You Can Give a Boy a Doll, but You Can't Make Him Play with It (theatlantic.com)

Well, that's kind of stating the obvious. Some years ago, I read about an experiment where the boys were given dolls and the girls were given action figures (I think).

The boys bent the dolls into gun shapes and played cops&robbers. I don't remember what the girls did.

Children are quite resourceful when it comes to play.

My eldest son had no interest in toy cars when he was small. One time we went to friends who pretty much only had toy vehicles.

Our son was a bit hesitant to play at first but then became engrossed. He was particularly attached to a dumper truck.

Curious, we watched him for a short while then all became clear. He was pretending they were dinosaurs.

Robots are gender neutral. Perhaps the parents of these children should have gotten themselves a FANUC or two, which are easily programmable without the psychological consequences.