I wasnt aware it was a girl thing. Lots of boys in my area used them and had contests with the girls. I guess it depends on where you lived, although I had no idea in some places boys didn't use them.
I had a pogo stick when I was about 9-10, and we only had dirt roads, too, same as @Ken Anderson , with maybe some gravel and oil on them. I have never had very good balance; so after falling on the oily, sharp gravel and skinning up my knees fairly badly; I didn't try pogo-ing out in the street anymore. It didn't work in the yard; because the end of the pogo stick just sank in the dirt (and I of course lost my balance and fell off); so that only left the sidewalk. The sidewalk was wood and pretty solid, and actually worked , providing that I pogo-ed along in a straight line down the middle of the sidewalk. By now, you can guess how that worked out for me; so the pogo stick spent most of its life alone in the garage. Now, Hula Hoops, I loved those ! I learned how to do it, and like @Holly Saunders , I could keep it going around for as long as I wanted to. I saw that they made a comeback; so one trip to Walmart, I bought myself one. Can't make it go around for beans anymore ! I guess that if I keep practicing that maybe I will get the hang of it again; but it is not going to be as easy as it was back when I was 15, for sure.
My first two days were a disaster. I could keep spinning for about 15 turns at the most. But, today I was able to spin for 50 times -- twice! Keep practicing, and you'll get the hang of it. At first I was only able to move my body front to back, but today I was able to switch back and forth from front to back to side by side. It really is fun. No one in my 'hood played with a pogo stick. In fact, this forum thread is the first time I ever read about one. I had to research it to see what it was. I suppose you need some solid ground to use it. The hula hoop has an interesting history. Hula hoop
Well when I saw it on tv I had to have one. When I got one and tried playing with it I couldn't do it. Just like skateboarding, I had to have one and when I got it I couldn't ride it! Hula hoops seem easy to do just as skateboarding was, but I couldn't do it. I tried and tried and it ended up in our garage where it stayed until I grew up and gave it away!