Now as to the GI Joe thing. I had them. Before them, I had a "Captain Maddox" doll.
I never considered them a doll in the same way my sister considered her Barbies. Mine were blown up by firecrackers, flown into the atmosphere strapped to Gayla kites and submerged many times in the Sea Wolf submarine.
The most bogus thing foisted on a boy back then was a GI Joe with lifelike hair and Kung Fu grip- the hair washed or burned out and the hands broke in half.