BJD's now because I wasn't allowed dolls as a kid?

I think, fundamentally we never really change.
Some people play with dolls, not because they're interested in playing with dolls, but because they're playing 'life.' If you're more interested in playing house, or dressing your barbies, than as an adult, you might not be in to dolls anymore, when you can just live your own life, or buy yourself fancy clothing and dress yourself nicely.
But I think for those who fundamentally enjoy toys, or childish things, we never grow out of it.

 

You can think that's a reason for you, and some people, but not all
For me, I got really bored of imagining things on my own, without anyone to bounce off cool ideas, so I dropped playing dolls rather quickly. Instead, I played with the pet cats and dogs :3

I wanted a BJD because it was pwetty! And the fact it could wear beautiful dresses that would never suit me, real frilly things that I'd personally die of shame to wear XD

 

My mom didn't like Barbies. She thought they were too old and unrealistically shaped, etc., for girls. She would allow more girl-ish dolls, but not baby-dolls. I had a Skipper, for instance, and one of the more wholesomely shaped dolls (looked more like a chubby teen-ager). I don't think I minded that much... But I do know that I have always liked dolls and would buy them myself when I got old enough. It MAY have had some effect on me!

 

I had a ton of barbies as a child, and I still own all of them. I've always loved dolls, and never really been denied them. At one point, my parents tried to take them away. I certainly think things that happen in childhood (and adolescence) shape us a tremendous amount. However, I don't think there is any one trigger that turns people into BJD collectors.

 

I'm actually shocked at how many people here weren't interested in dolls (and other "girl toys") as kids! Because, neither was I!

I had a few dolls that were given to me, from Barbies to Cabbage Patch, but I never really played with them. I preferred my pillow, stuffed animals, toy cars, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures.

Basically, I would personify everything, whether or not it had a face, but I had no interest in anything that resembled a regular person or baby. Most of the time, I would just play pretend with friends without the help of toys.

I wonder why so many people like me ended up liking BJD's. I guess, even though they're pretty like dolls, they're more like very attractive action figures? Or, maybe it's just the different, anime-like aesthetic? (One thing's for sure... it's not that they're customizable. I know that's what draws a lot of people to them, but that part stresses me out, honestly. )

Also, I love boy BJD's, and there really weren't too many handsome and demure male dolls for me to play with as a child. Also, I think my taste in men has probably changed since I was 6... if only a little.

 

I never really played with Barbies when I was younger simply because they weren't poseable enough. I collected their cars and accessories so I could use them with Beanie Babies, because those were far more poseable! All through high school I dreamed of making my own doll that could pose... and here I am.

 

Dolls that were available to me in my childhood were child-like, toddlers type, while I wanted mature dolls. I was able to buy my 1st Barbie-like doll when I was 15 - and I started to sew fashion clothes for her at once. So yes, I compensate my wishes to have mature dolls by owning BJDs.
I do not know though if I was into BJD now if such dolls were available in my chinldhood... The past is gone, and the things are simply as they are. BJDs are the way of expression and creative outlet for me.

 

I used to have tons of barbies.. =o
we were poor, but my mum would buy me a barbie for at least every birthday, and sometimes 'sinterklaas' which is a Dutch holiday.. =/
and very rarely if she had a little extra money..
She never denied me dolls though..
I even played with them until the first year of secondary school.. By then I was more into dressing them up and doing their hair, which is also something that I really like in BJDs..
=o

 

pooklaroux: I think it's really awesome your spouse really likes BJDs! Most guys I know are way more weirded out by the dolls than any girls I know...

Also I sorta understand though I used to play with Barbies and American Girl dolls as a little girl. When I got to the age of ten all my friends started getting into boys and stopped playing with child-ish things like dolls. It kinda depressed me and ever since then my inner child has been a bit repressed. I love dolls, though. I really want to wake up to a doll under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning this year. :333

 

for me.. i used to have soft toys.. well.. i fear barbie dolls *yes! i dunno why but i guess it was after watching the show chucky at the age of 4*

till now.. i still fear barbie dolls but not as much.. i decided to get some smaller dolls from obitsu. but not the 60/55/45cm ones. To get use to it.. but oddly enough, i got quite attach to them, i am still waiting to get a 60cm hopefully..

 

Funnily, I was never a doll person as a child - didn't like them, didn't dislike them, they just didn't really seem to apply to me. I didn't think I was going to be a doll person when I was first introduced to BJDs. Now, three years later, I have six of them (And a Hujoo) and am planning on getting a seventh (Although I swear, that'll be the last!).

I think they just fit so perfectly into a combination of "headspaces" - Something to paint on, something to make things for, something to make up stories about, something to be proud of once you've "completed" them, something to sit and hug when you're otherwise just sitting around bored.

I think, if we have to think up deeper reasons for things, that I got into BJDs now mostly because I wasn't pressed to like anything in particular as a kid - There's no red-flag in my mind that says "Dolls are for children! Why are you playing with childrens' toys?", but there's also not one saying "You're female. Females like dolls. You must like dolls". I like them now because I like them now.

 

I was very bookish and outdoorsy when I was a kid, and I never had many toys (I lived in the woods near the ocean, who needs lots of toys in a place like that?) though I did love plush animals. My mom wasn't crazy about dolls and didn't really encourage me to have any interest in them. Looking back, though, I think I liked them, but wanted dolls of characters from books I loved, or characters I'd made up. I started sewing when I was pretty young, and made various fabric dolls of characters I liked, complete with fancy costumes. Heck, I was still making dolls like that only a few years ago. Bjds have been a pretty natural progression for me, I think.

I do agree with the OP, however, that a lot of those things from childhood stick with us. The nice thing about being a grown-up is that you control your own purse strings! (usually, anyway).

 

maybe we were all born to be perfectionists and so when we were little we just didn't want to down grade ourselves to barbies........

 

I had a lot of dolls as a child. My mother was a doll collector. I inherited the collecting gene, so even as a small girl I had collectible dolls that I did not play with, from collectible Barbies to vinyl fashion dolls to adult proportioned porcelain dolls. I also collected action figures like GI Joe, Transformers, and the like. I also had Barbies I played with, but even those I was pretty fussy about keeping as pristine as possible. I did not have baby dolls, since I did not like them. All of my dolls were adults.

I've never actually stopped collecting dolls or figures, and my BJDs are just one part of my life long hobby.

 

thats really interesting that your mom wouldnt let you have dolls, thats a whole bunch of issues that were not allowed to talk about on here , but i think becasue you were deprived that you may have a stronger attachment now.
I was allowed to play with dolls as a kid. I had barbies and tons of stuftanimals, I never had any porcelin dolls though, my parents said it wasnt worth it if I couldnt play with it.. lol when i was 10 or so my parents for me an american girl doll, who i still have so it wasnt really a shocker that I got into bjds,

sorry you were deprived, but yay for indulging on childhood dreams! lol

 

While I had a lot of dolls when I was younger, I couldn't really get into them. Barbies were "girl's toys" and the other dolls just... frustrated me. I wanted GI Joes and action figures, but being a girl, it was almost taboo. When I first realized that there was more than just "girly" BJDs out there, I really started getting into the hobby. They were pretty enough for my girly aesthetics, but manly enough that I could finally have my fully pose-able GI Joes and action figures! The fact that they were almost 100% customizable was just icing on the cake!

 

I was allowed to play with dolls as a child, but I was never very interested. I preferred my stuffed animals, model horses, and Star Wars. I did have some dolls, but they didn't get a whole lot of attention. That's why I was more than a little surprised at myself when I found myself head over heels for bjds.

 

pooklaroux It's so interesting you posted this topic. I was just thinking about this today!

I had lots of barbies growing up, and other dolls as well, and I loved them to bits! They were definitely my favorite thing to play with. I loved dressing up my barbies more than anything. I also loved plushies, and really, anything cute. Although my parents never forbid me from playing with dolls, or enjoying my toys, I do feel like once I reached 12 or so, they sort of "discouraged" the habit. Once I had my own allowance I'd get crap from my parents if I spent it on toys. For years I remember buying barbies in secret once every year or so and loving just dressing them up. It was my secret little hobby that I rarely found anyone to share it with.

I discovered BJDs through the Pullip community and as I get more into the hobby, I am becoming more and more comfortable with my identity as an adult doll collector. I even introduced my parents to my new MSD tonight, (I'm living at home for a while as I finish my masters degree) and to my surprise they were pretty accepting of her.

One thing I know for sure - when I hopefully have kids some day, I will never discourage them from playing with toys, no matter how old they are.

 

When I was a child I loved my toys, boys and girls toys alike.

But I would come home from school at times and my mother would have cleaned out my closet, having driven to the dumpster at my dad's work to throw things away so I couldn't go to retrieve things.

"I cleaned because you never played with them."

Which was a lie. It was because she never saw me play with them. I was always up in my room, hiding from her. So I got to where I would make little dolls and toys and hide them from her. I became a hoarder. I stopped getting attached to things. I wanted dolls, but she always yelled at me that I would break them just like I broke everything else in the house (which was another lie).

I had a neurotic mother. XD

I went through a phase where I played with toys in my adulthood because I could buy them and she couldn't do anything about it, not really. I bought a few porcelain dolls and they just didn't have the life that BJDs did. I love BJDs because I can use them as my characters. I think if I wasn't a writer it wouldn't have stuck as much.

Now the little one (my niece, who's four) is way into Barbies and dolls, and she has always loved my dolls since she was a baby. When she would cry, we would take her to my room to calm her down and let her stare at them. She even plays with them with me, so I can teach her how to treat them. She's a good study. :3

I think it's a way for me to have a childhood, but also take care of something (I buy things for them and coddle them like I wasn't), and to treat my niece as I wasn't treated. A vicarious living thing, I guess.

 

I collected Barbies when I was little, up until I was about 7. Then, I started to find them incredibly boring because of the fact that they were practically unposeable, so I gave up on dolls until a year or so ago, someone posted about their new BJD on another forum I go on, and I fell in love with the dolls. But only now am I waiting on my first doll... :P