Basing your doll on other cultures. Okay or not?

I don't think so. I think that as long as the person is reasonably informed about the culture their character is based on, and they're not being deliberately offensive or willfully blind to the differences between their own culture and the one they're portraying, it would be acceptable. The same would apply to a woman making male characters, an able-bodied person making disabled characters, a person of a certain race making Asian/Aboriginal/Black/White characters, or a straight person making LGBT characters...or vice-versa in all those examples. I mean, the same reasoning applies to someone who is writing a novel and puts characters in it that do not share the author's cultural, social, sexual or religious background, and writers do that all the time without managing to offend everyone. The world is a big, diverse place. I think there is lots of room for expression of all kinds, and creating characters who are different than you is yet one more means of self expression.

I myself am a white Canadian female of 'christian' origin. I am straight and I am a person with a disability. I do have a character who shares my disability and I also have a deaf character, but I have lots of abled characters. One of my doll characters is a Jamaican-Canadian and he is Black. I have three gay characters, a handful of bisexual characters and many straight characters. Many of my characters are male. A few are Atheists, and two are Fundamentalist Christians. I have never yet had anyone express to me that any of these have offended them, even knowing that the characters are 'different' than me.

I think that something done in good taste and in good faith can be quite interesting can invite meaningful conversations and learning opportunities. I think it is important that the person creating doll characters who do not share that person's own characteristics should be open-minded enough to accept knowledge and feedback from someone who does have that characteristic in real life. Really, the whole thing could be used as a tool for furthering tolerance and an understanding of diversity, dignity and human rights.

 

I think it would really depend on how you go about interpreting said culture. If you make a caricature or cliche of the culture in doll form then, yes, people probably would find it easy to get offended (and with reason). On the other hand, if you did research and tried your best to accurately represent that culture then that comes across as more sincere.

I am also an American. I am hispanic. The main setting of my dolls' story is basically Victorian, which is not my native culture.
These dolls come largely from Asia and companies often put out fullsets representing different cultures. As an example, Iplehouse (a Korean company) put out Bibiane with an old west theme and a background that was labelled Pinos Altos, New Mexico. I noticed it specifically because I live in New Mexico. Hehe. ^_^
They also released Asa as a Japanese geisha. I remember them specifically noting that the structure of her kimono might not be completely accurate because they were unfamiliar with the style and it was difficult for them.
Both of those are just company examples off the top of my head. I don't think they were offensive, and one was basically meant to represent my own history. I actually own both of those dolls.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using imagination to explore different worlds with our dolls, ones that have existed or do exist in our own world, or ones that never have. It is just good to maintain a perspective on where we are coming from in relation to the culture we are trying to represent and make sure we are being respectful. Hm, that is tricky to put into words. I hope that made sense. ^_^

 

There have been dolls of different cultures for hundreds of years. As long as you are not making fun of a culture , I see nothing wrong with it.

 

I think everyone should have the opportunity to explore and express other cultures, respectfully. To say that someone cannot participate in your culture (with respect of course) simply because of their own background would only bring further exclusionary attitudes to a world working so hard to ensure equality for everyone.
So, in my opinion, go ahead and dress your dolls in other cultural fashions.
I was drawn to this hobby because of how customizable the dolls are. I'll be able to dress the dolls up in clothing and wigs that I could/would never wear in real life, including cultural clothing. It's part of the art of the hobby.

 

I am always amazed how careful we are not to offend, to the point that we lose our intuition, our imagination, and our freedom. Comics,Mina sense, are artists. Many are seriously offensive to others while doing so is just meant for us to laugh at ourselves. Whatever you seek to do, if your vision is to create, then do so and worry not so much about offending. Those who appreciate art will see it in your work and those who don't will find offense. Unless you show racism, sexism, or just some type of blatant bigotry, then you are just exploring your imagination, in this all learn. Wow, not like me to be so deeply philosophical.

 

What harleyfae said. What you do with your own dolls in your own home is your own business. Is it wrong to have opinions or to do something without consulting every interest group to be sure that you haven't offended anyone? Should I apologize for dressing my boy dolls as girls, blinding them, or cutting their hair in case I offend someone? Where does this ridiculousness end?

 

SapphireStargazer summed it up perfectly. It's all about the respect ... as long as a doll isn't (ab)used for making fun of a different culture, there is no reason at all why they shouldn't belong to one.

 

I think there's a difference between a well-researched, respectful homage to something that someone thinks is beautiful and worthy of respect, compared to a charicature. There's a difference, I think, in a bjd that was influenced by a culture and plays homage to the intricacies and true nature of that culture than, for instance, a gollywog or a 'red indian' toy.

For example, the new Ms Marvel is Islamic and she has been (to my knowledge) well received because Marvel put a lot of thought and care into her portrayal and presented her as human first, but with her culture and heritage as intrinsic, indeliable parts of her that make up her humanness.

However, having said all this, I am of Scottish heritage so I'm probably not the best person to ask. I think the best thing to do is to ask someone who is of the culture that you wish to portray whether it is okay to portray them that way, and then listen to and respect their answer.

 

Personally, I'm not comfortable creating characters from other cultures. I don't feel confident in my ability to do the research necessary to create a real, compelling character. I compromise by having my dolls' stories set in either fantasy worlds (which have cultures which are influenced by, but separate from, real world cultures) or historical settings (and even my historical setting is designed to be an alternate reality, not our reality). I just personally prefer to avoid the risk of offending anyone, and wouldn't feel comfortable with my own creations if I felt they were one-dimensional or poor caricatures.

 

World costumes have been a part of dolls since the beginning. I think it's a great way to open the door of understanding to another culture. Some times a doll has been the only record of traditional dress from some regions. I'd rather see someone making an earnest and heart felt attempt to learn the truth than be based in ignorance. Anything that will get someone interested in learning.

For things like Victorian culture there are books and magazines, especially women's magazines, from the actual time. Little things like etiquette books can tell you how women of a certain class were supposed to behave. Clothes were cut so a woman couldn't raise her arms above her head.

 

There is a difference between thoughtfully making a doll from a different culture, that involves research and honoring and celebrating its traditions, and cultural appropriation, which involves taking piecemeal from different cultures and using aspects of them out context in order to be trendy or to be seen as exotic or to titillate. And there is a difference between the thoughtful building of a character from a different culture and creating one that perpetuates stereotypes, both "positive" or negative.

 

I think as long as you do your research to make sure any gestures/clothes/background story/etc that you put on your doll won't be offensive to the culture you're portraying and as long as you're doing it out of true interest and respect for said culture, you'll be fine. It's all about respecting others.

 

I think it's fine to do that Especially because the alternative is problematic in itself--a white person who only makes white characters/dolls and avoids any diversity? Learning about other cultures is much better than closing yourself off to them.


My own dolls are sort of my fantasy creations, they exist in a sort of no-man's land--I don't think of them as being from a certain culture or race. I guess I'm not too interested in grounding them in the real world.

 

There is a thread on whether it is 'okay' to assign physical and/or mental illnesses to your doll character, it's a really interesting read!

You're not appropriating when making a Muslim doll. There is a big difference between dressing up as a Muslim girl for Halloween or making a Muslim character based on trustworthy research. Appropriation is the removal of something from its original context and placed into a new one, so it gets a new meaning. You're not removing a hijab from its original meaning, you're not giving your doll a super holy tribal tattoo, you're not making a miniature replica of a war band that can only be worn by a chief. So you are not appropriating anything from what I'm seeing here.

What people on the Internet often seem to forget is that the object in question must have an original meaning that is strong enough to, when it's removed, invoke offense in people. A war band worn by a teenage girl for a picture will invoke these feelings in some Native Americans because the band is a holy symbol in their culture. However, her wearing a pair of regular moccasin shoes will probably not invoke such strong feelings since the shoe might lack that symbolism. I myself get irritated when people try to pretend to speak my rural dialect to make fun of me. It's removed from its original context, namely the way our families communicate, and re-used in a context to mock 'peasant people'. So these are two examples of appropriation and various reactions - they can differ personally and you should never take one's person's word as the whole truth!

An accurate representation of someone's culture in a doll can hardly in itself be offensive, if done right. But, people might object in you making a 'non-standard' character for the sake of attention or 'being different' (I don't think you are , I just know there have been Tumblr people who are literally witch-hunting people down for drawing minority OC's). The community is screaming for more diversity and more representation of minority cultures and PoC, but yet strike people down for trying to represent cultures that are not their own. I remember a debate on Tumblr discussing whether it was okay for white people to own tan or black dolls or if this was cultural fetishizing or something - some people said they were too scared to buy tan dolls for the fear of backlash.

White people will always be closely scrutinized with how they represent non-white cultures, based on their privilege, dominance and colonial history. Look at Avril Lavigne and the critique on her hello Kitty video - while Western culture and rap culture are highly appropriated and assimilated throughout Japan and Korea. Besides, I find it so hypocritical that a LOT of cultural appropriation accusations are made by people who are not a part of that minority group. They seem to forget that while it might not be super sleek to appropriate in the first place, that the minority group in question might have a whole different opinion on them. To write on Tumblr about appropriation in place of the people who are supposedly being hurt is a very bad practice and you shouldn't base your fears of reception of your doll on them. You must acknowledge the meaning of the artifact (the hijab) in its original context, and try to be respectful towards it. You must ask Muslim girls instead of us white girls from a Christian background xD

Cultural appropriation is very real and it is hurting real people. But your specific creating of a Muslim character out of interest for the culture does not seem like a malicious intent to remove the Muslim girl from her original context just for your entertainment. If you were to write a very stereotypical, badly represented girl, yeah you're gonna have a bad time. I don't feel like you should be scrutinized for wanting to make this doll, but then again, the only people who have an actual say in this are Muslim girls themselves.

tl;dr in your creation of a character that is not from your particular cultural/ethnic group, you willrisk offending some people within that group, simply for doing so. But remember, just because someone is offended doesn't mean they are in the right. Especially if the one being offended is NOT a Muslim girl :/

Edit: I recommend reading http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/09/cultural-exchange-and-cultural-appropriation/ to anyone in this thread

 

Good article - and very useful for this topic! Thanks :-) I agree with you, But unfortunately the minorities whose opinions matter more in these kinds of discussions are usually the ones who have a harder time getting their voices heard!

 

I think it can be a good thing if it inspires you to learn more about a culture and open your mind to new practices and experiences. One such example is my only doll, Molly, who is an Irish forest dweller. I first got her in September 2013, the exact same time I began my university course on Celtic Culture and Irish History. Before taking that course, I thought I could just slap on a red wig, pop in some green eyes and give her some freckles and she would be Irish. Eight months, three essays and 2000+ pages of reading later, I can confidently say that there is so much more to Irish culture than those physical markers, and now everything, from her name to her spiritual beliefs, is a respectful and as-accurate-as-possible portrayal of Celtic culture (with some allowances for fantasy influence, of course).

As long as the portrayal remains respectful, it can be a wonderful learning opportunity! You may even find you were wrong about some things along the way, and disprove some stereotypes that have long plagued the historical record. Character building is a powerful way to place oneself in the shoes of another, and if the process is backed up by a wealth of research and good intent, it will foster understanding and respect across cultures.

 

If you're informed upon and understand the culture, why not? Learning about other cultures in the construction of a character is always fun and exciting.

I'm one of those that enjoys taking what is commonly thought about certain peoples and their culture and saying after research 'this is wrong'. I acknowledge being white, and I'm currently living in Beijing (so I'm already immersed in another culture and speaking another language on a day-to-day basis). A doll of mine by the name of Fiyanggu is a character from an ethnic minority people that live here in China (Manchu, specifically). I am one with a high interest in these people's culture and I do a lot of studies and talk to people whose culture he is part of. He is more a representation of my understanding and respect for their culture, and I have worked hard to ensure that nothing is incorrect about him, and I'm not intruding on anything offensive or perhaps pushing on any ghosts of the past. They are a people often misrepresented or disrespected culturally, so I am making sure I do not do the same ^^