Candy Land, the classic board game kids have played for most than 60 years, has gotten another facelift; but some folks aren’t thrilled with the results. Many of the female characters depicted on the board (i.e., Queen Frostine and Princess Lolly) look distinctly more sexual than previous incarnations. It’s just one more instance of a growing trend, critics say, in feeding kids overly sexualized and unrealistic depictions of girls and women. “Candy Land isn’t the only classic that has, without our notice, gotten a hot makeover. (I’m not the only one who finds this evolution alarming.)” writes Peggy Orenstein in The Atlantic. “The Disney Princesses have grown gradually more skinny and coy over time. And, check out Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Trolls (now called ‘Trollz’). Even Care Bears and My Little Pony have been put on a diet. “When our kids play with toys that we played with,” Orenstein continues, “we assume they are the same as they were when we were younger. But they aren’t. Not at all. Our girls (and our boys) are now bombarded from the get-go with images of women whose bodies range from unattainable to implausible (Disney Princesses, anyone?).” (The Atlantic)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.