Contentious doll names - gods and so on.

lol actually i wanted to name a skull i have that i treat like a character after someone i hate. my friends told me no cause it was to obvious that i wanted to like hurt him. so instead they named him. he's name is boner instead of bernie. perfect for a skull. lol.

so it's not off if symbolic in a way. like wanting to hurt that person so instead hurt the doll. like a voodoo doll.

 

I think you completely missed Ramna's point.

She didn't say that you can't...

But merely that in when in a specific area or in certain circumstances one should be conscientious of the culture and customs you're surrounded by. And as an example, she used an Archeologist in Greece going against custom and naming a dog in a taboo manner by giving it a directly human name rather than a diminutive or derivative of a human name. And many cultures do similar.

So while one may name an animal after a person or fictional human character in some countries without taboo, its not quite the same in other countries and cultures.

 

^_^ But still, that's more or less in jest. It's fine to pretend or outsource your anger into something way more acceptable than a human being (or else I'm sure the sale of punching bags would be greatly diminished) but actually making a person in... well, in effigy seems less reasonable than that. If you want a punching bag, buy one, or sew yourself a cloth doll- don't spend money on art materials or on a resin BJD.
The skull thing is cool, though.

 

Omg Barack Obama doll O_o;

This thread is actually very fascinating. I find the immediate connection between the act of naming a doll and what it represents interesting.

For example: having a doll whose character is that of a messianic figure -- in a genuine and non-demeaning sense on behalf of the owner -- would be alright ... but then giving it the name of a messianic figure ... would be considered offensive? Would the problem (for those who take offense at these particular names) actually be the character, or the name?

...or just that it's a doll? Do you think that because they are so human-like makes more or less of a contentious subject matter than if you were giving your pet rabbit such a name? Is this because members of the community invest so much effort into creating a dolls' character ... and one simply could not take a doll named Jesus Christ -- as in, after the biblical figure -- seriously, and would feel like someone was mocking their doll rather than the figure of Christ?

The point brought up that spending so much money on a doll and then using the doll to send up a figure-head of some sort made me wonder about this.

 

I think names from older, less-popular (or mostly died-out) religions are okay, but I don't really care for names from more modern religions. For example, naming your doll Jesus, God, or even Lucifer in some cases. It's fine if others want to do it, but I'm still like; "ehh..."
However, I think names from, say, Norse Mythology would be okay (Loki, Fenrir, etc).

 

I find it interesting a lot of people focus on religious names. Personally I could care less what you name anything for any reason, even if something could
be considered blasphemy, its your right to be "offensive" if you want as long as you understand your probably going to have to defend your
choices.

I really don't see the point of making a doll specifically to be offensive anyway, and if you were in the position to offend someone- like taking
your doll specifically made to offend a certain group to a place where you know they would be- your the type who probably enjoys being offensive anyway.

Plus I really can't think of any names that could be considered seriously universally offensive- like an atheist most likely isn't going to
find Jesus offensive, or someone who was into historical recreation probably wouldn't find a Hitler doll offensive- but that's all speculative opinion.

 

My opinion for what it's worth is.

I could care less.

Seriously - a name is a name. Name your doll whatever you want and if somebody doesn't like it... who cares. Your opinion is the only one that matters.

 

There's nothing wrong with having a doll of Jesus, or Moses, or Loki, or Barack Obama. It's how they're portrayed. If the owner has that doll because 'Hey, Jesus is an intriguing example of the messianic archetype' or out of genuine respect or love, then it's fine. Or even if they are neutral to it, don't treat it special and don't make photostories of it being trashed by their other characters... But a doll of someone being used to vent hatred or freely disrespect the subject in question, especially a deity or a religious/mythological figure, is where the problem would be. You still have the right to have the doll- you paid for it- but people will be offended, and they have a right to say so.

Someone with a doll of Jesus, or one of the saints, or someone like the Pope? (And the various correlating members of other religions, of course... I'm just taking the most obvious example, and the one that will likely offend the biggest target base where I live...) I can't say I wouldn't be confused, but it would really depend on how they are treating it. Disrespecting someone else's religion or political beliefs would rankle as just... well, being childish and petty, not to mention rude. You can have a pure of heart character who dies and not portray them as being an actual real life saint- you can have a fictional sci-fi messiah that isn't meant to be Jesus Christ. The messiah archetype is just that- an archetype. You can have a spiteful, proud, vain Big Bad villain that doesn't represent Satan, it ought to work in reverse. Right?
I almost WikiWorded the phrase 'Big Bad'... I've been on TV Tropes too long ^_^;;

 

Almost all of the creatures in our house have names derived from something, my Rottie puppy is Fenrir, my cat is named Calypso, my fiancee's cat is named Odin and my room mate's dog is named Remus (the only one out of place is the one called Midori (be it after the word for green in japanese or the lovely melon liqour) No one has ever seemed to be offended by the names we chose for them,. my personal animals are named after the animal embodiments of characters i've created, they have stories behind them and are not direct references to the gods...i just loved the names.

I think if someone was offended i'd have to explain the reason behind the names i chose, the same goes for my dolls as they will be embodiments of similar characters, my names have reasons that are my own and normally have nothing to do with any religion. I don't think i could ever feel sorry for naming a character what i have,

 

I don't see why one should have to explain anything about their dolls that may seem strange or possibly offensive, least of all their names. If someone wants to buy a doll, name him Muhammed and arm him with a rifle and let him lead around a couple of BJD wives, well good for them. You want a doll to be named Satan that eats babies, whatever. Whose business is it if someone buys a doll and names it something YOU (a general statement, no one in particular, don't worry) may not like or have a problem with?

This reminds me of the dither everyone gets in whenever a celebrity names their kids something weird like Apple or Pilot Inspektor or Blanket. Everyone moans about how unsuitable a name it is for a child, but in the end, there's nothing you can do about it, because you're not their parents and you have no say.

So if you would be offended seeing a doll named Jesus Hussein Hitler, well, then you could just walk away from the situation. I personally wouldn't be offended, because it's not my doll and therefore its not my business.

 

Personally I love the idea of naming character/dolls after gods. I have several on my wish list that are all some of my favorite parts of the bible. Ziz, Leviathan, and Behemoth. Genesis, exo-DOS.vir, and Leviticus. and several, several others. I don't find it offensive, even with my whish list doll "DoA" aka the Dragon of All, who specifically refers to the title "I am." I don't find it to be wrong, nor do I find it offensive. If someone does, well, they'll just have to read something else, since I have as much right to doing something as they do to not approving of it.

I also don't find it bad to have these more "wicked" god names either. Nor the depiction of similar ideas. My boy Nanashi is nothing but a depiction of the seven deadly sins. I love that about him. He is also depicted to have "Cardinal Sin" from birth, meaning he is born into damnation without any chances of salvation whatsoever. However, my full intent for the symbolism of his image as an ungodly creature is that even the forsaken can seek salvation if it is truly sought. Though it is only available after a tedious and exhausting struggle to obtain it, my own representation of human struggle and life after death.

I would never see a problem with someone who has a doll that is named after any sort of god. Weather it be mine or otherwise. We have been taught religions through parables, and thus I think there is nothing wrong with the personification of parables to express a character in a way the owner had intended it to be personified. ^___^

 

I would say that as long as it doesn't offend the owner, who cares? Aren't the dolls, first and foremost, for their owners, not the entire country/internet/world? I'd rather make myself happy with the name, than worry about changing it because it makes someone else unhappy.

Being agonistic helps, on the side of religious names. I'm less worried about offending people and more worried about what I want out of it.

 

That kind of opinion won't win you many friends Which religions are older/less-popular/mostly died out? Someone somewhere will tell you that their religion is "very popular, thank you very much, and isn't dying out at all!" And I suppose by "modern religion" you mean the 2000-year-old-or-thereabouts Christian faith?

I think there is a lot of potential to offend by using religious names in a negative way. If you have a melancholy, emo doll and call him Hades, that's fine, Hades was never the party guy in the legends...but if your Aphrodite doll goes around slaying children while dressed in a chiton, wielding a kithara, some Greek Pagans are bound to be offended.

Somebody, somewhere will be offended by whatever you do, but as long as you can look at the doll and hold your head up high and know you picked the name for the best of reasons, no one else can tell you off!

 

I think that having a doll styled after a god who keeps roughly to their traditional personality type wouldn't offend, right? Many deities and mythological figures from all over the world weren't saintly portraits of benevolence but if one manages to keep things roughly in order (or you have a doll merely inspired by or 'named' rather than representing) the outrage ought to be pretty minimal.

 

I see a lot of dolls here named Loki and no one has had a problem with it. I certainly wouldn't have a problem naming my doll after any god's name from any religion but the doll would have to look pretty danged close to those pictures of him in Sunday School for me to name it Jesus, lol. What about people who name their dolls Judas or Lucifer? I personally like the names but I wonder if anyone else has had a problem with it?

 

The names I pick for my dolls either come from what I know, understand, respect or feel inspired by, create myself, or I have researched extensively. I do not like to offend any person's sensibilities, religion or culture; for in doing so, not only would I be creating animosities but I would be diminishing myself in the process.

I believe strongly in personal freedom of expression, but I also think it is important to exercise personal responsibility for there are consequences for every action. I am reminded of something my mother once told me: "Respect for the rights of others is peace". In my experience this is so true, even when giving a doll a name .

 

I undrestood their point completely. And mine is that I will name MY dolls/pets/children whatever I want regardless of where I live. Just because you live in a certain place doesn't mean you need to conform to someone else's superstitions.

 

Not sure if this has been brought up in the 23 pages of this thread... But Jews tend not to name kids/pets after living relatives. It's considered bad luck and/or wishing the elder relative to be dead.

Probably holds true for dollies, so I wouldn't name one after any living relatives or friends.

 

It's actually Ashkenazi Jewish tradition not to name a child after a living relative, cause if the angel of death is looking for the original living owner of the name, then he won't accidentally take the wrong person.
I am Ashkenazi, but in Sepharadi Jewish tradition, it's actually an honor to name a child after a living relative, I think to them it's to confuse the angel of death, but I am not sure.

These traditions only apply to humans, as it's considered insulting to name your pet after a relative, living or dead, since animals are considered lowly beings. I personally don't agree with this, since I was raised with dogs and cats my whole life and they are very special to me; not lowly at all!

I don't think that this tradition would apply to dolls, since they are inanimate for one and they are supposed to be emulations of human beings, so naming one after a relative or a friend would be an honor.

 

I would never give a doll of mine an Asian name unless the doll itself looked Asian despite growing up knowing Japanese exchange students. My reason for this is that is seems so stereotypical.

I don't mind God names (like Zeus or Athena) but I feel that many dolls don't really seem powerful enough to have such strong names. However, there are a few I've seen who would fit with these names.

Naming your doll should entirely be up to you and what you feel is right to name them be it offensive or not.