I have witnessed similar with my children Odette. I have to admit that despite providing mainly gender neutral toys for my children: my boys have been drawn to things with wheels and my daughter did prefer the doll house, for example and role play. The wheel thing with my boys was from very young baby-hood long before any kind of influencing. My daughter was never really interested in cars although she did play a little bit with the Hot Wheels set my DH bought her when she was 4yo. She liked the train set but not as much as my boys.
But... my youngest son is very affectionate and loves his soft toys more than any of them! He hugs and kisses them unprompted and won't go to bed until they are arranged around him "just so". And DH and I let him know this is fineI don't think affection should be a gender defined attribute but one shared by both. By the same token violence should not be the sole domain of either gender either. I would discourage that in either son or daughter (girls can violate in ways other than physical). What i don't like is when i hear parents promoting violence for their sons because they see it as a masculine trait
By all means encourage your sons to be strong and physical but not in a way that violates others... athletes, for example are strong and physical, it doesn't have to be a negative thing.
ETA: Just another thought: I really don't arc-up too much about the blue/pink thing with newborns and babies. Honestly most babies look so androgynous and using the blue/pink thing as a helpful code so that little old ladies know exactly what you have there in the pram before they cluck...so it really doesn't bother me. It's not as if the baby cares. I didn't put my daughter in pink very often but I was happy to give a few clues as to what she was (florals, dresses etc). Maybe it's just me but I'd rather avoid the awkwardness of having to correct someone if they got the gender wrong IYKWIM
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