So many ways to respond to this ...
When I won my PF Obi-wan from Dark Shadow, my girlfriend came home to find him on the table with my PF Vader. She didn't speak to me until the next morning.
So they're both in boxes, high in a closet, awaiting that day when we move into the new house.
And my PF Grievous remains a secret on display at the office.
So, yeah. Girls can not only be turned off by collectibles. They can also be downright hostile.
As for your experience, it sounds to me like the girls at your school were confused, and didn't know how to react. It's a common trait at that age. (I work a lot around high school students.) If something new defies the understanding of the average teenage girl, it's safer for her to react with disdain. Reacting with disdain communicates a belief that she is normal, and whatever she doesn't understand must be the weird thing. Not her. Never her.
It's a defense mechanism.
In your case, it had probably never occurred to them that a post-pubescent guy would actually still be associating with poseable figures based on characters from a sci-fi trilogy. It defies all convention. It's unique. Or, more importantly, it's not what everyone else is doing. So it's better in their minds not to be associated with it. 'Cause, y'know, there's nothing worse than being uncool.
There are, however, plenty of girls in that age bracket who find stuff like this to be very cool. Many of them -- while not on the cheerleading squad or the executive board of the student council or the prom committee -- are also very, very hot. They're fun, accessible, and open-minded.
And, you know, into new things. :chew
