Calling All BLACK BJD Collectors, Are You Out There?

Volks has a sunlight tan color but it's not impressive. Iple's realskin and light brown are gorgeous irl. I love their realskin, which is part of the reason I bought Maseru to begin with.

 

Interesting thread topic, and I hope it's OK that I post here even though I'm half-Japanese
As you pointed out Silk Asians (in general...don't kill me!!) are NOT "normal-skin" colored,
and I always find it humorous when people think that Asians, in general, are pale skinned!!
That couldn't be FARTHER from reality!! There are many people & countries who fall into the
"just call them Asian" group and "our" skin color is vast & varying and I have YET to meet
anyone "Asian" who is naturally LIGHT or "normal-skin" color without the aid of lightening
creams etc. which is VERY popular. So it surgery to get eyelid creases. Because THAT is also
deemed more beautiful. I actually find it VERY sad and it's something I personally have to fight
with....to feel OK with my own appearance as a mixed race because I don't fit either side.
(I got ahead of myself here, so please excuse this gap in topic)

What it is honestly, is that in most of Asian culture, views "White" people as more beautiful.
Looking at what is very popular in America from Japan: Anime, Manga...and there is rarely ANY
sign of characters LOOKING Asian (again, this is only what I've personally seen..don't shoot me!)
True, they also don't look white, but they don't have defining Asian features either.

I find this topic interesting on a different level too, because, though I haven't been in the hobby
for very long imo, one thing that struck me immediately is how many people actually complained
yes, complained, when a doll LOOKED ASIAN!! I wanted to REMIND them what these dolls are
called and WHERE they are made: ASIA! I also wanted to point out that it's OK, if once in a while
a doll actually looks like the people who made it!! Seriously. Millions of Japanese & Korean girls
are buying non-Asian looking dolls and perhaps judging themselves because of it

That said, I think it's fabulous & beautiful when companies like IpleHouse create gorgeous sculpts
that are ethnic & diverse. Because, while people may look at is as a company trying to gain
customers, the fact is they don't HAVE to. They simply realize that what makes the world beautiful
is it's diversity & they are showing appreciation of it.
I also think that it's pointless to be hurt that they choose the "wrong" eye color for a certain doll...
because it's not "realistic". I've actually met/seen dark skinned people with blue/green/grey eyes!
So while it may not be typical, it is NOT as if they are somehow being cruel in their eye color choice!
And you CAN always request a different color eye.

 

they probably don't pick out eyes specially for their dolls because "it would suit him/her best". they probably just throw in a random pair. after all, eyes are kind of a free gift, they don't have to send any at all! I know companies that don't or make you pay for random eyes.

also, not everyone care/wants their dolls to looks like a real "insert name of whatever ethnicity". I would be the kind to get bright greens eyes for an ebony doll! I just love contrast
they can't just GUESS that YOU want to make your Taregan look like a real african and/or that you do not like blue eyes :/

on a side note: you are super lucky to own Taregan

 

I am a black, female collector. I've only been collecting bjds since June 2010 (it seems longer though). I haven't been to any bjd meets as yet, so I don't know any other black collectors personally. I have been to meets for o.t. dolls and I recently met a nice lady who may be getting into bjds soon, so we'll see...

As far as sculpts are concerned, I've only been bothered when I had a certain character in mind and the perfect sculpt is not available in more varied skintones.
I love that Iplehouse has the custom system. I recently ordered on of the limiteds they re-released and plan to use their custom system for another girl.

 

At the risk of going OT, anime characters tend to have east Asian style face shapes. At least, they look closer to east Asian than white. And personally, as an Asian living in the tropics with an average of twelve hours of sunshine a day, I still know plenty of people with very pale skin naturally. Of course, the image of a pale skinned Asian is because people tend to forget that southeast Asia exists. Or, conversely, the idea that Asians have dark skin is because people forget that east Asians exist. Or when they try to paint us all in one stroke.

I do not think that most Asian cultures believe that whites are better or more beautiful. It seems just that many east Asians prefer large and defined eyes, which is natural, windows to the soul and all, and fair skin which is natural for quite some Asians as well. I am pretty sure that other 'white' features are not remotely as desirable. Who wants to turn red in the sun or have freckles or those awful long angular faces (I exeggerate, of course).

So, natural skin is perfectly natural where these dolls are manufactured, because black people mostly exist only on tv if that, and they know little to nothing about the Asians west or south of China. X3

 

I am black and don't know of any other black doll collectors other than one or two on DoA.

I don't think about the availability of non-asian or non-caucasian dolls in particular unless questions like this come up!^^ It doesn't bother me at all as I like the hobby for what it is....and they are called asian ball jointed dolls for a reason and this may partially explain the lack of availability! :-D If I wanted to specifically collect black dolls, I would look elsewhere than the bjd market, but I don't because this is currently what I'm into...some may disagree, but I do think there is a link (maybe only a small one) between anime and manga also to consider and that would take us back to the the abjd' thing - if the dominant companies are asia based, then they may be working with certain ideals also and in particular economic ones. I don't know, I'm only thinking out loud here, but ultimately - no, it doesn't bother me.

 

Im not a black man, but ive heard some pretty racist remarks, regarding me being white and carrying a black doll. (Sworddance kamau). One black woman in a restraunt saw me with Joby (kamau) and Shandel, (ashanti) and i (and a few other meet up people) heard her say "why does a white boy carry black dolls? Did they not have anymorecwhite dolls??" I just stared at her. She actually seemed to think if i was going to carry a doll, it should have been white. I dont get it. People seem to have such hang ups with race. I find all races to be so interesting and beautiful... will peoplenever change??

 

I think that is a very sad thing that happened to you - I hope it will not deter you from going out with your dolls again! That being said, people not in the know as such don't have an understanding of what bjd's are and of course there have been black dolls out there (in the past) that were designed to elicit negative and perhaps 'comical' responses...I would have hoped she could see how beautiful the doll is for what it is rather than just seeing the colour of its skin...if she were curious she could have asked you a few questions about the doll instead of jumping to some sort of conclusion.

It's a tragedy that not more people in the world share your beliefs on humanity...

 

UGH!!! I know the feeling a bit!
I Wanted to buy iplehouse Benny when she was released And I showed her to a few friends and the first reaction they had was "why would you want a black doll? Ô_o"
By owning dolls, I get to enjoy different kind of facial features that I obviously can't have as I only have one face xD; so either cute asian eyes, beautiful ebony skin or just prettier white features I wish I had.
And it Always frustrated me at school to see that each ethnic group would almost only hang out with 'their kind' (the cool kids at least) >.< I never quiet understood that need to be with people 'like yourself'... Maybe the starter of this thread could explain this to me

 

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

I am a black female. and I've known other black colectors. there really is a mix of people that lik them or collect them though.

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?

I feel fine with the avalibilty. I like the looks of most of the dolls. though I do get a little giddy when I see a more ethnic doll.

 

I would like to see more ethnicity in dolls as well. Even dolls with white skin don't really look like many Caucasian people I've ever met! Frankly, very few of the dolls are very realistic, there is a lot of stylization in the face sculpts. I especially have never looked at a doll and said, "Oh cool, a British/Irish/Czech/Native American/Indian/Chinese/African" doll before. Sometimes you find one with dark skin, but they don't look any more like an African or African American person to me than a doll with white skin looks like an Irish person or a Caucasian American. There are a few companies out there that offer dolls with more realistic facial features, but on the whole, BJDs are so stylized that ethnicity is not that much of a factor. I think it would be interesting to see companies delve into this

Obviously, I am also a big fan of stylized dolls, too But maybe this could be an interesting thing to get into

 

I think this is a question with many possible answers...just thinking out loud here, but what immediately springs to mind is:

~ Safety in numbers - meaning people that look more like you are less likely to reject you for that very reason!^^
~ No choice - some social groups do not tolerate anything different to them, consequence: see above.
~ Environment - will have an impact on the variety of people you are exposed to...in my senior years at school, my family had moved to an area that was dominantly caucasian, therefore the school I went to and friends I made were mostly caucasian simply because of the maths.

Like I said, just thinking out loud as such and of course there are many other possible explanations!

(apologies if this is OT...)

 

bronzephoenix - I'm a big fan of the stylized look too or at least semi-stylized.
I wouldn't have a problem buying a black doll from say Iplehouse as I think they have at least attempted to address the aspects of racial, facial variation (some would complain that they stereotype, but I also think you can't please everyone...), then again I'd be less likely to buy one because of the realism and my preference for the more stylized look!^^
I not too keen when a stylized doll is offerred or presented as being of a certain race solely on the basis of the resin colour...in these cases I think just sell it as a doll with resin colour choice options or pay some attention to the facial details first (semi-stylized)!^^

Though I don't typically gravitate to the more realistic looking dolls, Ashanti is definately on my wishlist and I love what they did with Taregan facially!

 

I am as Irish looking as it gets so maybe I'm not one of the ones you're looking for, but I wanted to mention that Fantasy Doll has a ''dark tan'' resin color that I think isn't so common in other companies. Still, they only have 1 female and 1 male SD at the moment. Just wanted to throw that out if no one else did yet. The problem I see often is this... companies that I see that offer darker resins, either don't have many sculpts or only have very anime looking sculpts. Companies that I see that have many sculpts that would look great in a dark resin, don't offer dark resins. I've heard that making a BJD in a dark resin makes it a bit more complicated too, something about the color not mixing easily? Perhaps someone could elaborate on that?

I don't have any BJD collector friends at all. My hubby has 1. I did see a review on youtube of a girl with a box opening of the dark resin color of Fantasy doll I mentioned if you want to check it out to see the doll in that color though

 

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

I don't know any other black bjd collectors. Not around here anyway. But then again, I'm a homebody so I can't really look around or come across any other black bjd collectors yet.

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?

Hmm, I honestly don't mind about the skin colors of my dolls. Sometimes tan looks good to someone else but might not look good to you. It doesn't really bother me any. If that's what you meant. Hehe.

 

Hmmmmm...... interesting thread....!

Well first off, I am Black, and I currently have 5 resin people living with me (with # 6 on the way!)!! XD

In question to the whole aesthetics, I'm not really bothered by what's out there. When I got into this hobby back in mid 2010 (yep, n00b city, right?), I never focused on the dolls skin tone; I was more interested in their face and what it said to me. I've always considered myself pretty color blind to just about everything I do; from friends and everything else in my crazy life I always focus on the "who" rather than anything else. All that other stuff fills out later and just becomes just another part of that person/item.

Admittedly, I do feel a little........ stand out-ish, and sometimes a tiny bit lonely, with this hobby. It's really more a knee jerk reaction since I've been dealing with this all my life. Growing up, there were times I was the only "chocolate drop" in my classes or activities. If you looked back at company shots of theater shows I've been in, you could always spot me easily in the crowd! And I did have some African American "acquaintances" that looked at me strangely and asked why I didn't act "appropriately," i.e. dressing like them, speaking like them, being apart of what they deemed as being Black. It was at that time I got my color blindness, and realized that I was who I was and that the friends around me accepted me for the crazy girl I am! So what if I like anime? So what if I cosplay and go to conventions?? So what if I collect dolls that look nothing like me??? I'm not here to fit your profile, I'm here to be me! And that's the best attitude you can ever have in life!!

*whew* Sorry, had a soap box moment! But.....yeah! That's my story, what's yours??

 

How do you know if the collectors on DOA are black or white?

You say you don't know any black male BJD collectors personally.

I don't know any BJD collectors personally at all black, white, male or female.

I only know people on forums like this and it has never once occurred to me to think about their colour. So I may know a black male BJD owner on this forum but can't say for sure can you?

What colour am I?

What does it matter?

 

Are you, or do you know of many black collectors in the BJD hobby?
I am not, and I don't know many. But being fair? There aren't a whole lot of black people in my area. Primarily Indian (as in from India) and Asian immigrants and several hispanics and a smidgen of white people.

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?
Okay, so I'm not black, but the majority of the characters I want to make are distinctly not white. It's really a pain because even if you can find companies that carry tan/dark tan/ebony resin, most of the time it's just applying these colors to Caucasian/Asian bodies/faces! Iplehouse has 1 black woman head, and a few that can pass as Non-Caucasian/Non-Asian.

The two dolls I'm looking to get this year? Both very not-white. They're both characters from a fictional world based loosely around the Indian subcontinent mixed with heavy doses of Persia and Turkey. About the only company that has a proper "tan" skin tone is, again, Iplehouse. They make great products, but it's so frustrating trying to piece together dark skinned dolls because of resin-matching. >< I feel like I can't even order my girls in pieces because I worry that they'll come and their body parts won't match!