How did GI Joe become the world’s most successful boys’ toy?

[The Straight Story]

...

"GI Joes allowed me to make whatever adventure I wanted," remembers Mr Allgood fondly - a crucial escape, he says, from a lonely childhood.

Since being launched in 1964, hundreds of millions of GI Joes have been manufactured and sold by Rhode Island-based Hasbro. And over those 50 years, hundreds of millions of adventures have been dreamt up by kids like Mr Allgood across the US and the globe.

Gary Cross, a professor of children's history at Pennsylvania State University, says it's the malleability of the GI Joe storyline that has helped it become the most popular boys' toy of the 20th Century.

...

Don't call them 'dolls'

The most successful boys' toy of all time can thank the girls.

After the runaway success of Barbie, launched by Mattel in 1959, executives at rival toy firm Hasbro were scratching their heads, looking for something that might appeal to boys.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26196760

[seabeyond]

1. hell ya call them dolls. because that is what they are. and using the word dolls is not an insult

to boys. unless you would like to continue the stupid gender division that is not only wrong, but totally man made by.... not calling them dolls.

hell ya, call them dolls. they are, what they are.

why would you lie to a child to help create an illusion of masculinity?

hey... be sure to call a little boy that cooks a chef. wouldnt want him to see himself as a cook. that is womans work.

really?

101 on how to create the patriarchy strong.

i called them dolls. and my boys didnt cry and they didnt lose their man card, or whatever someone thinks the result of calling a doll, a doll will do.

[The Straight Story]

2. Action figures, figurines, dolls

Figurines: Figurines are often small, sculpted and painted representations of personified characters (superheroes, movie characters, etc.) that have no moving parts.

Action Figures: Action figures must possess a certain amount of posability, often referred to as "points of articulation". These figures will have moving parts that can be manipulated into various poses. Often they come with interchangeable accessories such as weapons or snap-on backpacks.

Dolls: Dolls are almost always much larger than figurines and action figures and will often come with clothing that can be removed almost completely. They should also possess a certain amount of posability, but the emphasis on posability is often second to the realism of the sculpts and accessories.

The Gray Areas

There is no fine line dividing each of the three categories and are therefore left to personal opinion. What one collector may call a "figurine", another collector may call an "action figure". Let's look at some of the possible gray areas within each category.

...

In fact, because of these gray areas in the definition, most collectors have a few figurines and dolls in their collection and display them all together. In the end, it's all about what makes you happy as a collector.

http://actionfigures.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/Action_Figure_Definition.htm

So you are in favor of just one definition because of patriarchy? So if someone calls one toy an action figure instead of a doll it is misogyny?

[seabeyond]

3. dolls=girls. action figure=boy dolls. no. i will not coddlify my boy insulating him from language

in fear it might imply it has anything to do with girl. i WILL NOT create such a crippling fear toward the g word (girl) that i have to redefine the name of a damn doll.

no

[frazzled]

4. Barbie has posability, points of articulation, and accessories

I guess she's an action figure.

GI Joe is a doll just as much as Barbie is. Barbie is an action figure as much as GI Joe is. (She gets lots of action.) What's your point: GI Joe was developed as a boy's doll to play off the Barbie success.

I never liked dolls much. We have an old 8mm movie of my older sister, younger brother and myself at holiday time with the two giant Madame Alexander dolls my grandmother had sent. My sister is proudly displaying hers, while my younger brother is cuddling mine. I'm looking grim in the middle, with nothing to play with.

It's no shame to call GI Joe a doll. My son played with my daughter's doll house. He's just fine.

[The Straight Story]

11. Why the problem with diversity in nomenclature?

See this is where people start to have problems with things.

Back in the day girls were snatching up Barbie 'dolls' to play with and the term became synonymous with one brand/style. It happens.

So a new term evolved to differentiate between types of toys.

Girls, in general, had preferences. As did boys. It's like makeup - it is geared towards and advertised mainly for women, but some men also use it (especially in acting). The main consumer and targeted audience is women because they use it more.

No one is saying it is a 'shame' to call something X - why are we telling them to be shamed because they want to call it Y?

You want to argue that girls should not be made fun of for playing with 'action figures' and boys shouldn't be made fun of for playing with 'dolls' - that is all fine by me (and having both sons and daughters I have personal insights into that side of things).

What you, and others, seem to be trying to do is tell little kids they are wrong for what they like and are victims of oppression because some prefer one type of toy over the other and the only possible motivation for that in your mind is misogyny and the like.

There are boys and girls aisles of toys in most stores because based on what kids retailers know most kids do have a preference. I have bought toys for my kids from both aisles and didn't feel my son was somehow weird because he wanted something from either one - but I also know that because of preferences kids have the often get most from one over the other.

I am not trying to 'break' my kids of habits and raised them rather liberally when it comes to role expectations that others laid out for them - but despite that they still have their own preferences. My daughter loves action figures and many 'boy' toys but she still gets excited over what one would label girl things which my boys didn't (like makeup, ponies, unicorns, etc).

Some might like to tell their kids "if you don't call your gi joe a doll you are bad and wrong and are part of the oppression' or some such nonsense. I just let kids be kids and have fun playing with what they want - and apparently those gender roles play out more so because of what kids want than what the evil patriarchy is trying to force them to want.

It is called marketing research. Besides, if a boy wanted to play with a barbie doll it would probably be because he wanted a woman doll he could treat as an object to 'own' and only wanted her for evil sexual purposes.

You can find something to cure if you see everything as a sickness.

Just like the religious right might see D&D as satanic, some see toys with guns as promoting and creating mass murderers, etc. From books to toys to movies, someone is always trying to get people to be seen as having problems they can save them from.

[frazzled]

12. Because it promotes and sustains a double standard

based on gender.

I don't care what the heck you call these things. I do care that the same item, when placed in a boy's hand or a girl's hand, is called a different thing.

My point was that you have tried to make a linguistic distinction between "dolls" and "action figures" when there is no objective real-world reason to do so. The only reason to develop such linguistic distinctions is to separate supposed girl's play from boy's play.

[Blue_Adept]

15. Generally agree

I grew up with action figures. Star Wars, GI Joe, Adventure People, Planet of the Apes, Micronauts, Space 1999 and more.

I get where people come from in trying to call them all dolls, but there's just this sense that when things like this are brought up and it gets a vociferous attack, it just puts everyone more in the position of defending their position than trying to listen. Both sides.

With my background, and my heavy involvement in the comics and toys world, there may be that layer that views it as an important distinction of "boys toys" and "girls toys". But for the majority, it's just a difference in approach to both marketability and what they actually are.

Action figures are largely created and marketed for kids to reenact the action of films and TV shows the properties are based on. There are the abovementioned technical points of it all as well as what qualifies.

I mean, there's a whole industry that breaks these things down by type. But when you get out into the wilds where people aren't aware of it and want to change it, it's going to get pushback because there is no two-way communication about it.

In a general sense, if you're offended by the difference in what's called an action figure and what's called a doll, have at it. Good luck changing it, I doubt it'll happen in a lifetime. I think the energies can be pushed more for accepting that they're called different things and working more towards getting both boys and girls to play with both than to yell at other adults about it.

I've got two girls who have grown up playing with American Girl Dolls and lots of my action figures, matchbox cars, legos and more. They call them what they are and play with both.

[The Straight Story]

19. Amen to that, especially your last two paragraphs

My daughter loves it all - cars, zombies, action figures (and yes - she seems them as different, especially the ones from Japan she has gotten - she would be offended if someone called them dolls).

What all this boils down to is that some items are marketed to boys, others to girls, and one of the primary reasons are some feel that the market they are hitting at is the one that will buy the toy.

Are toys tied to gender roles in how they are presented? Yes. Does that mean you want to define that role or that role defined the marketing? That is the question. For me it appears to be a bit of both.

In a huge market of different types of items it helps to separate them by types - doing so does not mean one wants to keep women down though, but some folks can only see the world through such glasses.

[lumberjack_jeff]

18. Hasbro called their thing "an action figure". Mattel called theirs "a doll"

So that's that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I see this otherwise interesting piece

Goes into the trash. Why? DUGender wars.

[Orrex]

7. GI Joe is probably successful because of the SI swimsuit issue.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. RLOL

Thanks for the laugh

[Fawke Em]

9. Except that GI Joes WERE called "dolls" when I was growing up.

And I "ain't" that old.

[Orrex]

10. They haven't been called "dolls" since the 1982 relaunch

I had a few of the 12-inch figures when I was very young, but I don't remember whether anyone called them dolls or not, so I will defer to your recollection.

[randome]

6. GI Joes and Tiger action figures.

Oh, the wars my brother and I had!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[LostOne4Ever]

14. Ehhh Transformers>GI Joe

Want to play with a truck or airplane? Vehicle mode!
Want to play with robots? Robot mode!

That and Starscream (same VA as Cobra Commander in the cartoons) rules either way.

[Blue_Adept]

16. Or both

I used to use all my stuff together. And mix it in with LEGO sets to build cities with wood blocks alongside, lincoln logs and so forth. It all played together.

[The Straight Story]

21. We did that with star wars toys and army men

Build lego cities for them to fight in (or use lincoln logs).

Probably why I like games like 7 days to die. I can build anything, dig, mine, and kill zombies. I built my own pyramids and neighborhoods a block at a time and my daughter and I run around killing them (I guess we should call them dolls instead of zombies to be PC). I even built my own version of a Lincoln log house - but that didn't last long when the zombies came a calling.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. My dad used to call my GI Joes "dolls" just to get under my skin.

Still have several of them, but they suffered a bit at the hands of less-careful younger nephews and nieces.

[The Straight Story]

20. I just asked my daughter about it all (she is 12) and I learned a new one

"Figma" - The figma (フィグマ series is a Japanese action figure line produced by Max Factory and distributed by Good Smile Company.

She doesn't like them to be called "Action Figures" (her Japanese ones) because it does not denote their origin.

Dolls, to her, are usually porcelain or babies, and 'just aren't action figures' in general.

Action figures are for posing. Dolls are for looking at and dressing.

I told her she was a misogynist - she was not amused.

[Blue_Adept]

24. Figma's are awesome.

Would anyone really call these dolls?

https://www.google.com/search?q=figma+figures&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS436US436&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vrEDU_CaOcXj0gG-h4HgCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1920&bih=995

[JHB]

36. Mine are long-gone, as are some things that would sell on ebay...

Last edited Tue Feb 18, 2014, 05:43 PM - Edit history (1)

The Mercury capsule, the jet based on the Navy F9F Pather, etc. When I was the age for them it was just around the time they "demilitarized" them and changed the marketing from "army toys" to "The Adventure Team", so I had things from before and after the shift.

Dad did the same thing: "boy Barbie dolls"

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. When they did the adventure team thing, I decided I wanted a beard *just like that* when I grew up.

Except the beard is now gray; a reasonable facsimile.

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. Why couldn't Mrs. Potato Head have been Ms. Potato Head?

Why did she have to be subservient to a male potato instead of standing on her own? Female potatoes do NOT necessarily need male potatoes to be successful.

[The Straight Story]

26. And why does Ore Ida pose french fries like they do on their packaging

So seductive it makes me want to eat them all up. McDonalds and others do it as well.

They should only picture fries made at home fresh out of the fryer and all greasy.

We know why they do it - they are objectifying mrs. potato head.

[cherokeeprogressive]

34. Here's a little tidbit to chew on...

Why does Hasbro call G.I. Joe an action figure instead of a doll while at the same time making a female potato subservient to a male potato?

The answer is right there in the name: HasBRO. Could they name the company HasSIS? NO. Even the name of the damn company is gender specific.

It's no wonder they foster gender stereotypes.

[RBStevens]

23. How about the GI Joe Nurse "action girl"

This doll is the holy grail for grown-up GI Joe collectors because they were discontinued after just a few months. Nobody wanted them then, but they complete the collection now.

I am the proud owner of a complete-with-accessories/white medical kitbag Nurse - no original box though

[Pretzel_Warrior]

25. because none of the dolls looked like this

[The Straight Story]

27. We modified out little army men

With knives, red paint, and sometimes matches.

Still find some buried out back when planting.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

28. planting beets?

I only say that because you sometimes remind me of this guy:

LOL

[The Straight Story]

32. Beans, Tomatillos, tomtatoes, variety of other things

And I don't wear tie - it's a sign of oppression towards men from the corporations

[belcffub]

29. With G.I. joe

they always eject just before the incoming missile hits its targets... so its all good no one gets hurt...

[Pretzel_Warrior]

30. exactly. nice and clean like the old timey war movies. death was not

Saving Private Ryan Omaha Beach gruesome.

[Capt. Obvious]

31. It was the kung-fu grip

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

33. I'll take a shot at it...

...war is glorified in our culture.

How many American war movies have been made since 9/11?

Hmmm...I wonder how many war movies other countries have produced since 9/11?

[JoePhilly]

35. We'd take GI Joe to a big dirt hill near where we lived ...

... then we'd put him in a toy car of some sort. Might have been one that was made for him, might just be one that he could fit it.

The key thing was that it's wheels had to be able to roll freely.

We'd send GI Joe down various parts of the hill, and each time, we'd decide whether he lived or died depending on the kind of crash he took.

Sometimes, the car would do some sort of flip or roll, land on its wheels, and make it all the way to the bottom, onto the flat area.

Awesome!!

[dipsydoodle]

38. Why didn't they just name the male Barbie doll Dinsdale ?