. The latest installment of re-tooled games are in the pinkified boxes now on display at [...]
Shiyiya — May 20, 2009
Oh god, is that Pretty Pretty Princess on the bottom shelf on the left? I had that game when I was little, only the box was purple >_<
Also, the pink LIFE kind of terrifies me. I've always loved the game of LIFE and I both do and don't want to know what they did to it :(
Will — May 21, 2009
"I’m speechless with amazement/horror. What idiot thought that was a good idea?"
It's disturbing, but how can anyone be shocked or amazed at this? Sure, we've come some distance with equality, but think about it: Commercials still show the traditional gender roles. Dad works, and if Mom works, she also takes care of the kids. The only times Dad's and Mom's cross the line is when they're single parents, and Dads are still clumsy and unsure about getting the domestic stuff done and Mom's are clumsy and harassed at work, but can handle the home stuff. Boys still play and get dirty, and girls still like frilly stuff and play with dolls. There are some exceptions, but only a few, and almost all of them are in movies or TV shows trying to make a point. Not the case with marketing. By and large, our culture still reinforces the stereotypes. This is just a little more blatant than most.
At least thats what it's like here in the US. We still have a LONG way to go.
always cute — June 1, 2009
i don't know whats the racket but i like the color blue so thank you
Felicia (aka Mommy B — June 4, 2009
Think all this color/gender-coding is sickening to see on a store shelf? Check out the pictures in my last "Annual Egg-Nog Laced Rant on Toys" to see the practice in it's natural habitat. Not a lick of individuality to be seen.
http://www.reignofthegirlchild.com/2008/12/annual-eggnog-laced-rant-on-toys-part-i.html
anan — June 15, 2009
You are hilarious. I loved your aside about the religiosity of your family.
About the marketing of 'girl's' toys - quite rigid guidelines and forceful stereotyping for this which completely ignores (or maybe wants to subvert) the natural stages of development wherein girls are androgynous or tomboys. It was a bit depressing to see that the 'girl's'section in our said toy store was full of household WORK(cooking, shopping, cleaning, caring for children etc.) with nothing in the way of exploratory, literary or scientific PLAY.
And if anyone wants to tell me that the pink, fluffy aisle stuffed with princess dolls is play, i would wearily tell them that the effects of the 'princess myth' have been well-documented by better feminist writers than myself to lead to the oppression and infantalization of women as adults.
Try taking your girls, instead, to the Society for Creative Anachronism's medievel banquet and joust days for a taste of what a REAL princess had to live through. Jay Williams, a wonderful fifties writer who, even back then, wrote fairy tales to try and encourage girls to become physicists and logicians, is worth checking out, too.
As for genderizing games, we completely left all that out in our family and headed for the science and literature departments. We also wanted to develop our ability to work together as a family instead of dividing ourselves into competition (like THAT'S supposed to be fun and unifying!), so we chose to buy cooperative games instead, ie:
http://www.familypastimes.com/
Good post. i hope to see more.
stacy — July 10, 2009
2 months ago,i had a yard sale. because thats what i wished for my birthday.so let me tell you what happend i turned 10 and i thought i was too young for playing dolls,scrable,candyland,and last but not least monappley. by ashly ramos now im 14
stacy — July 10, 2009
some peopel steal names like dell from a computer then game is called della. S.T.U.P.I.D
Sociological Images » Vintage Lego Ad — July 17, 2009
[...] instead of making a fashion statement. When we see ads that always show girls in pink, playing with “girl” versions of toys, or engaged in passive activities, that’s a particular marketing choice. [...]
waqasnayyer — August 19, 2009
The most important lesson to draw from this display is to not shop for games at Toys R Us. Head to a specialty game store or an independent toy shop and look for titles from HABA, Ravensburger and Gamewright (for the younger crowd) and from Days of Wonder, Rio Grande Games, Z-Man Games and many other modern game publishers (for older kids and adults). http://www.pspgamesblog.com
Another Collection of Gender-and-Tech-Related Images » Sociological Images — August 26, 2009
[...] see: the Sony OMG Lilac Play Station Portable, mom/daughter domesticity in a Nintendo ad, targeting the new Risk to men, and Miss Bimbo. [...]
meerkat — September 3, 2009
Hmm, I like the color of the lilac PSP but I am somewhat ambiguous about the marketing. There's nothing wrong with portraying a bunch of girls having fun with the PSP, and there's nothing wrong with having pretty colors of PSP, but the first thing being contingent on the second thing rubs me the wrong way. But maybe there are ads featuring girls playing the plain old black PSP that I just haven't seen?
Sociological Images Update (Nov. 2009) » Sociological Images — December 1, 2009
[...] S. sent us a comedic skit for the Shii, a girls’ version of the Wii. We added it to our post on otherwise-gender-neutral-games gendered [...]
DragonL0rd132 — December 1, 2009
The game community itself has already commented on this.
This: http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=254 points to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_Mama
Allison — December 1, 2009
Do you remember what it was like to be a young girl? I like pink! And they never say anywhere "Girls' Scrabble", so maybe guys wanted pink too. Why should the color pink automatically be labeled as a girl's toy?
guanajuat — December 14, 2009
good forum i like it garage door opener installation keep it up.
Is “Save the Ta-tas” the New Feminism? I Hope Not. « of Heart and Mind — January 4, 2010
[...] Why pink? Yes, breast cancer overwhelmingly affects women, but why does that necessitate that it is symbolized by the “quintessential” female color? [...]
Sandy — January 10, 2010
I was quite miffed when I went looking for a Seensay for my daughter and all I could find was the pink one with things like "shoes" or something on there. Took me forever to find the one with farm animals... It's actually quite sickening.
Sociological Images Update (Apr. 2010) » Sociological Images — May 3, 2010
[...] deodorants, and disposable cameras to our post on pointlessly gendered products. We also added a new “girl talk” version of Jenga to our post on gendered versions of classic board games. The first two were found by Sunlight [...]
>Why the phrase "games for girls" makes me cringe | Go Make Me a Sandwich — November 12, 2014
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