"But its just a doll.."

This is a great topic... *L* We were joking around about it in the car after Kodomo no Hi last weekend too, actually.

I definately joke about Synj being my kid... but mainly because of his "personality". Somebody has to chop him down to size. I feel a lot more as though I were a slightly older, slightly wiser female friend of his... an older sister figure, much as I have felt about past relationships with REAL boys. *L*But that is taking into account his character, not his status as an object.

Now, I am an artist... I make sculptures, I draw manga, etc etc. Art, for me, is an extension of the self similar to giving birth. And since I see the creation of a unique, customized BJD to be a way to express onesself artistically, maybe thats where my "maternal" feelings come from. I acknowledge that Synj isnt a living thing... he is still a hunk of plastic. Emphasis on hunk. hehe.

That said, BJDs have that magic thing that Lacan used to call 'the aura of the authentic object', which is incredible to me, because every bjd in our possession that came from any place other than our own two hands is simply a copy, and by Lacan's definition, copies are not supposed to be imbued with Aura. Its an amazing phenomenon... and probably why I became drawn to this hobby in the first place. A readymade with the soul of an objet trouve. Pretty evocative stuff.... So forgive me if I feel a little protective of my boy, and jokingly guard him like a jealous mom.

*ALLY*

 

There're so many different ways people see their BJDs, it's insane -in a good way-. I think I like the fact that not everybody's like, "Oh, well Lillian just loves this outfit to death." rather, others are like, "She'll wear it 'cause I'm putting it on her, duh." It just means that they're really good for anyone who's willing to put in the time, effort and care into the hobby. You don't have to see them as children, siblings, characters, they could simply be dolls meant to stand pretty in a glass cabinet.

 

Like everyone has said already, it really depends on what you think. I mean some of my friends see them as their babies. Others see them as friends. And then a few of my friends that don't own them see them as just a beautiful investment. Like a fashion collectable I suppose. Its not necissary to treat it like a child but I do think you should hold the doll as a higher value at least...be it calling it your "son" or "daughter" or simply just putting them on display not to have anyone else touch.

 

To me, my dolls aren't children in any way...they're more like...inanimate pets who sit on my desk and look pretty XD. Nevertheless, I am attached to them, not unhealthily, but I'd be...you know, distraught if they were mutilated or stolen or the like.

 

I think of them as a item to amuse myself with and more of friends than my children.

 

I can be a recluse sometimes, so the dolls keep me company, in their own way. I like to admire them and pose them...it's more fun to shop for my dolls than it is myself. :P Although, I'm not willing to drop 70 dollars on a doll dress, when I know that can go towards groceries, clothes, and having lunch with a friend occasionally. I think it is more practical to make the clothes they wear. It becomes an even more personal experience then.

 

This was actually an aspect that at first had scared me away from BJD's. I would see and hear BJD owners talking and treating their dolls as if they were real, breathing children. Last year at a con, I saw two girls walking around with upwards of four BJD's in a real, full-sized baby stroller. There was a person around my age behind my group in line to register at another convention, who was holding two or three of them and went on about them in much the same vein as a mother at her weekly playgroup. Perhaps it was simply me not being hooked on the dolls myself at the time, but I really shook my head at it.

I think there's a line. Like a lot have said, after you spend so much money on these dolls, invest in all the clothes and accessories -- you develop a protective attachment to them. Like how some people name and affectionately dote on their cars and other such inanimate objects which cost quite a lot, it seems that anything which you invest yourself in creates a bond. With these dolls, you just look at them, and you can tell their personalities - even between dolls of the same mold. Change their face-ups, their wigs ... it can completely transform them into a whole 'nother character. It's a thrill to see that other BJD owners are writers and seem to use their dolls as their muses, or a physical manifestation of their characters. That's what I'm looking forward to the most when I am finally able to get my own BJD.

But when I see young women treating their dolls like real children, and acting as much around them, that's when I think they have some ... issues. I plan to carry my doll(s) in a carrier bag -- one designed to hold dolls, but still -- not in my niece's baby stroller. I think outsiders would probably take them more seriously as collectors. Otherwise, some just look like adult children playing with their doll babies on the playground.

 

'Its not just a doll' Its a work of art. Just like its never 'just a painting' or 'Just a drawing' Or 'just a etc.'
Its a piece of art, that some one put their heart and soul into. Also, after that once owned, a lot of personality traits go into the 'doll'.

If it were a mass marketed thing, made by machines, by the thousands. Yea, it might just be just a doll, but even then, its got allot of sentimental value, like rings or tattoo's.

My doll is 'my little special' Yi. A work of art made by the hands of a talented sculptor. As well as he is 'my child' a creation attitude made by my self, I buy him clothes like any other parent dose for a real child. [As well as other nurturing-ish acts.0_o ]
In some ways I like to think of him as 'my little Edward Scissor hands' Me being the man who made a robot boy child, well maybe not made him, but adopted him? lol . [Obviously Edward was never finished...]

Thats what I like to think any way. He is a 'special' doll.

 

I couldn't think of my dolls as children, but they are still important to me. I use them to describe myself to others. When someone asks me to describe my OCs or something, or when I feel like telling a story, they serve as a constant in my ever changing mind. The boy I have now is the same one I've had in my head since I was young, and the boy I'm getting has been much the same. Though their stories have changed, they're still there. I had imaginary friends when I was younger, and now they aren't so imaginary anymore. They are my companions. I think treating my companions as children would make me lose sight of what's so important about them. I can't baby something that, in my mind, was always there for me, and I can't treat them as though they are human all the time because then it will be harder for me the day I eventually move on.

 

I already have human children, I don't need inanimate children lol. My dolls are more like characters to me. They are there for me to amuse myself and as a creative outlet. I love to make things, and it is easier to make things for dolls because they are so patient and forgiving and look good in lots of different styles. I say they are characters because they often have personalities that I attributed to them and "wont want to wear" things that don't go with their personality. All that and they are always there to look pretty.

 

Just look at the emotions that can be portrayed by photographing these beautiful dolls. I love learning about the artists that sculpt them and also the artists that do the face-ups. Their beauty is the result of many artists' talents.

 

I think the main reason I got into this was because I think dolls are very pretty, only after quite some when I was at cons and such did I find out that people treated them the way they do, and talk about them/to them they way they do. E.g. "Oh, I bet he's mad at me for making him get nude right here in the middle of a doll meet." "Don't worry, I'll get clothes back on you soon enough!!" (Not that I think it's bad or anything, it's pretty fun actually.) I think when I get a doll I won't treat it like a child so much as a toy, and I probably would become guilty of talking to it or giving it a personality. Though I would put a lot more care into it than I would any other average toy.

 

my boys are boys ornaments and my photographic models. i respect them as if they are real people, but they're not my babies. i would spend more money and time with my pets if i had any because they're living beings and can love me back physically.

okay, the last part of that sentence sounded a bit weird

but you get the idea. they are 'just dolls' but there is something else there. dolls have souls too.

 

I agree with this right here! n_n They're like little buddies Or GORGEOUS pet rocks XD

 

Oh, I love the image of being a male doll-possessed version of the Crazy Cat Lady..

As someone mentioned, I can be pretty reclusive, and my dolls keep me company. Maybe they're like little duck decoys--they fill my need to see a human face, even on a miniature level.

Do they have souls? Seeing how some people treat other human beings, I wonder if THEY have souls. I do like to toy with the idea, tho, that on the quantum level there's something happening when I focus my attention on my dolls..

 

I see it as maternal instinct. Any of us who played with dolls as kids certainly pretended to be a mommy at least once or twice, right?
Personally I think it's just a cute way to show affection for your doll. They're pretty real looking for a doll, that and they seem to have that helpless look about them just as a child does. We have to do everything for them. -3-

I'll call Hansel my boy but not my son, that's something I'd use for a real child of mine. I don't mind when other people do the same, I don't mind if they treat them as objects, to each his (or in most cases here, her) own. Really I prefer to treat a doll as a companion but I do feel like a worried mother from time to time with him.

 

My doll is my muse most of the time, something that's part of me yet not; something that is personal and I get possessive about because of the emotional and money investment. He's a silent presence that's there for me, a small companion.

 

What really draws me to ABJD is the artistic aspect of them. First of all, they are hand made, works of art, second, you can change them in almost anyway to make them what your heart desires. Another thing about them is they seems to have a lot of personality. i don't know if I'll ever think of them as a child, but that could always change when i get my first... Which I will hopefully be ordering soon.

 

well even though I guess its not really necessary to treat them like Children. I still do just cuz I can..lol.I mean its summer I got nothing better to do..hahaha..^_^

 

I don't think of my doll(s?) as children. Maybe in an artistic sense, yes, because I have given my thoughts and desires a physical form. But as a child? I'd rather not compare the actual mental and physical labor that goes into raising a child to the leisurely expression of creativity we put into our dolls. Just my opinion though, I know there's some people who think differently and I mean no offense. =)