Action Man, Geyperman and the childhood that reveals your class

Action Man, Geyperman and the childhood that reveals your class

If you had an Action Man, you're one of those who understand the question. If not, you were either poor or simply too old when they came around. The dilemma sounds brutal, but it hangs over any conversation about retro toys. Nostalgia comes with a barcode, and in this case the code starts with a chrome-plated motorbike.

Geyperman as a status symbol

Compared with the plastic of later generations, the Geyperman motorbike with its chrome parts and soft rubber tyres works as a badge of authenticity. Some insist the chrome models rule, while others reply that G.I. Joe figures were more dignified. The battle is between toy schools, but also between decades.

The poor and the older ones

On the other side are those who had none of it. The memory of a poor childhood comes with a spinning top and a handful of marbles, or with handmade toys. It's not nostalgia, it's reportage. And there's also the age excuse: you weren't poor, you were just born too early or too late.

The nostalgia trap

The conversation gets tangled up in provocations, but what's really interesting is the divide. Every generation defends its chrome parts and its tyres, and the final argument almost always comes down to who was poorer or cleverer. Nobody wins, but everyone is eight years old again.

The next battle will be between those who had a Switch and those who inherited a Game Boy. Once again, the question will be one of class. And it probably won't be settled either.