"Attachment to Inanimate Objects".

Another pack rat, right here. I get really attached to items easily and worry about hurting their feelings by discarding of them or passing them on, like I don't want them anymore. I guess it could also be because I've never had much and had to make due with what I had -- and the more you play with something, the more you're going to love it, right?

With dolls, at first, my attachment to them first seems to me to be more along the lines of "this was a lot of money, so I need to cherish it" and then as I spend more time with the doll I get attached to it for what that doll is to me. I don't really think of it as "bonding" with the dolls, though... I've never understood that idea of "bonding" with an inanimate object. When I think of "bonding" it feels to me like it has to be between two reciprocating beings, building a bond together, and an inanimate object realistically can't build a bond to anything.

 

: Yes! Oh, I loved that advertisement. "My god, Mr. Ikea, it's like you know me," I breathed at the screen. Crazy Scandinavian minimalist furniture ethic. ~^ You would not believe how old and tilted the lamp in my living-room is. It's a piece of crap. So is my hideously outdated answering machine. So is my collection of mostly-dried-up sparkle-ink pens with dangly bits on top. But if I put any of these outside with the trash, I just KNOW that same sad weepy song would start to play.

I don't even like to throw out my completely-worn-out boots & shoes. As I raise the door on the garbage chute, and am just about to pitch them in-- in some unconsciously hilarious parody of a burial at sea-- I salute them. For all their hard work & the tough times we've been through together. (For you fellow shoe freaks, no further explanation is needed.)

I'd guess that this hobby naturally attracts those who love Objects in general... because this hobby involves very high-end Objects that need delicate handling & care. It's an ideal pastime for people who love to admire and handle and treasure and fuss over their Objects. Dolls are a particularly refined Object because they've been made in the image of people. So of course more people can develop attachments to them, or ascribe feelings/emotions to them. But somebody (like Mr. Ikea ^^) who's less animistically-sentimental would have difficulty understanding why anyone would spend so much money-- let alone love, care, & attention-- on a mere thing.

 

This is a really interesting thread. I was wondering the same thing about bonding when I came across other doll forums.

I guess I've bonded to things like My Little Ponies, as I grew up with them, but I haven't bonded with anything else I've owned so far.

I always thought that possessions had some sort of "life" though- if you take good care of them, something good will come to you in the future.

 

I haven't read the whole thread, but I'm sure someone has already expressed this. For me, dolls are more than mere inanimate objects: they have a character attached. It's the character in my head that has life, and when that imaginary char is projected onto the doll, it appropriates that character's life, so to speak.

I'm not sentimental, I don't see any reason to name my car or computer, it's no issue for me to replace/get rid of inanimate objects. As a kid, I never gave my stuffed animals names (except the most prosaic types like "Horsie" or "Rabbit" - seriously, that's the best I could do ), and I'm prepared to give them away, although I would feel regretful. But as a kid, I have always had imaginary friends. The BJD hobby drew me because it was an opportunity to give my imaginary chars a tangible form. So the doll has more sentimental significance to me than, say, computer or car, because he/she was a character in my head in the first place, and that's where the life begins!

 

I think it really just depends on the person. I bond to inanimate objects also, but I also have quite the imagination I always have. I think to how much you treasure something. I love my Obitsu because it took me a long to be in place where I could get one.

 

I name pretty much everything electronic that I own. I know one of my friends does too, I think she gave her laptop a personnality too. I think it is important to bond to something that won't Die (something inanimate) like a doll.

 

Why it is important to bonding something never die ?

 

I'm similar to you. I've probably had 100+ stuffed animals in my room all at one time, piled everywhere because I was attached to all of them. I'm a bit older than I was in my stuffed-animal-hoarding days, but I still have atleast half of them. My dad built 5 very long shelves at the top of my walls- so the ones that aren't humongous sit up there. xD

I would think that people like us would get attached to dolls pretty easily. But in my case, I think it'd be easier to get attached to a doll than to totally bond with them. I may not want to upset a doll's "feelings," but still have to get rid of them because they're not the right doll for me.
So perhaps us getting attached to the dolls makes it easier to bond with them. But when we don't totally bond, I still have to hug them and send them on their way... xD

 

This.

Except the cow creamer version of the commercial actually used to make me cry. I used to have to change the channel.

 

... My mom has that cow-creamer. It's over 30 years old, and she still won't get rid of it, even though she drinks her coffee black. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

 

The first object I bonded with was my first car. When I got in a wreck and the car got totaled, I was devastated. I felt like someone had died. I told myself I wouldn't direct my feelings towards any object again.

But let's get existential. Nothing on this earth is permanent. By my old logic, it is not truly 'safe' to attach yourself to anything. The good thing about inanimate objects is that they can't be hurtful, or betray you, or manipulate you (even if my dolls tend to 'make' me buy stuff for them :P)

So, I think its natural and reasonable to attach yourself to objects you really like. Its more comfortable than other attachments - it can't die or hurt your feelings, and it also can't get totaled.

In short, attaching yourself to a doll could be considered a pretty healthy outlet.

 

I always bond with things. When I was little I had My Little Ponies. The ones who I bonded with, to this day, still have a very special place with me and I would never be rid of them. I'm the same with my computers, and I always feel weird changing their parts.

With BJDs, when I see them, they introduce themselves to me. It's like we've already bonded before we've even met. I may just be a creepy person in general to others, though But I feel like if you can't bond with something, it's probably not worth having!

 

I recently came to realise how much these "inanimate objects" can grab you emotionally

We are in need of funds to buy a house, and I realised that I have enough to cover all the fees, sat in resin in my lounge.... sounds easy eh? WRONG!

As I sat at work planning my sales thread, I burst into tears.... I was actually grieving the imminent loss of my resin family Two hours later my boss sent me home "sick" because I couldn't stop crying

My husband was trying so hard to understand my feelings, and failing until he realised I was planning to include his doll in the sale too.... then he also wept

Needless to say we are now looking at alternative funding.... I mean, we could get a lot more money for selling our real children, but we wouldn't even consider that

Yes.... emotional attachment R go

 

I get attached to all sorts of things, like birthday cards, including the envelopes, sticks and such from places I've been to, my handbag (everyone of them) so dolls were naturally bonded to, I had already had some experience with role-playing and I got attached to those characters as well, and those only exist on a character-sheet, so when Rakxa came home, she had already had some adventures on a forum where I would roleplay her character. she's changed a lot since then, but I have always been attached to her, she's my little half-werewolf/timeless beeing who doesn't so much speak to me, but has some lovely way of expressing herself to me, there is an understanding between her and me 8)
/long story XD so yes, I do bond to inanimate objects, it makes my life a little richer I think, even though I have enough on my plate what with two kids and a loving husband who doesn't understands dolls at all, but nods and smiles 8)

 

I like not giving feelings to inanimate objects because it makes it very easy for me to not be a packrat. I had some toys that I DID bond with, but as I got older, I grew out of it, I guess.

 

For me, when I hold or look at an object I remember all the emotions of getting it, where it came from - in effect the object holds and triggers memories. Sometimes it is the fulfillment of long-held dreams. The BJDs are something I have looked for most of my life. The Obitsu Haruka Is the doll I dreamed about, tried to find or make, and bought things to substitute for. And this was decades before Obitsu produced dolls or made her. When I finally got Hazel it was a wonderful success. She is never angry at me, she has a life and character, and all the other dolls seem to revolve around her. I have actually been able to sell other non-bjd dolls because they were substitutes and now I don't need them. I went through a long period of total disability, and Hazel kept me going - literally. Through her I could have the life I could no longer have myself. I have been lucky, I am recovering. But without Hazel I wouldn't be here. When something has been that pivotal, it is very hard to consider getting rid of it.

 

I'm more attached to things that're given to me by important people (family, friends, significant others, etc..) and have a severe anxiety problem if I ever lose anything that was a gift. This is a big reason why I tell people not to buy things related to my hobbies, since there's always a point where I'll need to unload if I'm moving onto another interest.

It's a (surprisingly) good thing that I'll have to buy my own BJDs - it would be impossible for me to sell a girl I haven't bonded with if she were a gift from my boyfriend, for example. Then again, I doubt that I'd have trouble bonding because of the association with him. Strange mix of emotions for inanimate objects that receive a bit of life from everyone involved, I guess.

 

I know exactly what you mean XD and I have the same issues. I don't even have my first doll yet, but I've been known to hang onto things like broken pens and cd cases XD

 

i think it has a lot to do with personality type, and imagination. i think you're lucky. so many people are stuck with "reality", and find it hard to branch out. and are missing all those wonderful other realms.

 

I'd have to agree with you, orphansparrow . Better to be free to dream of the beyond than tethered to only what can be seen by the eyes. It's a blessing