Girls playing with "boy's" toys.

I have an 8 year old dtr that only plays with Pokemon, legos, and Nerf Guns. I wasn't terribly concerned at first. I grew up on a farm and never really played with dolls. I chased frogs and shot cans with a bb gun, so when she disregarded her babydoll at age four for a stuffed moose I thought it was fine. Her two best friends are boys and they all love legos, dinosaurs and Pokemon DS games (stereotypical boy stuff), but she does play on the monkey bars and the sandbox with equal girls and boys. Even when her two close friends aren't around she has no interest in dolls or barbies. She is femine and likes pink and purple and fashionable clothes.
But recently my mother and mother-in-law have voices opinions in allowing her to play with these games will encourage her to be gay. I'm shocked by their input (we are a very conserative Christian family). Neither of them are supportive of her Christmas list and have said unless it changes they'll only purchase her clothes. Where as I'm guessing they will be purchasing toys for her 1 1/2 year old brother. (and the legos etc. have been a part of her life since before he was born)
I'm just concerned as to whether I should take their comments to heart and actually be concerned that maybe my child isn't straight? Or is it just her personality and she'll decide her preference later in life?

[Sandman2]

      And every kid who uses a toy gun will grow up to be a mass murderer?  Outside of the fact that your relatives really have no clue what "gay" means, its kind of sad that they want to push her into their life style.  But, thats what comfort levels are about I suppose.
     Anyway, toys are (hopefully) things that you play with friends, and not by yourself cause you have no friends.  The toys you thus play with reflect who you are playing with.  And as far as I know, a girl playing with boys will not encourage her to be gay.   Later on - yeh, there might be other things to worry about (and it won't be gayness).

[tiredbuthappy]

Your gut instincts are right. They need to butt out and let your child play with whatever she wants.
Do they really want her to learn to pretend to be someone she's not? Do they want her to do stuff and like stuff just because her peers do it and society expects her to? If a child internalizes those messages, think of the things she will do as a rebellious teen.

If I were you, I would foster her natural interests. It sounds like she's on track to become an architect ;) Of course, it can't hurt to continue to introduce and expose her to other things, including "girly" things. But it can be very harmful to make her feel ashamed of her interests.

[RockRose]

You might want to remind your mother of your own childhood interests,  and you turned out straight.  

Your mother and mother in law are a bit of a concern.  Considering how INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT it is to get kids to pick up their socks off the floor,  put their dishes in the sink,  hurry up for the school bus, it seems unbelievable that with the mere suggestion of toys offered,  we could change their whole sexuality.  

I am usually a "go with the flow" type of person,  but I think you need to make a strong stand here.  Your daughter is who she is.

As an example,  you might want to bring up Chastity/Chaz Bono.  There was never a girl who was dressed in more girly silly frilly dresses,  named this silly girly name of Chastity,  and look how that turned out.  

Um hmm.