My Macho Pony

I generally let Alex play with any toys he happens to be interested in. I pay little to no attention to whether that toy is a "boy" toy or a "girl" toy.  The majority of the time, Alex does prefer typically boy toys like cars and blocks and sports stuff, but occasionally he'll  be interested in other things, such as his doll "Baby Po" and that one time he got a Polly Pocket in his happy meal (he LOVED that Polly Pocket).  Twice now he's gotten a My Little Pony in his happy meals, and let me tell you, the boy LOVES his My Little Pony (he only has one because the first one he left at McDonald's). 

I brought home a happy meal for him after taking Max to the doctor this afternoon, and when he saw that he got a new My Little Pony he exclaims  "Mommy!  My pony dreams have come true!"  He is now happily combing it's hair with the yellow sparkly brush and putting rainbow stickers all over it. 

I see absolutely nothing wrong with this.

In fact, I think the My Little Pony manufacturers are missing out on a HUGE opportunity here.  Alex isn't the only little boy who likes My Little Pony.  The last time we were at McDonald's his little friend demanded he get the pony toy.  Alex was so enamored of his friend's pony, I returned his Bionicle (what the hell are those things anyway?) and got the "girl" toy for him.  They had a ball playing, and I caught a couple other little boys trying to play with Alex and Caden's ponies.  What makes ponies specifically girly?  They could easily market My Little Pony's to boys just by making them in non-pastel colors, and maybe with spiky mowhawks instead of flowing curls.  They could put baseballs and race cars  on them instead of rainbows and butterflies.  Not that I wouldn't still buy the rainbow and butterfly version for my sons if they should so desire them, but it would make My Little Pony a bit more palatable for the macho dads like John.