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"But its just a doll.."

May 5, 2008

    1. I don't personally consider my dolls to be kids - I fell in love with them because they seemed the ultimate way to bring my characters into a physical form. So I guess I see them sort of like... non-animated avatars. If that makes any sense... :sweat
      -V
       
    2. I call dolls my kids because I call most of the characters I create as my kids also (minus a few that are too old...)... though possibly horribly abused children *looks at her more angst-ridden plotlines* :sweat

      >_> I probably baby my dog a lot more than inanimate objects though.
       
    3. I always refer to Cullen as my 'Resin Child', and often make refrences to one day having lots of 'Dollie Children'. I treat my dolls like children, and call them my children, but they aren't. They're my best friends, my companions. I just treat them different from my real friends!
       
    4. Well, I do call them my boys (Luken and the three little ones) but children? Nope. First of all, they're too old. I mean - three of them are elves and they're at least a couple of 100 years old. And even Luken's 10 years younger than me at most. But they do have different personalities and I wouldn't part with any of them for all the money in the world.
       
    5. I really don't want to refer to mine as my 'children', because as stated before, they're like, my age! I want mine around because it's beautiful, and it's a way I can express my creativity.
       
    6. Certainly not as kids for me. I just call my Indigo my boy. Thinking of them as kids is too juvenile in my mind. I do think of them as having a certain personality but I like them because they are gorgeous and I like to hang out with them.
       
    7. That sums it up for me as well... however, I do refer to them as my "kids" or my "dollie family", just for lack of better terms. I definitely don't think of them as pets or children. Maybe a few that have really gorgeous faceups I consider works of art (as they do sit on a shelf most of the time).

      Basically most of them are characters i've created and/or had for YEARS, this is just a physical form for them. I still love them and think of them in exactly the same way as I did before they had physical bodies.
       
    8. I often do refer to my resin crew as either, "my boys" or "my kids," although I don't actually see them as my kids. I guess I see them more on a roommate basis. Companions, as you said.
       
    9. I don't think of mine as my child so much as my little buddy. :) He's my little companion that I can dress up and take places with me, have fun with and smile at when I see him after a long day at work.
       
    10. I just call 'em my boys. :)
       
    11. Same here. I call them my "resin kids" sometimes, but in reality to me they are more like a combination of art project and writing project. They each have a character behind them, but I don't believe the doll actually IS that character. They're just a 3D representation of it... like when I used to draw portraits of characters from stories I wrote, but more interactive.

      When I'm not taking them to a meet or actively working on them/taking photos, my dolls are treated more like objects, usually set down on whatever chair or table is empty at the time I set them down. Sometimes they'll be in pieces on my worktable for weeks. When I take them out in public for meetups, sometimes I'll unceremoniously carry them bent double in my messenger-bag. (Yes, I'm a bad resin mommy... but worrying about my dolls breaking or scratching a faceup kind of ruins the enjoyment I get out of them... and I can always fix them if something does happen).

      So in short... no, I don't treat them like children and I don't see that as wrong. Neither do I think it is wrong to be extra careful or treat your doll as if it were a child. To each their own, I say. I think sometimes this hobby gets so caught up in "what will other people think if I do ____" that it can cut down on your own enjoyment of the dolls. I say treat them in whichever way works best for you. ^_^
       
    12. The original BJD's by Volks were meant to represent 13 year olds (SD13), 10 year olds (SD10) and I think 8 year olds (MSD). Volks introduced the idea of basically re-birthing these children and presenting them to their new parent in an Omukae Ceremony.
      Video (I can't get it to load - maybe you can)
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_KqbZZwZY

      But I think most people (at least Western people) think of their minis and large dolls as older than that - the dolls have gotten more mature both physically and in how they are dressed and thought of. My mature minis are certainly my friends rather than my children. I think the closest I have to a mother/child type of relationship is with my Bambicrony Elf Pepe who is a toddler type.

      Carolyn
       
    13. They're just friends of mine, that happen to be made of resin. The only ones I consider "kids" are the tinies, and even then, they're not so much "MY kids" as just kids doing their own thing who happen to live with me.

      Having said that, I don't mind if somebody wants to think of their dolls as their kids, as long as they don't take it to extremes. I mean, if they had to get a sitter for their doll every time they went out, for example, I'd think they were odd :)
       
    14. no defenetly not my "child" but to me also not a "sim" or a "pet".

      he is a RP character that is very close to me so that makes him much more my "companion" or to the extreme even my "familiar". but in the end he still just is a wonderfull piece of art.:)
       
    15. I think, basically, all it takes to own a BJD is the desire to have one and the money:)

      Once you purchase the doll, you can bond with it anyway you want. I have a child so I don't consider them as children. They are different that regular vinyl dolls to me because of the cost. The cost makes them pieces of art to me. However, if someone wants to consider them child, thats great. It is their money and once the doll is theirs they can do what they want with the doll.
       
    16. I call my dolls "my kids" even though I don't actually consider them related to me. It's just like my cats are my kids, even though they're small and furry. It's how I treat them that causes me to call them that. I spoil them and tell them to behave if they act up like they were my real children. Of course, all of the dolls I own so far actually are children. I'm not sure how I'll act once I get a more adult doll. I'd probably treat them more like a friend than a child.

      I'm one of those crazy people who believes some objects are sentient even though they're not actually living and breathing. I feel kind of bad when we go to doll meets and everyone's pointing and talking about my dolls. I mean, how would YOU like it if you were put on display for everyone to OHH and AHH about and you couldn't move or say anything?
       
    17. I really like the pet/sim comparison. I dont think i'm one of those "attached at the hip" sorts, but i love my dolls to bits and it makes me really happy just to have them around. They are little pieces of art, things i can use to create.

      I've got this thing with creating, be it drawing, writing, or whatever, so the fact that these dolls allow me to physically create characters and sew stuff, and make things for them makes me really happy.

      I'll call them my resin kids, or my kids in general, but i think i use "kids' as sort of an all encompassing term for the things i create/create for. As another form of expression, and a realy nice outward form as well, they are a part of me, in a way, a physical, not-attached-part of me, that to me has a sort of life that i work with to create my story. Imagination spawns reality, and in that way, i suppose, my dolls are my kids, my "children of my imagination" ^^

      --character wise, of course, they're not my kids. I will not have any dolls that represent the children i never plan on having ^.~
       
    18. Nope. They are not my kids. Artforms, yes. Inresinated characters, yes. Am I attached to them? Yes, I would be very upset is something tragic happened, but they are replaceable. If I had to, I'd track down another limited head if something happened to my Darastrix and get her faceup done the same as before. I know it might never quite feel the same, but if I could do at least that, I would be content.

      I'm not knocking anyone that does see them as their children though. It's only a half step beyond my bond with my two cats, whom both my husband and I call our kids (or our boys). Even our friends and family have accepted that the cats are our children. A lot of people would simply say, "It's just a supid cat" and that I'm crazy, but I don't care. :)

      My mother however, seems to want to push the dolls into the same catagory. Keeps saying she has grandkittens and resin grand children. She has human grandchildren by my sister... so I dont see why she's so eager to claim the resins as well. *_*
       
    19. I can say that I don't refer to my doll as my child or sibling or pretty much anything that can be considered a relative. Imogene's a doll, not a baby or a person. Just... a doll.
       
    20. I thought i'd feel really attached to mine when I got one, (since I tend to latch on to just about anything), but he became even more of "just a doll" when I got him home. Its hard to be attached to something so unnessesary, im always looking at him thinking of other uses for my money then a hunk of plastic that sits on my desk. Thats just my two cents, Iwas much more into the hobby when I didnt have a doll then when I actually got one.