We shouldn’t have to be talking about this again, not after all the coverage the issue has already gotten. You would think the companies would have learned from the last time… it wasn’t all that long ago. But no, here we are again, looking at yet another release of action figures that leaves out a female hero.

If you haven’t heard about it, it’s once again Hasbro and this time the toys are from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They have released a set of six figures, a Target exclusive, that contains all male figures, two of them being generic trooper and pilot toys. Not only that, one of the toys is Chewbacca… how many toys have already been out for him?! So what’s the big deal this time? It’s the fact that Rey, a female, is the main character of the movie. Unlike Gamora or Black Widow (both left out of their respective movie play sets), who it could be said were part of teams and not the primary focus (an excuse that was used for their lack of toys), this “oversight” (as if it wasn’t a calculated decision) is so much more blatant.

Of course, we’re going to get the usual, executive-level argument when it comes to toys, especially action figures: boys don’t want to play with girl figures. And yet you’re banking on a movie that focuses on a main female character, so what’s that saying? The story of The Force Awakens wasn’t written with an agenda, it’s just the story that needs to be told based on the mythos of the Star Wars universe. Everyone is going to see the movie, for whatever their reasons may be. Why restrict the market for your toys by excluding the main character?

These days, with geek culture being so mainstream, toys are not purchased just by or for children. Geeks of all ages buy the toys of their fandoms because they want to own as many pieces of their fandoms as possible. So companies are screwing with those who want every piece, the completionists who need figures of all the characters. And really, what have they got to lose, especially in this instance? No one was going to complain if Chewie wasn’t in the set (and you could make an argument for the lack of Han Solo, as they are considered a bit of a pair), nor would anyone have said “hey, where’s my generic TIE fighter pilot?” for that matter.

Quite honestly, just because you believe boys won’t play with female action figures, it’s no reason to not include them in sets like this. You’re offering six figures in the set – if there’s only one that someone doesn’t want, there are still five they do want and they’ll still be buying them. Know what that means, Mr. Executive? It means you make money anyway. And maybe some people who might be looking for toys for the geeky young girl in their lives would buy a set with a female character but would pass it by if it was all males. Look at that: expanded market.

And yet it keeps happening and still makes no sense. How loud do we need to scream (and by “we” I mean all the fans and geeks and, yes, even the feminists) to get the full coverage of characters we deserve? We’re not asking for toys based on female characters who are barely a part of the fandom or get two minutes of screen time. If there’s a female on the team, give her a fair shake as a toy along with the rest of the team. And if she’s a featured or main character in a story, then treat her that way, damnit! Rey should be getting the same top-billing in the toy aisles as Anakin and Luke and Darth Vader and Han and Chewie and Finn. Equality is not that difficult of a concept.