Here's the problem, as I see it.
Boys get all the cool stuff: cars, jets, tanks, trains, robots; robots that transform into cars, jets, tanks, and trains. They also get to have fantasies about doing awesome and exciting stuff: traveling on adventures, rescuing princesses, saving the world, fighting enemies, flying through outer space.
Girls get...work.
Most toys "for girls" center around doing some form of work--much of it domestic.
Tea party sets? Work. Barbies? You get to style her hair and lay out what fashionable clothing she'll wear for...work. (This would be the case even if Mattel did make a "realistic woman" Barbie--which would sell, by the way.)
Baby dolls. WORK. Especially if the dolls actually poop, pee, and cry.
My Little Pony. Ooh, girls get to...style their hair. That's work!
How about girls' kitchen playsets? Housework. Easy Bake ovens? More fucking work.
"Girls seem to mature faster than boys." Gee, I wonder why?
Maybe it's because while six-year old boys got to experience sports cars that changed into giant robots from outer space, six-year old girls were at home hosting tea parties, changing their toy daughters' diapers, and getting their boss Barbie ready for her high-powered hostile takeover meeting with Jerrica Benton.
Oh, for house-fried rice! Men: don't you care complain about your daughter wanting to play with your son's Transformers.
Girls just wanna have fun.
I feel better now.
