Are dolls childish?

Not really, though I get the occasional "There she goes, talking about that toy again" from my mother's boyfriend and brother. My mother likes him but they don't. -sigh- But, no one besides them has said that to me.

 

Heheh, this sort of thing can actually be kind of funny for me, if it's coming from strangers. I can be pretty flippant, and my obnoxious otaku side has a tendency to burst through in such situations. 'Cuz it has so much potential to be funny, just making fun of myself and the otaku culture. "Dude, when I'm not playing with overpriced dolls I'm watching guys in spandex and pink armor yell attack moves at each other and looking up pictures of pokemon on the intarwebs. Inner child is rock, so don't hate, appreciate!" Or whatever other random references to obviously geekoid things that I'm clearly unashamed of. If I treat it lightly and like I don't give a damn in the world, I think people sort of feel that drift and roll with it. Unless they're just being doucheheads, but those types tend to be bitchy about all sorts of other harmless things too, so I just cuss them out or flip the finger and walk off.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong about caring what others think of you though. That's natural, human, and almost everybody cares about what some people think/feel... if they don't, at all, I think there's something wrong. Anyway, it's not so easy to just not care as some people may lead one to believe. Actually, strangely enough I seem to be moving more towards caring about what other people think than I did in middle school. But I think that's partly because I value people more, and therefore care more how present myself. As opposed to middle school when I hated just about everybody and wished ill will and terrible fates on a daily basis. It's just a balancing act, like everything else... too far in either direction I don't think is optimum.

If people close to me were being mean enough to really start bothering me, I'd probably start throwing temper tantrums. With people that are close to you, they feel more comfortable with you and therefore more at ease to speak their mind a lot. I know I'm definitely like that, and say things that can be perceived as 'nasty' a lot (though typically it's in jest and friends/family understand that) . But sometimes if I say something that really bothers them or vice versa, there's not really an easy way to convey that. So for me, I show that it REALLY BUGS ME by letting my temper flare up and giving them some tongue, and they usually get the point and I'm over it in five minutes. Or sometimes if it doesn't bother me 'THAT' much, I just suck it up and ignore.

ali

 

Generally, if someone says, " aren't you too old to play with dolls?", I reply with, "aren't you too old to be judging others?"

Children judge others by preconceived limitations of what's normal. However, adults (mentally) are able to "expand their horizons" in trying to learn about other types of people and their views, rather than passing criticism. Now, that's not to say that they'll necessarily agree with or partake in other's views, but they'll understand that different people have their own ways.

(and just as a personal note, not saying this is true of your friend necessarily, but if any friend of mine were to try to make me feel badly about something that I need not feel badly about, I'd consider a new friend :/)

Much love, and I hope you can still enjoy your little one! ^^

 

Epic answer. I wholeheartedly approve.

Also, OP, I've finally found my personal answer for when people ask me why I do this whole doll thing: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118162 If you have a moment, read through this thread I linked. These high quality art works are very special for soul-healing reasons. If that argument doesn't sway people, you can always point out that they hold almost all of their resale value, and they're technically an investment.
Either way, enjoy what you love. Life's too short to live in fear of other people's issues. *hug*

 

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this and and have been reading all your opinions and soooooo agree with all.
I'm on my way to 58 years old this year , always loved Dolls and just found out about bjds and went beserk. Waiting for my first one to arrive and feel like a kid waiting for my Birthday present.
My daughter and son can't understand how I could blow so much money on a "Doll". They said I'm going back to my second childhood and bla bla bla .
My firends just look at me and laugh .... well they can laugh all they want and will have to laugh more when I get my little girl and start going out with her.
Do I care ??? I don't !!
Oh yes...... already saving for my second.

 

it's your money, tell them to back off. if you want to give your sister a doll it will be your choice and it is your choice to choose what you do with your money. i would NOT wait til they sleep, i would do as i wished and tell them to F off.

 

wow you're cool!

 

Well psh they're not very good friends D:<
I have a LOT of friends that don't like the dolls, but they still don't say anything. They even compliment my doll sometimes!! They're nice, even though they don't like it.
I think that's really rude for your friends to say that when they know you like your doll so much.

Just ignore them. That's what I do to people that don't like my hobby.

 

It must be quite hard for you considering they're your family. Although I agree that it's your life, you should be able to do want you want, I don't think that telling them to F off or getting nasty will help in any way, because they are your family and expect some respect. However, get your opinions across nice and calmly. If they still don't understand, then don't bother trying to convince them, and just enjoy your doll how and when you want. If they happen to be in the same room and say anything cruel to you, try to ignore it and continue having fun. They are your family after all, and I'm sure that they want you to be happy. After a while they might stop giving you those comments. Of course, if not, then it depends on your disposition. Don't force yourself to take comments from them if you can't handle it, because that will only hurt you. I really hope they come to understand for your sake. Good luck, and enjoy your precious doll!
After all, as everyone has said, it is your happiness that matters most

 

My friend Graham said "Aren't they a bit expensive?" and I said, yeah, but they hold their value and some go up in value after a while. Then I gave him links to the Iple House EID dolls and he was blown away by their quality and other stuff and like, "OK, now I can understand why you like them. Boobies" Not exactly the qualitative vote of support I wanted from him, but at least he now understands the nature of the hobby...

Phil.

 

i totally agree with what everyone is saying.
i have to admit at first i thought that why would anyone pay that much for a doll.

but then i saw bory and fell in love! i knew i just had to have him & i went crazy with the whole bjd thing.i currently am saving up for him still & i know alot of people that would say the exact things i once said. for example, my mother said "aww their cute but why do you want a doll?they're so expensive and arent you too old?"

after she said this it made me feel bad a little but after reading some of the posts in this thread i realized my happiness matters more then other peoples opinions. C:

 

Hey, well... Being adult doesn't mean you can't have a sense of fun, yes?

And I'm of the opinion that you need to talk to your family about this matter. It seems that you value your family's opinion a lot and I believe that they should value yours just as much.
Communication is key, and especially in this situation you might want to reinforce what is important to you (to both yourself and them).

I hope all works out well for you and wish you the best of luck.

 

First of all, you really need to step up for yourself. This isn't something you should cry about, because all that matters is that you are happy with your doll.
I didn't get the whole doll thing at first either, but I learned. And I think everyone here had had nasty comments about their hobby. And everyone deals with it in a different way, but letting it get to you isn't the right way.
There's just a whole lot of people that don't understand that these aren't barbies, and they never will understand the hobby, and that;s perfectly fine. You can't force them to understand. But as long as you realise that these dolls are dolls that require a lot more care and creativity to create and handle than a vinyl barbie, than that;s all what should matter.

 

Okay, pure epic win.

Mind if I steal this as a quote later?

 

I have a friend that was more into figures then BJDs, and when she got married her new In-Laws saw them and asked why she had them because they're more for kids... i think it's the same with BJDs, they look like they are for kids.. but really they're not...

honestly.. would you trust a child with a $300-$1500(or more) doll, especially if money is tight nowadays... =P

 

If BJDs were to get a proper EU Lion Mark, then they would have to be classified for 14+, so when you think of them in those terms then they are most definitely not for children. That's if they are deemed to be safe enough to receive the Lion Mark (EU toy safety standard). Games Workshop about sixteen years ago had to remove lead from their white metal miniatures in order to conform with new EU laws that came out and still keep their 14+ Lion Mark.

Forge World will not sell their resin kits in Games Workshop stores because of the fire risk (they are not greatly at risk of being set alight, but in a store fire the resin kits will burn far more fiercely than ordinary plastics and produce far more toxic smoke, and there are a whole load of safety issues with storing resin kits in public access premises that GW/Forge World decided that it was just easier not to offer Forge World kits for sale in GW Stores and make them mail order only).

If I was ever to open up a store in the EU selling resin BJDs I know that I will have to jump through several fire safety hoops before I can open, so I may only decide to do a mail order company simply because I would not have to jump through so many safety hoops when storing resin in an industrial unit with no public access.

So no, with all that taken into consideration, ABJDs are most definitely NOT for young children.

Phil.

 

Oh yeah, this had definitely happened to me before...many times, especially by my family. Though the only way i kind of justify it with strangers when they ask is by explaining it as "I collect dolls" and equate it to those who collect the Madame Alexander dolls or those Marie Osmand dolls. I find that gets the message across pretty well.

 

Hahahahahah, not really my sweet.....it's just second childhood !!

My friend is even older than me ...68 years and she knits for charities but when I showed her pictures of my dolls ( I'm still waiting for my dolls ) she just let go of her things and made me a bunch of outfits.

I think when we love someone we should be more open hearted and share their happiness
even if we don't have the same taste. That's what friendship and love is.

 

It might hurt, but take a step back for a while. Logically speaking, we are...not children and yet we are "playing" with dolls. Yes..they are not normal dolls. But..simply speaking, this IS what we are doing. That is out of the norm and I guess it's not unusual that they would think that way. But still, they should at least respect your hobby.

 

If it isn't harming anyone else then it is nobody's business but your own...

Yeah, people might find our hobby weird, but I find the idea of 22 grown men chasing an inflated pig's bladder up and down a perfectly good field a total waste of time as well...

Phil.