Late last year, Hasbro introduced Ms. Monopoly, a Monopoly version that celebrates female inventors and entrepreneurs. They are also paid more than men.
Hasbro advertised the game with a video that didn’t go so well. The video featured three young female inventors talking about gendered stereotypes around technological and scientific achievements.
At the end of the video, the three girls received $20,580 in real money to fund their own innovative projects.
The ad received a lot of criticism with detractors saying the rules of Ms. Monopolywere well-intentioned but glossed over the gender imbalances in modern workplaces, including pay inequality, and the ways that women’s experiences and contributions have often been played down — or erased altogether — from history.
“Since Ms. Monopoly doesn’t address the causes of the gender wage gap, some critics say it suggests women need a head start simply because they’re, well, women,” CNBC reported.
Here are some of what the critics added:
- “If money can solve a problem, it’s actually a really small problem. There are a lot of barriers that face women,” said Amy Peng, an associate professor in the department of economics at Ryerson University. “Are you doing this because you think women are not as productive as men and need to be overcompensated?” she added.
- “It’s unhelpful to portray women as needing special advantages. What women need is to be treated as equals with respect,” said Christine Sypnowich, head of the philosophy department at Queens College and a feminist scholar.
- “Hasbro can look at the opportunities they provide for women in the company, versus men. Who’s in leadership? Who’s getting promotions? They can take a hard look at their own personnel issues and use that as an example for the real world as opposed to the game world,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
The ad resurfaced on Twitter and people still hate it
https://twitter.com/baraGodzilla/status/1258682943716782080
https://twitter.com/SarahNEmerson/status/1258822293381242880
https://twitter.com/terrygtnguyen/status/1258829921234927616
https://twitter.com/Megan_Nicolett/status/1258819340130009089
https://twitter.com/moorehn/status/1258840926367158272
OK QUICK QUESTION: WHY https://t.co/aIMd4lXNBD
— Kalhan (@KalhanR) May 8, 2020
i swear that the final seconds of this video gave me the biggest "OMFG R U KIDDING ME" reaction i've had during all of quar https://t.co/fcDAVDP7em
— Internet Person™⭐️ (@TimHerrera) May 8, 2020
this is the worst thing in the ENTIRE WORLD
the REVEAL omg https://t.co/MLCOlHOhV2
— Holly Brockwell (@holly) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/mekosoff/status/1258815099386683395
i was not even *close* at winning this game https://t.co/QmqH7qbuVc
— nic nguyen (@nicnguyen) May 8, 2020
You could have given me a thousand guesses, and I would have never guessed the company that made this and the product they’re trying to sell. I am aghast. https://t.co/pcVnTEbdlV
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/DrClaireH/status/1258851749928079362
https://twitter.com/_thatmoviechick/status/1258853028880240640
There is a 0% chance that you will predict how this ad ends https://t.co/kWcLIiKGfh
— Nick Maggiulli (@dollarsanddata) May 8, 2020
I genuinely screamed "NO" at the end https://t.co/NP0ufWZ15U
— Aura (MOOMANIBE@Cohost) (@MOOMANiBE) May 8, 2020
I SCREAMED. PLEASE WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD LMAO https://t.co/GsCiMhIx3i
— eleanor (@snitchery) May 9, 2020
<breathing into a paper bag> https://t.co/OrnU1UDKu8
— Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) May 8, 2020
I WASNT FUCKING READY OH MY GOD https://t.co/PunReUoy38
— pereden @ ff14 vortex (@perepereden) May 8, 2020
Watch to the end. This ad is real. This is the actual world we inhabit. You share a universe with this advertisement https://t.co/2QTvrDyHnq
— Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) May 8, 2020
Not overacting, not overselling this: you wont predict what this is. And when you find out what it is, you will scream https://t.co/apk1pNX17X
— 💖💙💜Elise 💖💙💜 (@troubledmn) May 8, 2020
This commercial has inspired me to break the glass ceiling, find the biggest shard, and just eat it. https://t.co/qWDLnnCsVQ
— Peach Saliva (@PeachSaliva) May 8, 2020
"Everyone freaking out about this is exaggerating for comedic effect," I assured myself.
I was wrong. I made a face AND a sound. https://t.co/NNoJiVA9fh
— Iron Spike (@Iron_Spike) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/mckellogs/status/1258844760615333890
Let’s play a game: one minute into watching this, come back here and say what you THINK it’s an ad for, then go and finish it (or don’t). https://t.co/ydJLEHZXJ4
— Alanah Pearce (@Charalanahzard) May 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/Nitomatta/status/1258830058199760896
I thought it was a tampon commercial and that would be the worst possible option, but no. No, this is worse. https://t.co/KCkFHkTvm4
— Sarah McGonagall (@gothspiderbitch) May 8, 2020
If you know anything about the history of games this ad will make you angry https://t.co/48aVqC8pwW
— Freyjavalentine dot bsky dot social (@FreyjaErlings) May 8, 2020
You'll never guess what this ad is for. https://t.co/JKzYe83rmg
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 9, 2020
I felt I was getting a pretty good feel for what this was going to promote but I could not have been more wrong https://t.co/rC5pnKAGPi
— Rami Ismail / رامي (@tha_rami) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/LdyGray/status/1258827702519451650
https://twitter.com/gcaw/status/1258843483428749313
this genuinely happened to me after i watched that https://t.co/KftFZX1cET pic.twitter.com/FSeG4PC9e7
— rachel (@rachelmillman) May 8, 2020
This is the funniest thing in the world, I had to check on the official YouTube channel of the product that it is, in fact, real.
Watch till the end. https://t.co/spFFKsdwh6
— Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/katangus/status/1258812395419549697
doubly hilarious given that the original product was plagiarized from a woman's invention. https://t.co/6XsJiZh4wi
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/machineiv/status/1258831479657730048
https://twitter.com/lan_zhan_/status/1258832474945306629
My undying hatred for Charles Darrow becomes more heated with every passing day. https://t.co/wCrKPF7iXz pic.twitter.com/JJI9JibQJr
— Gatsby 🔌 C0MMISSIONS OPEN! (@Defiant_Drills) May 8, 2020
This cannot be real. This is like the most insulting shit ever.
I hate marketing. https://t.co/auxUJzAgxv
— Peter Macaluso (@_macarony) May 8, 2020
I audibly screamed https://t.co/BBuF2FI0aT
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/zlipp/status/1258824152137547777
What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck. https://t.co/eZXS7hbWwc
— Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt) May 8, 2020
HAHAHA I JUST SPIT MY WATER OUT https://t.co/cYHRbcqj44
— Genevieve (@gankstrr) May 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/EmilyGorcenski/status/1258840681113686019
