Luke Skywalker and G.I. Joe: toys through the decades

The Luke Skywalker toy from the late 1970s and the one from the 1990s. What has changed? Freud would have a field day with the increased length of the lightsaber alone.



How about G.I. Joe?

Here's an early G.I. Joe toy. He is basically a doll, with clothes that boys could take on and off. Notice also that while he has a rifle, most of his gear is for surviving the elements, not for killing people. I love his stance, too. Not über-masculine.



Here's the first G.I. Joe toy I owned, back in the 1980s. He's more militaristic that the original G.I. Joe, but look at his body. And be sure to notice that he didn't come with a gun.


And here's how the figures looked in the early 2000s. This shot doesn't show the weapons, but you can see the change in the bodies.


And here's what G.I. Joe toys looked like in 2009 with the release of the movie:



And for comparison, here's the 2009 version of the first one I had. Obviously the makers have gone for more ethnic diversity, but they have also gone for more guns. And, curiously, the age recommendation has dropped a year.


Whether or not you agree with Jackson Katz, it's pretty obvious that toys for boys have gotten more masculine over the decades: broader chests, wider shoulders, more weapons, larger guns… So why have toy manufacturers decided to make their toys more masculine over the years? Whether or not this has had any effect on the boys that play with them is another question.