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08-09-2022, 10:30 AM | #101 |
US military family
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Posts: 2,214
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Maybe this is only my opinion, but during the years 1982-1985 that my brother and I were into G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, the brand seemed more racially diverse and inclusive than what was ever actually seen in the elite forces of the U.S. military, and it represented to us what the demographics might possibly look like in the near future.
In 1982, 8% of the new G.I. Joe team characters introduced were Black. In 1983, 10% of the new G.I. Joes introduced were Black, and another 10% were American Indian. In 1984, 11% of the new G.I. Joes introduced were Black, and another 11% were American Indian. In 1985, 6% of the new G.I. Joes introduced were Black, and another 6% were Asian American. Diversity in our country and our military has dramatically increased over the years, and yet the G.I. Joe team remains several times more diverse than what has ever existed in reality. This is taken from the story ABC News released one year ago: "As of March 2021, a full 95% of all SEAL and combatant-craft crew (SWCC) officers were white and just 2% were Black, according to Naval Special Warfare statistics provided to the AP. The officers corps of Army Special Forces is 87% white, and also 2% Black. The enlisted ranks are only slightly more diverse. About 84% of the Navy SEAL and SWCC enlisted troops are white, and 2% are Black. The greater diversity comes in the number of American Indian, Alaskan Native and those who say they are multiple races. The Army?s enlisted special forces are also 84% white, but the percentage of Blacks goes up to 4." https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wire...rsity-78307046
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08-09-2022, 10:32 AM | #102 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 8,339
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Always found it odd as a kid in the 80s and 90s that the female characters would almost never get made. Or if they did, it was in very small quantities (like the initial carded Aprils who went for a ton up until Ebay came about).
Maybe I just had that Collect'em All bug from a young age but it always annoyed me when my display was incomplete because they didn't make the ladies. |
08-09-2022, 01:42 PM | #103 |
Commando
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Britain
Posts: 3,825
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I never realised that. I guess Philo Makepeace didn't seem like an obviously native name like Franklin Talltree or Charlie Iron-Knife to me, and the card doesn't make any mention like the other two's about his background.
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08-09-2022, 03:31 PM | #104 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Do I really live?
Posts: 1,965
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Quote:
My guess is this is a byproduct of the era most of this stuff is based on - white male boys were the target demo and the manufacturing braintrusts perhaps didnt think thats what that demo wanted. Females in general got the shaft far as the toys of the day went. If you look at other shows of the era like for example COPS and Visionaries specifically every character EXCEPT the females from each side on the show got a figure. Transformers has 1 female and Arcee never got a figure until decades after the fact.
And for anybody who wasnt white in general there wasnt much to speak of. MOTU had one black person period; thats why IMO Clamp Champ got rushed out early in Origins and Mattel jumped at the chance to have Sun Man and co. in the line for more diversity - hell Sun Man EXISTS because a black woman's young son told her "he couldnt be superhero because none looked like him" in 1985 or so. And with that said if you look at GI Joe's 80s lineup they had more female and black characters than any other major toy line of the day even with the VAST disparity. While this is outside of GI Joe, Macross (later as Robotech) had Claudia. She was a bridge officer, like the iconic Uhura. Claudia was in a long term on-screen relationship with Roy Fokker. The show even had dialog pertaining to them having sex and I think there was a scene of them waking up together. Talking about Uhura, she was the only female figure made by Mego. They didn't make Janice Rand or Christine Chapel.
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08-09-2022, 04:44 PM | #105 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 8,339
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Quote:
Sorry not a product to represent an entire era but a limited sample from that era.
While this is outside of GI Joe, Macross (later as Robotech) had Claudia. She was a bridge officer, like the iconic Uhura. Claudia was in a long term on-screen relationship with Roy Fokker. The show even had dialog pertaining to them having sex and I think there was a scene of them waking up together. Talking about Uhura, she was the only female figure made by Mego. They didn't make Janice Rand or Christine Chapel. |
08-09-2022, 09:18 PM | #106 |
Cobra Sith Lord
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Surf City, CA
Posts: 9,580
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There originally was supposed to be a black female Joe figure that probably would have been in the '88 or '89 lineup, but Hasbro decided that female figures didn't sell well at that point and dropped any plans for more females in the line at that point. Save for NF Scarlett in '92 or '93, I don't believe any more females were ever released in ARAH after Jinx in '87 until that NF figure. Which is a shame. Of course another Baroness was planned for '95 but the line got canceled before that Series XIV could go into production.
This is a pic of the black female that was conceptualized, but never produced.
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08-09-2022, 10:12 PM | #107 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,449
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I mean, did Scarlett and Baroness not sell a shitload back then? I don't know about Lady Jaye, but everyone I knew had Baroness and Scarlett and they were favorites. We all also had pretty much every Leia, and Evil-Lyn, and all the other female characters.
Jinx and Baroness remain two of my favorite figures of all-time. I'd always assumed female figures sold well with boys. They definitely sell well with us old guys! |
08-10-2022, 01:34 AM | #108 |
Washed Out
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: CA
Posts: 898
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How come there are pop tarts but no mom tarts?
Because of the pastryarchy.
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08-10-2022, 02:22 AM | #109 |
Commando
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Britain
Posts: 3,825
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08-10-2022, 10:21 AM | #110 |
Porkchop Sandwiches!
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 806
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As a kid, I can honestly say that it never mattered to me what race a character was, so long as they were cool (or at least, cool-looking). Roadblock, Stalker, Airborne, Spirit, Storm Shadow, and the like were favorites because of how they were portrayed.
If anything, as a boy of the 80s, the character's gender usually mattered much more due the stigma of boys playing with female figures that was simply a fact of life back then. But even there, GI Joe excelled at creating engaging female characters that were just as important, just as integral, to the play patterns as the male characters were. I had Scarlett and Lady Jaye as a kid (and thought about "borrowing" my cousin's Baroness many times), but those of us who knew GI Joe knew the ladies were some of (if not THE) best characters. The only other female figure I can remember wanting as a kid was the Super Powers Wonder Woman, and even then, I can remember my mom looking at me funny when I asked if I could get her. That said, I'm not interested in counting what race/ethnicity/gender characters are, just make them interesting, compelling characters with good-looking designs. I know representation is important, but characterization should always come first, IMO. |
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