After its release on December 18, Star Wars: The Force Awakens racked in record breaking opening weekend numbers. Taking only 12 days to gross $1 billion, J.J. Abrams seems to have hit the nail on the head with the seventh movie in the Star Wars franchise.

While The Force Awakens is commendable for many things, such as witty humor, an astounding soundtrack, and breathtaking CGI graphics, the characters were the standouts of the film.

For my whole life, I have thought of Star Wars as a “boy movie.” This was one of the reasons I was so skeptical to see The Force Awakens in the first place, however I was soon proved wrong. The world is abuzz as protagonist Rey seems to have stolen the hearts of millions, including my own. Watching The Force Awakens, I was floored that the hero of such a long anticipated film was… a girl.

Not only was the hero of a “boys movie” a girl, but she was a girl who was never sexualized or put down by her male counterparts for her gender. In fact, there were female characters all over the galaxy who shone on the screen for their intelligence, determination, and flat out awesomeness. While I would like to think this is nothing special, and every movie lives up to this criteria, I cannot. I left the movie theater feeling refreshed because finally I had witnessed a female hero who is just as respectable as the male heroes in the movie.

Rey is the female character little girls, teenage girls, and adult women, needed. Unfortunately, many little girls will have to go without the adored character’s merchandise.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who thought Star Wars was a boy movie. Vendors showing off merchandise prototypes for The Force Awakens were told by movie executives to exclude Rey from the movie merchandise. Disney executives backed this decision by saying “no boy wants a toy with a girl on it.” What Rey merchandise has been released often shows her in the outfit she wore in the opening scene of the movie; face and body covered, practically genderless.

Disney has denied the claims of sexism, saying they did not anticipate the young (female) character’s success. Instead, they had anticipated the breakout star of the movie to be Kylo Ren–the antagonist of the movie–and now toy companies are left with merchandise for the wrong character and an overflow of requests for Rey.

Out of curiosity I decided to search for merchandise for another popular female protagonist– Princess Leia. Unsurprisingly the majority of what I found was Leia in her revealing suggestive slave outfit. But didn’t Disney executives say that little boys didn’t want to play with a toy if that toy was a girl? By reading between the lines, I think it’s safe to say that Disney has no problem giving boys “girl toys” as long as that girl is sexualized.

Boys apparently only want to play with girl action figures if that girl is dressed provocatively. Rey never has a provocative moment in the movie, and so apparently boys don’t want to play with anything that involves Rey. Case cracked.

I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Rey. I thought she was a wonderfully written character who showed weakness, strength, passion, independence and intelligence. The mechanic/pilot/potential-jedi is someone who I aspire to be more like. I loved her, my sister loved her, my brother loved her. Everyone loves Rey. Maybe now the people who made the movie she dominated can love her too.

The release date for the next Star Wars movie has been pushed back as writers scramble to include more scenes with Rey, and I for one cannot wait.