Mancala and gender-expression

Long time no see! Candice is here! You know, Chihiro once wrote the article about stereotypes in board games.

Board games are not free from gender

In Japan, recently there is a huge movement of board games so Candice and I can enjoy many different ones. We love board...

gendercooking.com

2021.05.03

I think that applies to any other video games and game apps too.
For example, it really bugs me that Pokémon Go avatars are strictly divided by TWO genders.
You can customize your avatar’s physical features (hair color, skin, eye color, and gender.)
You can also change your avatar’s clothing and accessories. However, each gender has its own set of clothing and accessory styles…so like, if you choose a male avatar, you can’t wear skirts or clothes that reveals more skin than female. How boring right?

But today I want to teBut recently I downloaded Mancala online and I was pretty impressed!

This app not only allows you to play mancala online but also allows your avatar to be free from gender. Like below, you can wear a beard or a moustache while you have “feminine hair” !

Shouldn’t all games be like this? It’s almost 2022.
We seriously don’t need anymore stereotypical bullcrap!