I don't know why there is such a double standard.

I will say, however, I DO think it is a male female thing - sorry. I have three brothers. When they are in a toy store, looking at action figures, or picking out video games, no-one gives them a second glance. If I'm in a Toys R Us, looking at Toys (any toys) people give me the evil eye. Somehow, when men are interested in toys (action figures, model trains, airplanes) it's a "hobby." When women are interested in toys, it's "coquettish" and they are said to be childish.

As a little girl, I noticed that around nine or ten, the emphasis switched from playing dolls, etc. to playing "grown up," in other words, girls are expected to start playing like they are adults at a young age: buying pretend make up, dress up, etc. Starting at ten, a lot of girls my OWN age were telling me I was too old for dolls. If I showed them the AG catalog, invariably mom would appear and reinforce the idea that they were "too old for dolls." This whole "I have to look like Britney Spears" mentality stems from that, I think. Girls still need to play pretend and express creativity, if they can't have toys, they are going to look for other outlets.

As an adult, in the toy department, I still hear this all the time. A little girl, barely eleven, stops to look at the baby dolls and the mom says, "You're too old for dolls." It's like there's a huge rush to get girls into being adults and teenagers. I don't understand it.

That being said, for my part, my family, being toy lovers, are all very understanding. My mom loves dolls as much as I do, and my brothers can relate since they still collect transformers and Legos (they're in their twenties, too). My BF understands, too--he's gotten AG outfits for me for special occaisions, a dollhouse for my Birthday, and for our anniversary got me a Disney Little Princess doll [img]biggrin.gif[/img] . He uses the video game analogy, too.