461 CHRONICLESnthese shows, not the least of which isnthe clear distinction between good andnevil, as well as their alleged sexism.nTransformers and G.I. Joe (“the badnguys wear red uniforms”) drew particularnscorn, and NCTV didn’t care fornthe roles allotted to women. “Onengood soldier and one evil soldier arenfemales, the rest are males,” poutsnNCTV.nThe group’s interests continue tonexpand to include sexism, alcohol andndrug glorification, and firearms in thenhome. In fairness, NCTV has criticizednGloria Steinem and GeraldinenFerraro for their enjoyment of pronwrestling. Currently, NCTV is battlingnthe Christian Broadcasting Networknfor airing violent shows.nNCTV approaches the world with angrim literalness and a progressive agenda.nThe organization regularly ratesnmovies and television shows not onlynfor their violent themes but for theirnenlightened social attitude. Disney’snLady and the Tramp was considerednrelatively harmless (“violence includesnbiting, fighting, chasing, shooting”) butnnot commendable, either. The Nutcrackernmovie received the same treatmentn(“violence includes a battle betweennsoldiers and mice using swords,nbayonets, and cannons”). Recommendednfor their “pro-social material”nwere Kiss of the Spiderwoman andnDesert Hearts. Both had homosexualnthemes.nAlso active in this cause are familynand women’s disarmament organizations,nmost notably the Women’s InternationalnLeague for Peace and Freedom,nwhich tends to profess neutralitynin matters of peace and war but alwaysnseems to side with U.S. enemies. Thengroup’s other activities are somewhatnbaffling, however. In their Novembern1985 newsletter they expressed concernnover the manufacture of a doll fornboys called a Nukie: “The Nukie is anstuffed velvet doll in the shape of anmissile, manufactured in the U.S. Atn$20, less than a cabbage patch doll, it isna bargain, for it comes with an ownershipncard saying the owner is a ‘certifiednnuclear power’ with a ‘sphere ofninfluence—the right to set up puppetndictatorships and all the rights andnpowers of a thermonuclear war!'” Despitensuch a specific description, no onenhas ever seen a Nukie. Rick Gaumernsaid his people tried to track down thentoy but could find neither a manufacturernnor the toy itself Gaumer believesnthe toy did exist. Toy industrynspokeswoman Jody Levin has nevernheard of it. Still, the rumor becamenmoderately widespread, appearing asnfact on the op-ed pages of some localnpapers. (WILPF also helped organizen”operation dismantle” and threatenedncivil disobedience if the toy appearednin Canada.)nThe four major objections to warntoys were printed in a flier entitledn”War Is No Toy” and circulated bynToronto’s War Toys Boycott Campaign,nParenting for Peace and Justice,nand other like-minded groups.nWar toys promote war, they arenalso “sexist,” “racist,” andn”classist” [sic]. War toys teachnchildren that war is a normalnway of settling disputes.nIn an attempt to answer the charge ofnsexism, Mattel introduced She-Ra, ann”action female,” and her arch-rival,nCatra, in 1985 to satisfy a small butngrowing demand. Linda Sojacy, writingnin her September 1985 Working Woman,ncited the percentage of action toysnand collectibles purchased by girls as 4npercent of the $290 million total retailnpurchases in 1980, compared to 10npercent of the $500 million spent inn1983. Still, anti-war toys activists remainnunsatisfied on the issue. Ms.nmagazine’s Emily Sweet, in her Decembern1985 article, “Toys for FreenChildren, The Fourteenth AnnualnGuide to the Best New Toys,” sets outnthe kind of fun modern childrennshould experience through toys:n”nonsexist, multiracial, and peacefulnfun and learning.” Classism is apparentlynacceptable, since her list includedna $195.00 set of blocks.nThe first International Days AgainstnWar Toys, conceived as a time ofnleafletting, petition signing, and demonstrating,ntook place November 29nand 30, 1985. Conceived by the Alliancenfor Non-Violent Action in Toronto,nthe idea was publicized in thenUnited States by the War ResistersnLeague, New England Chapter, innNorwich, Connecticut. Support camenfrom around the country and the usualnsuspects, including the National Coalitionnon Television Violence and variousnlocal chapters of the Women’snInternational League for Peace andnnnFreedom, Pledge of Resistance,nWomen’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament,nand from various Quaker,nCatholic, and other religious groups.nCanada’s Pax Christi and Voice ofnWomen, European Nuclear Disarmament,nand Australia’s People for NuclearnDisarmament lent their namesnand gave the days their claim to internationalnfame.nA second International Days of ProtestnAgainst War Toys was held Novembern28 and 29, 1986, receivingnsome national publicity but little otherntribute. The third took place Novembern27 and 28, 1987. February 13 andn14, 1987, brought more war toys protests,nfocusing primarily on the toynindustry’s Toy Fair and Valentine’snDay shoppers in New York and celebritiesnin California. Educators for SocialnResponsibility, Mobilization for Survival,nand the New England War ResistersnLeague promoted the event, whichnwas to culminate in the melting of warntoys in a “peace bonfire.” Melted warntoys are to be used eventually in thenconstruction of a “statue for peace.”nNaturally, opponents and manufacturersnof war toys disagree on thenreasons that such playthings remainnpopular. The anti-war-toys forcesnblame the violent culture generally andnRonald Reagan particularly for glorifyingnwar and violence. For example,nplagued by G.I. Joe’s low sales figuresnin America’s period of self-loathing,nHasbro discontinued the figure inn1978. Manufacture resumed in 1982.nThe December 1983 MultinationalnMonitor lamented the return of G.I.nJoe and saw a direct link between thentoy and American imperialism in Grenada.nThe outlook is worth noting:n”For the second time in history, Americanntroops have invaded and occupiedna socialist country. But unlike the firstnattempt in 1951, when a U.S. invasionnof North Korea was repulsed by Chinesenforces, this time the U.S. looksnlike it’s going to stay.” When U.S.nArmed Forces ran bombing raidsnagainst Libya, NCTV issued a pressnrelease deploring it.nToy industry spokeswoman Levinndoes not dispute that the popularity ofnwar toys may be a by-product of anconservative government, but she assertsnthat children have always pretendednviolence, and for some valid reasons.n”Scary things are happening inn