Billie made a board game about the impossible expectations women face every day

For women, navigating the plethora of societal expectations governing everything from their appearance to their behavior can feel like an impossible task. Now, women’s shaving brand Billie is transforming that daily struggle into a comparable experience—an unwinnable board game. In the game, called “No Worries If Not!”—a nod to a phrase women often tack onto sentences to come across as less aggressive—players race to be the first to reach “Everyone’s Happy, No One’s Mad Land” at the end of the board. Along the way, they draw from a deck of cards whose prompts highlight dozens of double standards confronting women every day. For example, one reads, “You decide to have kids. Go to Judgment Junction. You decide not to have kids. Go to Judgment Junction,” while another reads, “You want to be taken seriously in meetings, but you’re told to ‘smile more’ when presenting. Go to Smile More Street.” The game pieces are labeled “Eternal Youth,” “Biological Clock,” etc.—also reflecting various challenges and unattainable expectations women are held to in their personal lives and careers. But as players traverse the path of womanhood, they’ll soon realize it’s impossible to reach the final zone of the board where “everyone’s happy” and “no one’s mad.” “It was a really cathartic experience for the team as we were going through and kind of laying out one absurdity after another,” Georgina Gooley, co-founder of Billie, told Ad Age. Much of the game’s content, including the prompts on the cards and the names of the playing areas, stem directly from the personal experiences of Gooley, Billie’s internal creative team, and several focus groups of female consumers. “We sort of related and commiserated with one another,” Gooley said. “Making a joke out of all these absurd scenarios makes you quickly realize that the whole game that we’re all being forced to play is pointless. The whole point of this game is to empower you to say, ‘You know what? I’m not going to play along anymore. I’m just going to play by my own rules.’ ” In fact, the only way to win “No Worries If Not!” is to do away with the rulebook entirely, Gooley said. That path to victory in the game functions as a metaphor for how women can overcome impossible double standards and win “this weird and wild game of life that we play as women,” she added—by refusing to play by the rules of societal expectation. To ensure the game would be unbeatable if players tried to adhere to its rules, Billie brought on a professional board game strategist. To promote the game, Billie’s in-house creative team partnered with director Luca Venter to film a satirical infomercial-style video (below) starring actress and comedian Ruby McCollister. “Are you a chronic apologizer? Have you been called a ‘people pleaser,’ but as a compliment?” McCollister asks viewers with feigned cheer. “Introducing No Worries If Not!, the game women never wanted to play! Based on the real-life traps and hurdles women face in daily life.” A post shared by Billie (@billie) Less than a week after its release, the game had already sold out on Billie’s website. It sold for $25, and Billie is donating proceeds to various women’s organizations, including Every Mother Counts and Black Girls Code. The “No Worries If Not!” campaign builds upon Billie’s overarching mission of “upending societal expectations for women,” Gooley said. In past campaigns, including “Red, White and You Do You” and “Project Body Hair,” Billie pursued that goal by challenging perceptions surrounding body hair and shaving—but this latest campaign extends into broader expectations confronting women. Though the timing was coincidental, Billie released “No Worries If Not!” as the internet buzzed with reviews of the “Barbie” movie—including thousands of women praising (spoilers!) a passionate monologue, delivered by America Ferrera’s character, about the impossible standards of womanhood. “I feel like if you were to read that monologue and then turn it into a board game, you would get this game,” Gooley said. “So many women are sharing it on TikTok and Instagram, and it's completely gone viral. I think that's because it is so on point, and so many people can relate to the double standards women face in life.”

Billie made a board game about the impossible expectations women face every day

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