“G.I. Joes’s a He-Man Toy — Not a Doll!”
Here’s an insane one for you. The August 22, 1989 issue of Weekly World News includes this full-page rant against the government and the taxing of action figures as dolls . . . G.I. Joe’s not a doll, people! As we learned in GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action* it is forbidden to refer to G.I. Joe as a doll.
Why does any of this matter? Well, for a time toys and dolls were taxed differently, with dolls at a higher percentage. If Hasbro’s G.I. Joe is a doll then the company has to pay more in taxes. The entire situation is quite odd, and made even stranger when you start to dig into the Harmonized Tarrif Schedule of the United States. I wouldn’t.
If you really want to explore this rabbit hole check this Slate article from 2011 in which we learn that mutants are not human. Trust me, it’s relevant to the dolls vs action figures issue.
(According to lawandthemultiverse.com the law has been changed and toys and dolls are now taxed at the same rate. Still, it’s some weird and fun reading.)
Related articles
- 1982 Comic Ad for the G.I. Joe Membership Kit (battlegrip.com)
- Star Wars Black Series “Speeder Bike” Promotional/Creation Video from Hasbro (battlegrip.com)
- Video Review of Smash & Change Optimus Prime Transformers 4 Age of Extinction Toy (TFormers.com)
Wow! Thanks Phil for digging this up. I continually learn new things from reading this blog and reading your recommended books. I had no idea this was the actual differential between doll and action figure (or mutant and human).
I am currently reading The Real Toy Story by Eric Clark (as referenced in one of your books) and it’s fascinating so far. A little dated (written in 2006-07 and a lot has changed) but still informative.
I’ve taken to calling myself your unofficial disciple. Just don’t lead me astray! 🙂
This is an amazing piece (of something). It seems to advocate breaking the law (like good ol Ollie North), killing people for disagreeing with you, animal cruelty, domestic violence and hitting women, gender discrimination and it is definitely anti-gay. It is against higher taxes for one particular corporation though, so that’s a good thing.
Wow! Thanks for putting this up. I got a big laugh out of it.
Hilarious. I would except no less from the esteemed newspaper it was printed in 🙂