Possible dead horse beating. Read at your own risk.

[JediJaida]

I am not aware if this is a dead horse being beaten, but here goes.

Why is there such a disparity in gender representation?

There have always been more male figures than females, not to mention there are precious few other races represented.

Only maybe three AA figures; AA Dinah, Uhura and the Falcon from the Marvel line. As far as I know they were it at the time, and this was in the supposedly progressive 70's.

[thunderbolt]

wasn't there an AJ figure, too? If you go outside Mego there were GI Joes in the 60s and 70s

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

I think it had more to do with licensing famous people that kids' parents would buy. I know my sister had Cher and Diana Ross Barbie-like dolls in the 70s, and those would definitely been my mom' picks for her. I had a girl neighbour around my age and she would rather get the male Megos than any of the girls. Barbie had a decent hold on the girls' doll market. Under represented in regards to population? Not sure, but probably fit for the demographic at the time. Was there any Hispanic super heroes in the line? Zorro was it, right?

[JediJaida]

I was only talking about Megos, but yeah. Zorro was the only Hispanic hero on the market at the time, and his availability was iffy as I recall.

[daz71]

they didn't even do a sulu which was crazy .i would have thought they would have done a black panther it would have been pretty simple.over here in the u.k. the only female we got was zira.

[PNGwynne]

I am not aware if this is a dead horse being beaten, but here goes.

Why is there such a disparity in gender representation?

There have always been more male figures than females, not to mention there are precious few other races represented.

Only maybe three AA figures; AA Dinah, Uhura and the Falcon from the Marvel line. As far as I know they were it at the time, and this was in the supposedly progressive 70's.

Which is why those three were included, as a nod to an expanding market and consumer consciousness. Action figures were from the beginning of GI Joe perceived as boys toys and female characters more girl-oriented--"doll-like." Actually, it still (pleasantly) surprises me that Mego ventured into the Super-Gals, and then Wizard of Oz & Waltons. Some of which came cheaper license-wise but many of which were more costly to manufacture. Progressiveness isn't really the goal of most toy companies, sales are.

Hasbro initially offered a Negro soldier cast in Caucasian molds, but it wasn't until the later Adventure Team that they added a unique "black" headsculpt. Though they did have the sensitivity to market it simply as an adventurer or commander, without the racial note Mego used with the Falcon.

Regarding Hispanics, I doubt if the market saturation or vocality of Hispanic consumers was even considered in the '70s. Hasbro was diligent in offering AA, white, Hispanic, and Asian 12" Joes in the '90s and 2000s.

[PNGwynne]

Mattel added black Barbie-family dolls in the '70s; when were Asian and Hispanic ones added--late '80s?

[PNGwynne]

they didn't even do a sulu which was crazy...

I seem to recall reading somewhere that Sulu, Chekov, and Harry Mudd were to be included in a planned but abandoned wave.

[The Bat]

Yup, your title is correct...definitively "dead horse" beating.

[JediJaida]

Ah well, I had hoped otherwise.

[The Bat]

I too would like to see more Female Superheroes...but it doesn't seem to be on anybody's "to do list."

[sprytel]

You missed AA Action Jackson (as TBolt mentioned), Huggy Bear, Captain Dobey, and Buckwheat from Our Gang. I think Mego did a good job representing the African American characters of the properties they chose.

And as far as female characters go, Mego had a number of 8" figures (Super Gals, Wizard of Oz, Waltons, Dinah Mite) and in other scales (Cher, Farrah, Diana Ross, etc.) Again, with the exception of Happy Days (which was really all about Fonzie), I am hard pressed to think of a female character that was a glaring omission in any of their licenses.

[mego]

Totally legit point. There is indeed a lack of female characters. One series that I can think of that is an exception is Archie. Has there ever been a mego-like series done on the Archie gang?

[enyawd72]

I don't think there's any intention to deliberately exclude any particular gender or race. I think a lot of it boils down to who creates a character. Most comic creators were white males...it stands to reason they would create characters they themselves can relate to and understand, so they create characters in their own image. It just makes for better writing and characterization. Just as Carolyn Keene created Nancy Drew, whereas Franklin W. Dixon created the Hardy Boys, and Bill Cosby created the Cosby kids...people write what they know.
Of course there are always exceptions to this rule,

[MIB41]

I think that's a good question as it relates to reMegos because if you look at the major markets, there is certainly a large base of buyers for female dolls and figures. But ReMegos are extremely rare in brick and mortar stores, so the gender ratio may play to different numbers in this field either due to a perception of interest or sells. But I think there's a real effort to broaden appeal since the hobby is finally finding real traction after years of false startups. And if you look at current releases by key companies like FTC and BBP, there is certainly a female presence coming into play with certain lines like Tarzan or Big Bang Theory. So this may be early in the process, but future lines may be a key indicator where this is going if those offerings prove successful. It's definitely worth watching.