Can i throw this into the conversation. Probably the best article i've read on writing fiction with women. aidanmoher.com/blog/featured-article/2013/05/we-have-always-fought-challenging-the-women-cattle-and-slaves-narrative-by-kameron-hurley/
I feel this is relevant. Here's the page, as there are a lot of good comments from REAL WOMEN who can offer some of their perspectives and experiences on what it's like to be marginalized and objectified in media. http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/
Yeah, it's not just toy stores. It's all kinds of marketing. check this article out, it has some examples: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/05/24/male-as-the-neutral-default/ And this one: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/06/15/gendered-survival-guides-for-kids/ which has an interesting point:
The problem is, no one wants to be the first one to take 'the step' and follow suit. Susan O'Connor, the writer for Bioshock 1, Infinite and a few other titles that had pretty good stories, essentially said that he was fed-up of the industry and the way it treated stories. Link to TLDR:…