Ms. Monopoly | Know Your Meme

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About

Ms. Monopoly is an edition of board game Monopoly inspired by prominent women inventors and created by the toy company Hasbro. In the game, players invest in inventions and innovations made by women such as solar heating, bulletproof vests and chocolate chip cookies. The game rules enforce a monetary gap between female and male players, with the former receiving more money at the start of the game and every time they pass Go.

History

On September9th, 2019, toy company Hasbro announced Ms. Monopoly, a variation of Monopoly board game featuring several differences in gameplay and aesthetic. Instead of investing in real estate, all players can invest in notable inventions made by women such as bulletproof vests, chocolate chip cookies and ladies’ shapewear.

At the start of the game, banker distributes $1,900 in Monopoly money to each female player and $1,500 to male players. Additionally, each time a female player passes go, they must collect $240 contrary to standard $200 collected by male players.

The game also features other differences such as new game tokens which include a white hat, a watch, a barbell, a glass and a jet plane.

Reception

Following the announcement, users on Twitter, Reddit and other platforms criticized the game for virtue signaling and misrepresenting the issue of the wage gap. For example, a tweet by user @michellemalkin, posted on September 10th, 2019, gained over 180 retweets and 700 likes in one day (shown below, left). A tweet by user @LeeAnn_Hartford in which they accused the game of being sexist received 140 retweets and 1,300 likes in one day (shown below, right). In multiple posts the fact that Monopoly was created by Elizabeth Magie as The Landlord’s Game, whose idea was later copied and sold by Charles Darrow under a differend name and who wasn’t given credit in the Ms. Monopoly editon, was brought up.


Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin "Ms. Monopoly:" Extra cash when you pass go. And instead of a Get Out of Jail card, women get to play Put 'Em In Jail cards with false #MeToo men...then collect multi-million-dollar civil allegations against suits & book deals. CNN@CNN Unlike the classic game, women will collect 240 Monopoly bucks when they pass "go," while male players will collect the usual 200. It's "a fun new take on the game that creates a world where women have an advantage often enjoyed by men," the creators said. cnn.it/2UMgcGZ 6:51 AM 10 Sep 2019 Text Font Line LeeAnn Imel-Hartford @LeeAnn_Hartford As a woman, I find #MsMonopoly sexist. Equality doesn't mean women make more than men. #EpicFail way to go @Hasbro 4:29 AM 10 Sep 2019 Text Font Line

On Reddit, multiple memes pocking fun at the game and its mechanics were posted (examples shown below).


Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game MOMONOPOLY Hasbro AGES 84 THE FIRST GAME WHERE WOMEN MAKE MORE THAN MEN. PLAYERS Hasbro Selving sexism eBRAND Cartoon o e Unlike the classic game, women will collect 240 Ma MONOPOLY Monopoly bucks when they pass 'go," while male players will collet the usual 200. The idea is to create a game where women make more than men, the first game to do so, according to Hasbro. Hasbro et Well girls did it. sexism is no mo we Cartoon Text

In the following days, multiple news outlets reported on the game and the related controversies, including articles by CNN and The Washington Post.

Online Presence

Viral Ad

On May 8th, 2020, Twitter user @baraGodzilla reposted the commercial for Ms. Monopoly, writing, “im losing my mind. there is no way you’re going to be able to predict what this ad is trying to sell you. finally, now more than ever, women can buy our product,” gaining over 49,000 retweets and 190,000 likes.

The tweet brought Ms. Monopoly to the internet’s attention again, and inspired a new string of jokes and criticisms about the game. Twitter user @lalaulalo wrote, “Ms Monopoly is such a pitch-perfect storm of soulless ‘girlboss’ corporate feminism that i have a hard time being convinced it’s not performance art” (shown below, left). User @jayhawk618 joked, “Ms. Monopoly claims to be ‘self made’ but she got her start up capital from her uncle, The Monopoly Guy,” gaining over 2,200 retweets and 16,000 likes (shown below, right). The jokes were covered by Junkee and Mashable.


Lalau @lalaulalo Ms Monopoly is such a pitch-perfect storm of soulless "girlboss" corporate feminism that i have a hard time being convinced it's not perfomance art. WHO IS MS. MONOPOLY? SHE IS MR. MONOPOLY'S NIECE AND A SELF MADE INVESTMENT GURU HERE TO CHANGE A FEW THINGS. (IT'S ABOUT TIME.) GO MsMONOPOLY 1:41 AM · May 9, 2020 · Twitter Web App Mary Pilon Cartoon Jim Stansel @jayhawk618 Ms. Monopoly claims to be "self made" but she got her start up capital from her uncle, The Monopoly Guy. WHO IS MS. MONOPOLY? SHE IS MR. MONOPOLY'S NIECE AND A SELF MADE INVESTMENT GURU HERE TO CHANGE A FEW THINGS. (IT'S ABOUT TIME.) GO MsMONOPOLY 4:10 PM · May 8, 2020 · Twitter for Android

Various Examples


Titania McGrath @TitaniaMcGrath Thank you @Hasbro for MS MONOPOLY Woman need this kind of head start in order to help them to feel empowered. Now we just need MS CHESS, where the Queen lounges about at the back of the board while the King runs around doing all the hard work for a change. CNN @CNN Unlike the classic game, women will collect 240 Monopoly bucks when they pass "go," while male players will collect the usual 200. It's "a fun new take on the game that creates a world where women have an advantage often enjoyed by me," the creators said. cnn.it/2UMgcGZ 10:41 AM -10 Sep 2019 Text Font Line CMW CNN @CNN Unlike the classic game, women will collect 240 Monopoly bucks when they pass "go," while male players will collect the usual 200. It's "a fun new take on the game that creates a world where women have an advantage often enjoyed by men," the creators said. Ma MONOPOLY MEN MAKE HO6ETHAN THE TRSTOocA EVERYONE HASBRO Cartoon Text Mo MONOPOLY GO THE FIRST GAMOWHERE WOMEN MAKE MORE THAN MEN. Hasbre We did it Patrick! We ended Sexism! Daenerys Targaryen Toy
Beth of the Elder Kin @BethElderkin Parker Bros: Rejects Elizabeth Magie's pitch for The Landlord's Game in 1909. Buys her patent decades later for $500 they can bury it in favor of a similar game "invented" by a man, which praised capitalism instead of critiquing it. What a woman-friendly legacy, Ms. Monopoly! SO Hasbro @Hasbro MEET MS. MONOPOLY! Mr. Monopoly's niece, a self-made investment guru, is here to celebrate women trailblazers and update a few things. It's about time! 3:10 8:30 AM 10 Sep 2019 Text Font Lone Skum @im_erick_ Replying to @shoe0nhead Hasbro making Ms. Monopoly and watching their sales for that game be non-existent Get a load Of this society 10:10 PM 9 Sep 2019 Text Cartoon Line William Rightstick, LLC @Wolfram_William To those getting Pissed off at Ms. Monopoly CALM DOWN,SON ITS JUSTA DRAWING. 5:11 AM -10 Sep 2019 Cartoon Text Organism Line

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External References

Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/ms-monopoly