Well, at least we've come a long way since 1966.

Of course, this is nothing compared to the subjugation of nerds in other retro board games.

Reminds me of my childhood. My mother and grandmother always pushed me to be something "feminine" when I grew up. They'd always ask me if I was going to be a hairdresser, ballerina or a nurse. I wanted to work with animals or something scientific. When I told them as much, I'd hear, "But wouldn't you rather be a (insert stereotypical female career here)?" *Sigh* Well, I STILL want to be a scientist or work with animals or plants.

Hey, I remember playing Hearthrob and Girl Talk. My friends and I played those all the time. In Girl Talk you had to put little red stickers on to represent pimples. It was punishment. I never forgot that.

I love the "lady" careers! College means you HAVE to be a teacher, naturally, what else is there? However, I feel like I have to mention: the "Actress" card actually surprised me...because I was thinking if it was an "actress" card today she'd look like Lindsay Lohan and be wearing huge sunglasses, a tight dress, etc. In other words it seems like "actress" is not a choice anymore. But "movie star" is. That's kind depressing.

Not as depressing as the "You Are Emotional" heart card, though! ;)

Youre absolutely right norbizness. Women now want to do "nerdy" or "geeky" things, yet not be stereotyped for it. Yet poor guys like me (I think Im something of a geek) still get banged into the stereotype of ugly-virgin-in-the-basement type. What makes it worse is only one of those doesnt apply to me, becuase we dont even have a basement!

I remember the career tests I took in school, and I got the distinct impression "canon fodder" was what it was trying to put across. Still, at least I got asked questions like "do you like the outdoors?" instead of "how fat are you?".

My Mom (who was born in 1939) told me that even though she went to college, the only "legitimate" careers for women (at least where she grew up) were Nurse or Teacher. She became a Teacher. And then of course quit when she got pregnant.

But, bless her heart, she was cognizant of the inequity of this and completely encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. I was a math whiz, and my folks were totally proud of it. I played drums in school band (quite a feminist feat in the midwest in the early 1970's), I played lots of sports. I was never told I couldn't do something because I was a girl, and have had a varied and successful life as a result.

I always wonder what my Mom (who is incredibly smart) might have done if she'd had the opportunity....

Damn I'm lucky! My parents always made it clear to me that I could do anything I wanted with my life (yes, I'm a woman). My father made sure that I could always take care of myself: I can fix basic wiring and plumbing and do simple carpentry.
Now I'm getting a PhD in a physical science. Let's hear it for progressive parenting!

On a semi-related note: "vintage" sexism and racism was strong in the early '80s as well. My six(ish)-year-old self started to notice that on every commercial for a board game and on every box packaging for a board game, the winner shown was always a white boy. He might have been playing with girls and/or children of color, but the white boy always had the grin of the victor. Every time I saw a new commercial, I watched to see if it would happen yet again. I was never - always? - disappointed. Yes, it was a non-scientific study conducted by an elementary-school age child, but I was a pretty observant kid. Back then, I was frustrated because didn't have a name for the feelings that these ads ispired - and I couldn't process it with my peers because none of the other kids understood why I was irritated or wanted to talk about it. Now I look back on the experience and treasure it as the start of my evolution as an awake person out for the interests of equality.

" They'd always ask me if I was going to be a hairdresser, ballerina or a nurse. I wanted to work with animals or something scientific."

RedDragoness, in which way is a nurse's career not a scientific one? I can tell you that I've known nurses in my life that know just as much if not more about medicine and science that some doctors I've known in my life.

Why all the disrespect to nurses and teachers? They have incredibly difficult jobs in which, hopefully, they constantly use their intellect and pass on their knowledge to help or teach others. I also know plenty of male nurses, teachers, and even hairdressers. I do not think aiming to be any of the above is selling oneself short. Teaching and nursing, especially, are two extremely important professions.

Phlegmatic - Women now want to do "nerdy" or "geeky" things, yet not be stereotyped for it. Yet poor guys like me (I think Im something of a geek) still get banged into the stereotype of ugly-virgin-in-the-basement type.

That's because us girl geeks are so busy being in top 10 hottest (science of choice) lists and posing for naked (nerdy persuit of choice) calendars to suffer that!!

Seriously though if we were seen that way then it would mean taking us seriously and you wouldn't want to do that. Not when you can keep us all fluffly and light.

carolina girl,

I meant something more engrossed in science. Like botany, zoology or physics. Teacher and nurse aren't scientific enought for me. Besides, I don't particularly like working with people. Especially children. To be fair, I wouldn't want to be a doctor, either. Unless it's an animal doctor. I have no prejudice against nurses or teachers (although I have met a lot of crappy ones).

I have never played the sh*thead game shown here, though I developed body issues aplenty w/out it. For what its' worth, I did play the DATING GAME linked to in the thread (the original) and w/out it, I may not have realized that YES, I DID like BOYS, but only the skinny, smart ones, especially if they also had bad hair & glasses. I'm not kidding. As lame as that game was, I got all, um, excited over the nerd card. So it did have SOME educational potential!

Oh my! I'd forgotten about that game! My mom either had it from when she was little or got it for irony's sake at a garage sale... I remember thinking it was insane even as a kid.

Good thing I grew up all normal-like despite having played it once or twice!

Odd thing is, whenever my wife or I mention that she works in a hospital, people always come back with "Nurse?" Why is that? Just statistically, you'd expect someone to say "Physician?", but no!

Funny thing is, at that hospital the female doctors (just) outnumber the males...

Odd thing is, whenever my wife or I mention that she works in a hospital, people always come back with "Nurse?" Why is that? Just statistically, you'd expect someone to say "Physician?", but no!

Funny thing is, at that hospital the female doctors (just) outnumber the males...

And there was a version of that game for boys. Interesting enough, the boys version has an estimated playing time of 20 minutes, versus the 10 minutes for the girls version.

Here's the breakdown of careers for boys:

Law School - Statesman
Graduate School - Scientist
College - Athlete
Medical School - Doctor
Technical School - Engineer
Flight School - Astronaut

My parents always made it clear to me that I could do anything.games