So when, this past week, Hasbro came out with a new version of Monopoly called Ms. Monopoly, I was happy - but then after reading a bit about it I wasn't happy. I was perplexed about my feelings. But the first thing that caught my attention was that the guys are given $200 to start and the gals are given $240.
That didn't make sense to me. I found it a bit offensive but didn't really know why, except it's not fair. (Two wrongs don't make a right.) But I also thought that no male member of the human race would want to play this version of game so why bother.
I Googled the public's reaction to Ms. Monopoly and found some negative reactions. One writer suggesting its design is supposed to empower women but it does just the opposite.
And then on Saturday, NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," the panelists went to town on Ms. Monopoly. One compared it to Lady Pens (a real thing) "so we could better hold it in our tiny little hands." Then suggested that the $240 would, of course, be worth only 78 cents per dollar, and that the playing pieces would consist of a bra, and a tampon, and that the top hat be replaced by a flowery one. And that Park Place be replaced by "Not as Good at Parking" Place.
So by that time, I was laughing and understanding more why Ms. Monopoly might not be the best idea.
In 1904 Elizabeth Magie invented a game called The Landlord's Game. It was created to be a "practical (negative) demonstration of the practice of land grabbing" at that time She later sold the patent to Parker Brothers (which later merged with Hasbro) for $500. It, in turn, morphed into Monopoly, which, of course, encourages land grabbing.
Maybe Hasbro could invent a game about that.
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