I've dealt with this in the Power Rangers fandom, that females are ignored or forgotten. In most merchandise like t-shirts, lunch boxes, book bags, etc., we only see the male rangers. In the movie Star Wars: Force Awakens, Rey is the protagonist but she is not seen on packaging nor in toy aisles for Star Wars. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart, I went to the Star Wars section and saw no Rey figures. Some people believe the omission is because of the secrecy over the movie itself.
People on Twitter have started #wheresrey, particularly parents wondering where Rey figures are for their daughters. Especially in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Battle Action Millennium Falcon and Target 6-pack set. The pack includes Finn, Chewy, Poe, Kylo Ren, an unknown Startrooper and unknown New Order pilot.
My friend who happens to be of Jamaican origin, he claims that sales of Finn figures are low and in the heyday, figures of Lando Calrissian, the 'only black guy in the universe' was the least sold figure. I am not sure about that. Another friend of mine at work says he thinks there will be more merch soon after the secrecy. He could be right because of the snippet below of the article below.
"After news about the omission broke, Disney said that new Force Awakens merchandise will not leave out the film's main female character. Paul Southern, the senior vice president and head of licensing for Lucasfilm, said: 'In many stores and e-commerce destinations, products featuring Rey are selling as quickly as retailers can restock shelves." "Abrams said: 'Star Wars' was always a boy's thing, and a movie that dads could take their sons to. 'And although that is still very much the case, I was really hoping this could be a movie that mothers could take their daughters to as well.'
