I know this sounds silly to start with, but bear with me.

We've been watching a lot of Dora the Explorer around my house. It's the only show my son really likes and knows how to ask for ("D-D-D-Do!"). For those of you without little kids, it's a show about a little hispanic girl named Dora and her best friend, a monkey named Boots who go on adventures together. She is bilingual and some of her friends speak only Spanish and some only English and they teach Spanish words to the audience. It's actually a really good show compared to other kids shows. Anyway... we've been watching mostly reruns but have started watching some of the new ones recently. Apparently, awhile ago they added Dora's cousin Diego to the show. I found myself not liking him and wondering why they needed to add him to the show. Dora and Boots were getting along fine, they didn't really need a know-it-all older boy to help them out.

Then I realized, the reason they added him to the show was for merchandising purposes. Lots of little boys watch the show, but their parents don't want to buy what they perceive as "girl toys" for their sons. Enter Diego.

So tell me, why is it so troubling for little boys to want to dress up like Dora for Halloween, or buy a purple Dora backpack like the one she has on the show? Or wear a t-shirt with a picture of Dora on it?