Are dolls like family or like toys?

I don't really see the word "toy" as demeaning, especially in the context of childhood or adulthood. Toys are objects you have affection toward and play with. They can be used to tell stories or just used for decoration. Either way, my doll is a toy, and I appreciate her as that, and as a piece of art. :]

 

I agree to a point, but think of it this way. How would you feel if you created a painting, wrote a book, sculpted a figure = as a creative expression but also as your vocation - only to be told you were playing, that you had a nice hobby, that you'd made a nice toy? When what you meant to do was create something meaningful that others can relate to?

Here's the Webster's definition of toy:

1-Something that is paltry or trifling. A literary or musical trifle or diversion
2-Something for a child to play with.
3-Something diminutive (as in a small breed of dog)
4-Something that can be toyed with.

So yes, in the English language, to call something a 'toy' is demeaning, or belittling. If you toy with something, you are not serious. A toy is a trifle, childish, not important.
To individuals the word may not carry these connotations, but they are there for the English-speaking public at large to infer.

 

My family are people I care for and who care about me. I talk to them and enjoy their company. As much as I adore my dolls but they can't give me what real people give me. Dolls are pretty to look at and I enjoy dressing them, but they can never replace a human being.

 

For me, my dolls are representations of my characters. I certainly love them, but they are toys in many, if not all, respects. So while I love them dearly, I wouldn't put them in front of conflicts that come with life. None of my dolls is completely irreplaceable. It's would be hard to, but they could be replaced eventually. Try getting a job and saving up, I've been saving for two and a half years to get a doll I've been after. If you save in small amount, and do not let dolls be your major expense, I doubt your family will be able to voice any real concern.

 

For me, my doll is sitting in between the two options. I mean, sure, he's "just a toy" but he feels like family to me. I enjoy having him around. It keeps me in the happyzone. :'D

 

it's not easy question..... Wmmmm... they are my "toy" but they are not JUST dolls. Some special for me

 

it's not easy question..... Wmmmm... they are my "toy" but they are not JUST dolls. Some special for me

 

So a toy poodle is more childish than a standard poodle? Dolls are toys. A bjd (or an antique teddy, or a 70s action figure, or any other pricey plaything) is still at its core a plaything. That's not an insult, it's just a fact.

If you sculpted a rocking horse or some other plaything, then yeah, I see nothing wrong with "You made a nice toy". Toys can be art - those aren't mutually exclusive categories, so saying "it's creative!" doesn't negate the fact that we're talking about toys.

 

My dolls are a family of their own and I love them, but when it boils down to it they are just dolls and can always be replaced. Well...most of them. If we were in financial trouble I doubt I would sell them, but if it were a crisis situation they would be the farthest thing from my mind. Priorities are my kids, my pets, then personal treasures starting with the absolutely irreplaceable. Dolls come in quite a ways down that list. :/

 

Dolls are just toys. They're expensive, lovely, fascinating luxury items that I have grown to love very much, and enjoy spending time on more than any other hobby, but at the end of the day they're still (adorable) chunks of resin to me. There's still definitely an emotional attachment/sentimental value there for me, don't get me wrong, but real family includes living beings to me. 'Doll family' is a cute term that I apply to my collection of most favourite, cherished items.

If I had to save my family in a fire, it'd be the real one first, 'doll family' second. Now, if my house was empty of living creatures and still on fire, then dolls would be the next priority to save (besides myself), as they are much more difficult to replace than no-name furniture.

edit: And after reading some of the above comments, I have to agree that the terms 'art' and 'toy' are not mutually exclusive. I do consider dolls art -- it's why I love them so much - but they are also toys. Considering that the topic was about family sentiment versus toy sentiment, though, I don't see as to why art as a value has much to play in this certain conversation.

 

Dolls are toys. They are pose-able for a reason. that's their whole appeal. If you feel a more emotional attatchment to your doll than just that, that is okay too because that's also a way to play with them. It's all good fun

 

I see them more like works of art than a 'toy' per se, but like toys they make me inexplicably happy and I enjoy playing with them; ei. drawing, taking pictures, sewing for, and in general creating art from art. I do call them MY dollies and am definitely over protective of them, but I'm very sentimental about things and I put a lot of effort into my dolls and they're basically the only thing that keeps me sane and ticking for 70 hour work weeks between two jobs... Even though they are the main reason for the second job...

But without them life would be boring, and I see them as a constant that I don't find anywhere else in my life, so even though they are objectively resin, they are sentimentally almost as important if not as important as family to me.

Even my family members, depending on which family member you are talking to, have started calling them either my children or my boyfriends XD
I don't see them as either children or boyfriends, but they do have their own little uniqueness for what they mean to me, which, for lack of a better term, I call being my Dollies, with emphasis on the MY
Although most of my family members tend to agree that BJDs in general, mine included, are creepy and freak them out

 

My dolls are important to me because they're my first major purchase. They've been the result of a lesson in saving my pennies for something I really, really want. They represent the test of how long I could keep my sanity to buy something I had wanted for four years. None of my family likes the fact that I have these dolls, and they believe I've wasted my money. They tried to stop me from buying my second. But I like them.

I don't consider my dolls part of my family, though.

 

Everyone has their own reason for buying these dolls.

Some see them as pretty models, a cute toy, or a little buddy to have around.
Ive always been the kinda person who gets attached to things, stuffed animals, dolls, ect.
Probably because my grandma did the same thing, she kept a lot of my dolls and bears from when I was a kid and would tuck them in and talk to them, lol. I guess when you get old and you're by yourself, it's nice to have 'kids'. Of course she knew they weren't alive, but it made her feel good to pretend they are.

I buy dolls for company, or a little bit of 'good energy'.
I also can't have any pets, so they're like the next best thing, lol!
I know they're just dolls, but they make me happy to have around.
Like when you've had a bad day and you come home, there is this cute little doll looking at you and you can't help but smile! It's all what you wanna make it I suppose, which is what is so great about these dolls!

 

I'm probably one of those rare people that put my doll first before anything. I have a some-what bad home life because of my mom hating the fact that I wasn't born a boy, so we never really connected like normal mother and daughter relationships. Most of my immediate family ignores my existence as well, so I don't have a deep connection to anyone who shares my blood. I care more about the well being of my dogs than my own mom, actually. My mom doesn't care for my dolls though, just as long as I don't "waste her money".

My doll is the representation of a character from a story of mine, that has been such a big part of my life these past 3 years that everything would be so much more different if it was never created. And with him being one of the main characters, I would probably be extremely heart broken if he were taken from me in any shape or form. I treat him like a son, he keeps me company while I'm alone, and making clothes for him is a huge source of my creative outlet.

This doll is more than a doll to me in so many ways. And my only doll [as of right now] was a gift to me from a close friend of mine so I would feel guilty if something were to happen to him. I know he can be replaced, and if he was replaced for one reason or another, I would still feel very empty; like a hole that cant be filled no matter what.

I get too attached to things to a point where I get concerned about my future. But I love having this expensive hobby. People call me crazy because of the extreme importance this doll is to me but....I'm happy having him next to me all the time. He always makes me smile when I look at him, something that is really hard for me these days.

 

I think they're more like Pets...who are like family to a lot of people......I mean, I'd be pretty devastated if something happened to my doll just like I've be devastated if something happened to my dog (of course I'd be more upset about my living pet but thats not the point)

 

My dolls definitely aren't like family, being not alive, but they aren't like toys to me either...

I think to me, my dolls are Art. Playable art, but art. They are each a piece of art I have put hours of work into, and they each represent a character as well as a lot of invested creative energy.

 

I believe that,
they are both to some people.

Why? My OCs I play online, or draw, or rp. They are apart of me, like an extension of me and my creative flow. So they are sort of like my children. I made them. But for the dolls, I think its almost the exact same. You feel its apart of you because you make that connection of wanting to care for it. Maybe its a maternal thing but I think once you make a character with that doll its a connection. Whether its love hate or just pure love. So you have a separate place for them as apart of your 'internal' family from which may be important to you. Some may go as far as calling them their children and caring for them as if they were alive. I don't rag on it. I think I may possibly have some connection like that to a much ... more lesser degree.

Its about the person and their connection to the doll.

 

My dolls are ........well just dolls, they certainly aren't family. They are inanimate objects and I think my actual family would quite rightly be disturbed if I treated them like people.They are beautiful, artistic collectable toys nothing else. Of course I lurve having them on display to look at and appreciate but my family and pets always come first at the end of the day.

 

My dolls are precious to me, and just like a little family. I talk with them, I cuddle with them, and I care for them. I have to restrain myself when my wife is around, or she would think I am crazy But whenever I am alone with my dolls, I admire them, talk with them and carry them around - I guess I must be insane
My wife is also kind of jealous on my doll beauties, so I can't give them to much attention while she's around - hehehe