Dud Poker.

As if Pink Boutique Monopoly didn't cause my gag reflex to go into overdrive, I just found this over at Feminist Law Professors. It's PINK POKER NIGHT: IT'S A CHICK THING. Wow. Here's how University Games describes the game:

O.K., ladies, don't listen if any knucklehead tries to tell you that poker just isn't a chick thing. Just toss him a piece of raw meat and tell him to go away, while you pick up the phone and call your friends to come on over, because you just got Pink Poker Night! With this fun, complete, and just-for-you poker set you have everything you and the gals need for a rollicking good girls' night in. Includes deck of playing cards, 200 poker chips, invitations and envelopes, party recipes, and rule book. We're betting you'll just love this game set! For 2 to 8 adults.

The manufacturing company, University Games, claims some contradictory things on their "about us" portion of the website. ". . . University Games has been creating educational board games designed so that players won't notice how much they are learning!" and "We constantly seek to keep our products contemporary through new product development". Educational? I beg to differ. This has nothing to do with education. Perhaps they are only referring their large inventory of award winning children's games, of which I would be curious to read the girls'/boys' game descriptions to rate the sexism saturation. How can UG boast "contemporary" games when this is the trash being marketed? And I have to ask, party recipes? Did I read that right? What exactly does that mean? Perhaps an hour in the kitchen beside the oven? Or maybe complicated cocktails! Amazon says this game is recommended for ages 21 and up, but I can't understand why University Games is talking to the "gals" like we (or should I say "they" because I really don't feel like an intended audience, somehow) are 10 years old! "rollicking good girls' night in"? Yeah, recipes and sexist stereotype bullshit sound like a real rollicking good time.

And "a chick thing"? I just can't believe that every sentence of this promotional paragraph is ripe with stomach-churning demeaning language (including tossing the "knucklehead" *man* a piece of "raw meat") as a marketing ploy to attract women (again, over 21) to buy this product.

I'm going to tell University Games what I think of Pink Poker. You can too, at this address:
University Games Corporate2030 Harrison Street San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 503.1600 phone (415) 503.0085 fax Email: info@ugames.com