Are dolls like family or like toys?

For me they are more on the "toy" side, collectible objects or pieces of art. They are not alive, so I cannot really see them as my family. However, the dolls are precious to me and rather expensive luxury items, so I treat them with certain "respect" and affection.

 

My dolls are definitely leaning more towards family, but if I don't enjoy a doll anymore it'll get sold, if I lose interest in a sculpt it's quite easy for me to part with it.
My first ever (attempted) BJD purchase was a pukifee Ante which I was getting in memory of my nan, I do finally have my tribute doll on the way (just a few years late) so they definitely have a little sentimental feeling for me.
I'm not about to take my dolls for a swing up the park or anything, but there's a 98% chance I'm going to make a 'back to school' post with them next year with little gingham dresses just to wind up my sisters when they post my nieces and nephews back to school photos
They just have an eerie life behind their eyes if placed in the eye sockets juuust right and I love that they can tell you their personalities from the stories that grow just from looking at them. It's like they're telling you their story through some weird dolly telepathy.
So yeah, they do lean on the family side because they can breathe so much life in certain photos, but I'm glad they're not real because I have dropped those poor dolls an unhealthy amount.

 

I only have a few dolls but my favourite ones are definitely becoming part of my family lol they travel with me and I find myself photographing them more than my family lol

 

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have four dozen dolls. And they are all girls)) I do not know if they are family? or not. But they are all beautiful and they are friends))

 

If I truly bond with a doll they become family. If I can't imagine myself every selling/getting rid of that doll, that's when I know they count as family. I only have one doll I truly consider family, my Resinsoul Mei named Jane. If worst comes to worst, (financial crisis, needing money as soon as possible situation), I could see everyone going towards the cause but not her. Of course I would be heart broken to have to sell dolls I love, but I would get over it.

I don't see them as toys but rather art/characters. Calling BJDS Toys is to basic of a word (a bit of an insult to me), to call my dolls that. I consider a barbie (Which I also collect), a toy, but never a BJD. Thankfully I have no one in my life that looks down on my for collecting dolls. The people who do are often strangers who don't understand who I am. I can't imagine what its like to have family members not support you in a hobby you enjoy/love. I wish you the best of luck in your college life!

 

Toys. I like my dolls & do care about them and the characters they represent but no way are they on the same level as my family!

I do form strong attachments to toys, like a little kid, but it’s not the same as a real person.

 

The dolls are pieces of myself, and they are very important to me. I guess one could truly state that I treat them like family. I am very very very much a “doll person” and they don’t even seem like anything more than something I love dearly, that’s all I see them as ( as in not like a collectible or something with numerical value)

 

Somewhere inbetween, let's say like a pet? I mean, rationally I know I'm talking to an inanimate hunk of resin that can't understand me, but mentally it feels like dealing with a sentient creature because hey, they're a very anthropomorphic hunk of resin :P So I tend to sort of talk 'at' them, like you'd do to a pet fish or budgie.
(I also own a life-size mannequin, and this effect is even stronger there.)

 

I think the answer would change depending on which of my dolls you asked about? Ones that are just pretty and don't really have a fleshed out character? More on the toy/collectible side. Ones that are shells of my long time cherished OCs? More on the family side. Of course at the end of the day they're just dolls and they're just resin and elastics, but there are a few that are shells of character I've had since I was 14 and having a physical iteration of these characters means the world to me and holds a ton of sentimental value. I don't think family is quite the right word, but they're extremely special and important to me.

 

My creative outlet?

 

Definitely more close to dolls than family. I would never think of them as I think of my cat for example, they are not living beings.
That being said, I'm the kind of owner who talks to her dolls like they were going to answer back so... I'm weird xD

 

First of all, I’m really sorry your family has such a rotten attitude toward your dolls. I tend to think of my dolls more as pets than anything, since I do feel like they each have a distinct personality and I know them as people—but it’s obviously a one-sided thing. I have very few family members, none of whom are terribly opposed to the dolls so much as the prices. My sister even got into the hobby herself. My dad was resistant to me spending money on these things, but he does seem to like them (probably because he hasn’t paid for them, lol). Every so often he’ll wander up to my collection and ask a question about them, which is nice.

I can understand why your family wouldn’t get your reason for having dolls and how it feels to have someone so adamantly against something you love... but if it’s not their money, it’s not their business, you feel? When I bought my first Ringdoll my dad asked in a bit of an unpleasant way, “How much did THAT cost?” I told him it cost as much as I felt it was worth, and that was the end. Of course, I do have my own personal space to store things, so it might be easier to keep my stuff to myself than it may be for you. If you are so fortunate as to be able to store them out of your family’s sight, I’d recommend it. But I’d also suggest you talk to them about how it makes you feel when they talk down on your hobby. I’m willing to bet your dolls do more good than harm, and you can always make more money. I hope they won’t sour this fun, creative thing for you.

 

My dolls are my daughters. I would never give them up. My flesh and blood daughter (grown up) hates my dolls. When I told her how much my collection was worth, she changed her mind (chuckle).

 

In fact 6 years ago I treated my dolls as my children, but when I grew up, I tend to think them as toys. I still love them, but I think they are different. Maybe because I have two cats now? Because now I think my cats are my children XD

 

I feel they are of a deeper meaning that mere toys. But, family? Hmm, maybe not. Friends? More likely. Companions? Definitely. I don't play with them as I would have conventional toy-store dolls in my childhood. There are one or two that I probably cherish like siblings, more so than children, but most are companions on tough days. Distractions on good days. Procrastination on others.

 

To me, dolls are just very expensive representations of my characters. So while I love and cherish the characters, if something happened to the dolls I'd be more aghast at how much money went down the toilet. I wouldn't mourn them like pets or people, the characters are still alive and well, I would just have to reshell them. So I guess that's a long way of saying they're just toys to me. Not to sell toys short, they do have value and they do bring comfort, but that's not the same as being a living breathing creature.

 

I am similar to previous post. My dolls are mostly representations of characters, part of my imagination. Definitely not a family but more than just toys.

 

To me, dolls are a luxury item and a creative outlet. I used them to shell characters, but at the end of the day, they are just very expensive toys that bring me a lot of joy.

 

I love all mine dearly, and because they’re constantly on display in my home like 3-dimensional art, and constantly on view, I always say, “they’re just part of the family.” But in reality, I see them more as friends and constant companions. They’re very dear to me...so very dear friends.

 

Probably closer to family than toys, just because of the amount of personality I've attributed to them. But at the same time, I know that those characters have "lives" of their own apart from the dolls and the dolls are just physical representations, making them toys... It's a complicated feeling.