Calling All BLACK BJD Collectors, Are You Out There?

Are you asking about black male collectors only, or females also? I'm not black, but I know a couple of black female collectors.

 

I'm a black female :3.
I been into bjd's since 2006. I like all sorts of dolls regardless of what race they maybe.
I guess I don't think about race when it comes to dolls. I just want to make my original characters out of bjds. I love all skintones on dolls. I can think of two black girls who are on DOA. ^^ if you check the thread that owners post pictures of themselves and their dolls you will find a good amount of black people. :P

 

Are you, or do you know of many black collectors in the BJD hobby?

I am! I can't really say I feel like a winged unicorn named Pegasus. I mean, I'm use to going and being in anime related activities and well...yeah. I tend to be the only black person there sometimes and the only one in a position of power. So at this point I'm pretty use to it. When I was hosting doll meets in Northern VA I was one of two African Americans, but then the other one rarely showed so it was just me. But again, I didn't mind. ​

If you are a black collector, how do you feel about the availability of non-Asian or Caucasian sculpts and/or skin tones, in the market?

Sometimes it bothers me when I have a specific character in mind and other times it doesn't. I mean, I'm not comfortable with dying a doll [and I'm currently living in a dorm so no space to] so that's not an option. Lucky the character I have in mind fits perfectly with a doll I've been craving from Iplehouse, and thanks to their custom doll system I can get her in light brown skin. My mom was actually a little more bothered by it then I was truth be told. But when we can find darker skinned dolls, mostly from IH, she loves them. ​

 

omgsh, I'm in northern VA as well!
and I can totally relate XD

 

To be frank, I don't know what the colour of the skin is of the majority of the people on this board, or of the people I speak to regularly, but I don't know what hair- or eyecolour they have either. It's just not something that comes to mind when we're talking about dolls.

I do wish there were other companies, besides Iplehouse, that would make realistic non-caucasian dolls. I like Souldoll's asian sculpts, but I would like to see some ethnic variety. Where are the Indian people, the Polynesians, the natives from South-America? But - considering this hobby is still in its infancy - I think that they will come, sooner or later.

 

Are you, or do you know of many black collectors in the BJD hobby?

I know of a few, actually. I'm in Cleveland, Ohio. Most of the ones I know live in Columbus, but I have met a few that also live here in Cleveland as well.

If you are a black collector, how do you feel about the availability of non-Asian or Caucasian sculpts and/or skin tones, in the market?

Well, right now, my Resinoyds are all of Japanese decent, but I DO have a few that I've been eyeing *coughEIDscough*

I love it when a Black doll has African/Negroid features. Black dolls that are just darker/tanned in color for the most part otherwise often doesn't do anything for me, but I have to admit, I'd love to find a tanned Shiwoo (my favorite sculpt ) AND at the same time have the money to buy him.

I'm going to go read the others' response now, I deliberately answered this before I did so that you get a true feeling of what I feel.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to mention I'm Black as well!

Ryu

 

I'm not black myself, but I collect black dolls. I'm hoping to add a couple of BJDs to my collection soon! ^_^
-is Puerto Rican/Italian-

 

Silk, I have to admit I agree with you in not really noticing the skin color of those I see at meetups, I usually focus more on the dolls, but there are some cultural differences.

For one, my family sees ALL dolls as toys. Even collectable Barbies that can be worth a lot of money they don't understand why people collect them. When I started bringing Ryuichi to family functions, I got asked "Why collect dolls?" a lot. The idea of an adult collecting a "toy," even expensive ones they just don't get.

I would love to see more ethnic variety as well. It seems that right now, the choices are "Black (features), White/European and Asian.

It will be very cool to be able to order, for example, an Indian-from-India or Hispanic sculpt one day!

Ryu

 

I really don't think Silk was attempting to marginalise your question, she's agreeing that she'd like to see more diversity too...

Likewise I'd really love to see more diversity when it comes to the ethnicity of dolls but I think you have to remember that the companies, based in Asia as they are, generally still stick to an aesthetic that is familiar to them and will appeal to their local market. According to a quick wiki search (so I can't vouch for the accuracy) less than 1% of the South Korean population aren't of Korean descent, and half of those 1% are Chinese so as a country it doesn't really represent a particularly diverse population when it comes to race, in fact it's described as 'one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in the world, with more than 99% of inhabitants having Korean ethnicity'. In that respect it's kind of understandable that there's a significant lag when it comes to seeing more diverse dolls. There are far more now that there was even four years ago when I first got into the hobby so companies are clearly catching onto the fact that tan and generally more diverse dolls sell very well within the international market. It's totally understandable that people would want dolls that look like them or their characters that might not fit into the more prevalent Asian and Caucasian aesthetic but still, I think you need to consider the social factors of the countries the companies are based in when it comes to finding explanations as to why the ABJD world is still very much dominated by Asian or Caucasian looking dolls.

 

The example you give has little to do with ethnicity though. This is a worldwide perception of dolls. Dolls are toys. My parents think this and so do most other people. There have been tons of topics about this and the majority of the people say the same, that the people around them don't understand that.
It is more of a global culture thing.

And on the topic of 'there aren't that much black dolls', this is true, but when I got into this hobby three years ago there weren't that many Caucasian dolls either. There was still an overload of asian styled dolls, and not very realistic either. Now we have a lot more companies that make realistic dolls and also from different ethnicities.
There will always be a majority of dolls that are the same basic style, but new companies are popping up, giving us a wider range of choice.

 

I too understand that "sculpting what is familiar" is more than likely what's going on with many of the companies. I am LOVING that there seems to be more of a diversity of Black dolls, many more than when I first joined the hobby in 2007.

That may be true, snow. One of my sister collects snow globes and a brother collects cars and those are seen more as "adult" collections. Those hobbies are encouraged, while mine is met with ridicule for being "yet another childish thing Ryu participates in." I suppose its may be more how they react than anything that seems different to me. *shrug*

I was wondering, has any other Black BJD caregivers met up with any negative experiences because of being Black? I haven't, *knocks on wood* but I can guess that it has happened more than most people are willing to admit.

Ryu

 

I'm not black, but I know of a couple of collectors that are.
I don't really think about race in humans so much as I do dolls.

I'm currently attempting to shell a black character and having a very hard time. While quite a few companies offer a "tan" skintone, most are not nearly dark enough and getting a caucasian or asian sculpt in a dark tone is just not going to cut it for this character. So far I've come across Iplehouse, but even their darkest boys are so limited, it seems impossible for me to get my hands on one! I wish more companies gave this option.

 

Well, I'm not black but I have come across collectors on the board who are and I totally understand that this must be a bit of a frustrating hobby at times for those looking for a doll reflecting anything other than Asian/Caucasian looks.

But I think the success of Iplehouse will rub off on other companies. Diversity has slowly been creeping into the hobby for the past few years and hopefully we've only seen the beginning.

I think a better plan would be to start making more ethnic BJDs in America. I know most USA based companies are deemed off-topic on DoA so I don't know if that would help much... BUT you can always have places like Nobility make a custom doll and open it up to group orders. Then it could be exactly the doll you want and you won't have to wait and hope Iple will make something that fits what you need. and since there are only one or two companies venturing into diversity you may have a long wait.

 

I thought I was the only one for a loooonnnggg time. I love dolls in general so my collection is vast, but I have not met any other AA person in my area at least that even knows what a ball jointed doll is. We are out there my friend, we do exist

 

I'm not black but I have met bjd collectors who are. My own racial heritage is pretty mixed up - typical American mongrel, but depending on how much of a tan I've gotten (or not gotten) I've been perceived by others as a variety of races.

That said, I do think the "collecting dolls is for kids" mentality is pretty common among many races. It may have more to do with economic status or generation gaps. Some of my older family members (my parents, mostly) were pretty dismissive of any collections that weren't free, low cost or somehow profitable even though I paid for most of my things myself. Since I didn't buy my rare import UK music releases or my volumes of manga with the intent of reselling them, those collections (mostly during my 20s) were seen as silly and wasteful. Hobbies in which I created an item that could be sold were encouraged a bit more - but still not very much. Full time work was always more of a priority. I didn't start collecting BJDs until I was entirely on my own and 30 years old, but I still got some weird looks when I told family members I'd gotten into collecting dolls. Telling them how much they can cost probably wouldn't have made the hobby any less silly in their eyes - they'd probably understand Barbie collecting more, and would think it more sensible to place the emphasis on quantity rather than quality. And I can understand why they think of it that way even though I don't agree.

I think we'll continue to see increasing racial diversity in BJDs as the hobby grows, as others have pointed out. I have characters from various racial backgrounds and I've found it rather amusing that even though BJDs are made in Asian countries primarily, a lot of sculpts look more European than Asian. You see the same thing in manga. None of my characters look a thing like me. It wouldn't be easy to find a doll that resembles me - my face structure is mostly European so that wouldn't present much of a problem. However my skin tone is darker than most "normal yellow" skins but lighter than many of the "tans" (A few generations back there was an ancestor from India) and my body is, well, far from the usual BJD aesthetic in several ways. I agree that offering multiple skintones just won't cut it for true ethnic diversity. Skintone, faceup and styling can HELP...but if you're going for realism in facial sculpts, the whole structure of the face has to be race-appropriate, not just the colour of it. I think more of the large companies will gradually start to realize this, if they haven't already. And often smaller companies, particularly ones who may start out just by releasing heads, will have a wider variety.

 

Are you, or do you know of many black collectors in the BJD hobby?
Black female collector here. And I know a couple black collectors from meetups (Hi, Ryu!)!

If you are a black collector, how do you feel about the availability of non-Asian or Caucasian sculpts and/or skin tones, in the market?
As for skintones, I don't give it much thought. Casting resin is such a difficult process that it doesn't surprise me that not everyone can offer an array of skintones. Maybe that will change as techniques improve but, till then, I can't complain too much.
As for sculpts, I can't complain too much either. These dolls are made for a specific market, we're just lucky to be able to buy them overseas. They are made with Asian aesthetics in mind and I can't blame them for that because of their core market. Iplehouse is currently going where many other doll companies have not. I feel that, in the future, we may see more offered in the way of non-Asian/non-Caucasian sculpts. But, till then, we have to keep in mind who sculpts the dolls and where they are selling the dolls and give them the benefit of the doubt. To be honest, it's probably more profitable for them to currently cater to their home markets than to people outside their countries. Maybe in the future that will change.

I haven't but I always worry about it. Especially since, whenever I walk around with a doll, I grab Rai first. He was my first doll and I love his weight so I grab him first. I always wonder how people view a black woman walking around with a giant white doll but I try not to think about it too much. When I was a kid, I didn't care, so why care now? Here's hoping nothing negative happens because of this.