Calling BJDs "It"

I get offended when people call animals "it", but that's because most people (myself included) see them as living breathing and full of life. Dolls on the other hand I understand that for me they are like little people and to others they're just things, because they are not "alive". So even though it might sting a bit to hear one of my dolls being called an "it" I wouldn't make a fuss about it. People just have varrying opinions and you have to respect that. =)

 

I just called a BJD "it" in a FS thread, only because giving it a gender might have put someone off. It did make me feel bad for the poor little "it" doll

 

I usually say "he" or "she" since the majority of dolls have a pretty obvious gender. Even though they're objects, it still seems more appropriate than saying "it."

 

I don't think I could ever call them "it"s. To me, they're like little people, I'm half Irish so when I say "little people" I mean leprechauns and the like. They have souls. I know I'm a crazy person and have probably dived into the Whiskey bottle one too many times, but I really do think these things have minds of their own so it's unnatural for me to call them "it"s.

 

I just like saying "him." It is...ahah it sounds childish(?) but I don't like to refer to my dolls as "it" since they aren't genderless. It makes me feel bad. @w@;;

Also, I do like seeing the reactions of people when I call my dolls "him" or "he" and they think "Isn't it a she...??"

But if a doll is genderless....I guess "it" is good...I mean you can't call them he or she, right?

((But yeah...I like seeing people's reactions when they find out the doll I'm carrying around that day is a boy. xD))

 

I think that when I talk about the resin doll I use more "it", and when I talk about the characters the dolls represent I use "he" or "she". Um. Well, that, and the two brownies are genderless, but I still haven't decided on their pronouns.

 

If I know the gender of a doll (or doll's character), I use "he" or "she".

If I am referring to the sculpt, I generally use whatever gender the company assigns as default.

 

I always refer to dolls as "he" or "she," and also to other inanimate objects with a gender and animals. It runs in the family though: I finished a stained glass tiger for my mom this morning and she asked what his name was

 

for me it's hard to call anything it, because in french there is NO it. not even a spoon xD spoons are girls!

 

I don't mind if people who don't know use 'it' or 'they', it's more polite than 'That thing' or 'Whatever the heck that is', because they really don't mean to be rude they just don't know. Usually they use it when asking 'What is it?' and then I can answer with a male or female, and unless they're joking they refer to it with the proper pronoun. I refer to my doll as a she or her, but the weird part is sometimes I will use it if I refer to her location. Like I'll say 'It's sitting on my bookshelf'. Not always, but sometimes. I find it rather strange.

 

Haha, I do the same thing! :P

 

i personally call my dolls he or she. however, i dun mind if i hear an it... because theyre not wrong...

anyway, it is a bit annoying hearing "it's a he?!"

 

I usually say "she", or if it's a really familiar doll by their name. But that's only one or two. When I customize or I know I'm not going to keep the doll then it's an "it".

 

A rather simple matter for me, when speaking of the doll itself I refer to the doll as "it", when speaking of the doll's given persona the doll is referred to "he" or "she".

 

I sleep with a teddy and even my boyfriend refers to him as a 'him' or by his name, and he doesn't have anything like that of his own, so it would be very for me to personify a doll enough to refer to him as a he or a she. Once you name something, it pretty much falls into place XD

 

I like to refer BJD's as him or her or call them by their name cause I feel like they should be classified by their gender since they have one.
I don't mind other people calling them "it" but so far very few people have called them "it" around me

 

Sometimes I have to call babies "it" if I don't know the gender. I'd rather say "Aww, look at your baby! It's so cute!" than "Aww, look at your baby! He's so cute!" and they slowly blink at me and say "...She's so cute, yes." xD But that's not really on topic, I suppose.

Edit: Well, I guess it really is because I'd rather call an androgynous doll "it" at first glance than to call it a girl and have someone jump on me and scold me for not knowing the doll is a boy even if it's dressed in a more feminine manner.

 

Ooohhhh this is a GOOD topic!!! XD

I force myself to call my boy 'it' sometimes because i don't want people to think I'm super weird ^^;; -is self conscious lol- and because when I first learned about this hobby I remember seeing people who had given personalities and such to their dolls and thinking that they were just SO weird, but now I'm one of them XD So i know that there needs to be some boundaries when it comes to non-doll people.

I said 'force' becuase it really literally is difficult for me. It's that whole 'uncanny valley' thing again. My boy is 'he' to me, not 'it'. I don't know why, it's just how I refer to him. :P Hah. Maybe I'm just getting too connected but I don't mind, I love him to bits XD I love bjds in general to bits hah.

 

It depends who I'm talking too, with myself/on DoA I always refer to him as him. This also goes for my mom and boyfriend who know I'm into the hobby and think it's neat! But when talking with strangers/acquaintances I refer to him as "it". I feel like calling him him lets people know that he's more than just a thing, he has a story and a whole world he exists in, it all feels very personal. It's not that I mind people knowing that I'm more into the dolls then I let on, It's more that I don't want to indulge/go into detail about his story and everything with someone I know will have zero appreciation for it. Referring to him as "it" keeps the conversation short.

I agree with muzikluvr, it feels very weird and forced to call "him" "it"! XD

 

I never call my BJD girl "it", even if I know she is just a doll, she really has a soul ( I believe) and I love her How can I call someone I love - "it"?