Reddit mentions of Mango 61K Little Kids Combat Lace Up Boots Denim Floral 2

My 7yo daughter is also a huge fan of Dino Dana (and Dino Dan/Trek)! We recently moved from the West Coast to New England and she's been struggling to find new girl friends because the gender expectations are more traditional and she hates toys like Barbie, baby dolls, ponies, etc. She likes cars, Pokémon, dinosaurs, every Lego show except Lego Friends (the "girl" Lego products), ninja, and science toys. At the same time, she's temperamentally gentle, maternal, so the more boisterous behavior of some boys is a bit frightening to her.

All of this was not a big deal where we came from, since there was a lot more fluidity in gender expectations. Now, she finds that she has no interests in common with the girls, and intimidated by the behavior of a lot of the boys.

Her class had a game day, where the kids could bring games from home and the kids could try playing the games, and brought in her favorite game Dinosaur Escape. She was excited to bring it in because she loves it so much and was sure other kids would, too. When she came home the excitement had deflated completely. Only one girl tried the game and told her dinosaurs were boring, but the game was so popular with the boys they wanted to play it over and over, and she didn't know why the girls didn't want to play.

I tried Girl Scouts, but she didn't like it because "all they like are LOL dolls and Hello Kitty" and they made fun of her favorite boots because they were combat boots. (I mean, they're awesome boots, denim with pink stars and more glittery than the picture, what's not to like?!).

I'm frustrated and sad for her, and afraid she is being pressured to act and dress like the other girls just to make friends. So far, her most reliable friend is the gentle autistic boy down the street who's 3 years older. He tends to make friends with the younger girls because he finds the boys are too rambunctious for him as well.