I just read this great blog post about gender identity stereotyping in the Happy Meals at McDonalds. Apparently when you buy a Happy Meal they ask if it's for a boy or a girl. In the case of the photo above, the boy would get a cool little car and the girl would get a fuckin' pony.

Got that? This is what your clerk is really saying:

CLERK: Hi, and welcome to McDonalds! Today we're going to inextricably link your gender identity to your choice of cheap plastic toy. Do you want a cool little car that you can drive all up and down your legs while going "Vroom vroom vroom!", or do you want to repeatedly run a comb through the mane of an effeminate horse?

I don't know about you, but if I had a daughter who picked the effeminate horse, I'd cry myself to sleep that night.

I don't get this. Why do they think children don't deserve a choice? It's sad, and it's degrading to all involved. If little Bobby doesn't like that Kurt Rambis bobblehead doll, it's like he's bursting out of the closet with a Cher record in his hand. And if little Katie doesn't like that iCarly makeup kit, she's seconds away from buying a Subaru.

If McDonalds is so good at generalizing, why don't they serve adults based on their outward gender expression? Burgers for the guys, salads for the chicks. Hell, I'll bet some adults would be too chicken to argue, but me, I'd tell that clerk what's what. And they can go ahead and question my sexuality if they want, but they'll sure shut their small-minded mouths when I ask for extra dressing.