Controversial Doll Stories?

Wow, it never really occurred to me that certain doll stories might be consider controversial...probably because I figure most of us tend to pretend that our dolls are like real people and real people have all different sorts of backgrounds and beliefs.

All my dolls are actually based on TV/Book characters, so I didn't actually make any of their back-stories myself, but I have taken some liberties. I have the Tenth Doctor from Doctor who, who is roughly 900 years old, together with Rose Tyler, who is roughly 23 in my storyline. He's also an alien while she's human.

I also have Kirk and Spock from Star Trek together, so slash and alien with human.

Then I have a Harry Potter doll who I have as having an abusive childhood and I'm in the process of getting Remus Lupin and Sirius Black...together. Remus is a werewolf and I have my Sirius tortured by the Ministry in an attempt to have him confess to the crime of killing Peter and handing the Potters to Voldemort.

So personal I don't think anything is wrong with whatever background you wanna give your doll. It is your doll. It can have any background you like. As long as all discussion about your doll is appropriate for all ages on DOA...who cares.

 

Normally I would just lurk in a thread like this but I am curious as too other people's thoughts on this. I've read over the entire thread, most posts, and haven't seen it brought up that I can see so...

What about an SD/MSD relationship where they are meant to be seen as disproportionate. Where one is meant to look like a child but is in actuality as an adult. Such with a syndrome such as Turner Syndrome. Would people still find this offensive and/or controversial even though it is a true condition that happens naturally.

Also...could you consider cross dressing dolls offensive and/or controversial? Because, I don't think I've heard that mentioned and I've seen more then my share of male dolls dressed like females because their owners thinks it's cute. To the point where honestly at first glance I can't tell if some are actually male or not. And I know for a fact some owner's are offended when they are called a 'she' yet they dress them like one. It almost reminds me of a girl who wears tight shirts with words over their breasts and get very sensitive if someone is "trying to read" the words whether or not they have other intentions while doing so. I'm going to add that I am in no way offended by cross dressing dolls and find some of them very beautiful. So I am sorry if my words inadvertently offend anyone.

At the end of the day I agree it's your doll their back story is yours to do what you will. And I happen think anything can be done right or wrong (brighter storyline included) saying that darker backrounds can be fundamental to the character. It's when things are poorly thought out that maybe it tends to come off as offensive or controversial. But, not everyone's back story is sunshine and rainbows just like not everyone comes from a horrible upbringing. There should be some kind of balance.

On a side note while reading through this thread I also found it a bit offensive that you would put paganism as if you were combining it with satanism. It shouldn't be any one religion mentioned but more religion as a whole and how it's used.

 

Each owner is free to choose who will be his puppet. Keep in mind that no matter what it is just an image. No more.
If the person likes to do anturazhnye military photos, why not? It is his right.
As long as these pictures do not advocate any unethical or other negative qualities - there is no reason for concern.
But this is just my opinion of course)

 

I think if there is a good reason for something and there is a good story to come from it, then it should be. If you have a character who was in Germany during that time of history there is a great chance that they would have been swept up in Nazism. It is simply a fact. I have a character from the 50s and her ideals and views are HUGELY different from mine, actually I think they're ridiculous, but that is how people thought at the time. She is a woman, she belongs at home, she should be sewing and cooking and getting married. That is a fact. When you are portraying historical fact as character fiction, it should not be insulting to anyone and when it comes down to it, it is your doll, it's your character and if they don't want to hear/read about it, they don't have to. Nobody makes people read things and become offended, they do that on their own. So they should blame themselves for getting involved in something they knew they wouldn't like.

 

I have no moral restrictions to my dolls' fiction. But I also don't tell everybody about my wicked mind.

 

Some doll stories or concepts I come across are just really awesome. While my stories are very basic and simple, as I see them, some of the stories here on DoA could right off be written down in a book.
And since they are dolls, you can really act those stories out. This possibility and freedom are just great.
Surely there are also some here where I raise my eyebrows or just frown at the story's basic idea. But I don't feel offended by them or think they don't have the right to be there.

 

I have stories and characters I am slowly turning into BJD's and I do worry about how they may be percieved. Their topics include molestation, manipulation, solo child pornography and in some cases rape, not to mention various instances of substance abuse, a lot of which will be involving my MSD's which are supposed to be young girls ages 11-14. These are simply stories though, I have no intention of photographing them, they are my ways of exploring these topics for myself, to give my characters depth and at one point to help me through difficult times, if I am too worried about offending someone specific I simply do not reveal this information. If it is a wide world like DoA I worry less because it's a vast crowd that are not all going to have a problem with it. At least then if they're posting for the sole purpose to tell me how horrible I am they kind of seem the jerk.

I also understand that the topics I have involving my BJD's are some of many used as shock value and to get a reaction and I'm sure that may have something to do with my not revealing this information about them as to not be just another one of "those". But overall I just explain it is just how the story and character evolved and that it is no personal attack on anyone, if I happen to offend. Usually people understand this and accept it and are usually at more ease. It's my, "Names and events similar to real life are purely coincidental."

 

Hmm. I guess some of MY stories will be controversial, seeing as I'm getting dolls to represent the REAL disparity in height of the people around us... Like my friend who is 4'11" & her hubby who is 6'5" .... Plus I'm a Pagan & so are many of my characters. & I've got a gay & a lesbian couple. Of course I'm extremely controversial in fact (being a witch w/some rather outspoken political opinions).
Just because a doll company has decided that all dolls of a certain size HAVE to be, say, 14 years old does NOT mean the owners need abide by it. These dolls are VERY customizable & there are several MSD sculpts that do NOT look like children. Demanding that they be seen as such no matter what the doll looks like after modding/faceups & the owner's back story, is specious & offensive.

I do think, as a writer, that there are some topics that don't need to be ultra-graphic. I'm a little over the current Hollywood trend of showing EVERYTHING (it really numbs the effect - Hitchcock knew this - Psycho's a lot more of a shocker than the latest Jason thing)

 

It's like writing fanfiction or regular fiction. It's your imagination and you are allowed to do whatever you want with it. You'll have to deal with the people who don't agree, but that's the price you pay.

My current doll's character accidentally kills things.
A group of future doll characters are three fallen angels and a human in a polygamous relationship.
I have a Nazi punk character I want to make into a doll.

Am I these ways? No, but in some ways, maybe yes. I'm fully prepared to stand up for my ideas and creativity and I don't think anyone should be limited to the social norms. Granted, there will be places you can't post pictures of these dolls, just like there are publishers and sites that won't accept certain types of fiction. It happens, but I don't believe that should stop you.

 

As a writer and artist, I'm honestly very wary of revealing the backstory/history of my doll, Philippe. I did once and it proceeded to have the host ban his presence from her home. I cannot honestly blame her since he is a truly evil soul. I've had alot of people question why I would make a doll based on a very heinous monster like him, but I have my reasons. Beyond the fact that Philippe is one of my most in-depth and oldest creations, he is a symbol for me. I was at a very low, dark time of my life and that's when I became a writer. I used to suffer from night terrors constantly and those night terrors became Philippe. He took on his own life and has evolved over time. Nevertheless, he has done some truly apalling things that I know I'd never be able to share on DoA. I don't really glorify him in any way and to be honest, he frightens even me sometimes. Sometimes seeing evil in a physical manifestation helps to deal with it, rather than pretend it doesn't exist.

I also believe that sometimes people make characters who go through horrible tragedies do it for the same reason I have Philippe- as a kind of outlet. Plus, you know, I'm a firm believer that tragedy builds character and makes them stronger and wiser. That's not to say that I think everyone should suffer...just people who have gone through fire and brimstone tend to be stronger people, or weaker.

 

Most if not mine and my best friend's entire doll story deals with topic one could deal controversial.

• The story takes place in a multiverse where Heaven (the Caelum) and Hell (the Nether) are but separate worlds that coexist alongside the human world (Gaea) and the Original God who created everything is the god of nature.
• Angels and demons are only races, there is no Primarch that reigns over the Caelum however so that kind of "God" does not exist.
• The current Overlord of the Nether is king Devil and his sons are all named with variations of his name. Both angelic and demonic characters also don names from actual religion.
• In the past cataclysmic events have shaken the world more than once and there are "shadow organizations and governments" that actually pull the world's strings.
• Humans fight the lesser demons and die without any recognition, without a choice, after entering the Organization to protect mankind -but they don't get an option to run or leave the Organization after joining at all.
• Demons control a large part of the universal economy and often meddle in human affairs.
• The Elysians are a race that thrives on racism both on terms of one's power (magi over regular people) as well as actual race (fae over nefarians)
• The Elysians also thrive only because the rich and strong are oppressing the poor and weak.
• Scientists experiment on merging humans with demons to create superhuman weapons and actually get away with it.
• There is a human that is trying to change the mortality of the human race so people that don't deserve death will continue to live.
• There is a human that has murdered innocents, mercilessly experimented on human beings, ruined lives and toyed with the universe until it started to fall apart and was still the only one to invent a youth serum that also acts as a panacea, practically granting himself eternal life.
• There have been instances of rape, molestation, assault, substance abuse, exploitation, manipulation, murder attempts, theft, poaching, arson...
• There is a character that cross-dresses to suppress his inner demon -who being prideful won't emerge while his host is in drag-
• There's also a girl character that dresses solely as a boy.
• An angel character changes into seven different forms switches not only their appearance but also their gender along with them.
• Twin demons Lucifer and Bellial are in an incestuous relationship between them.
• Two characters are in relationships with twin demons Nanashi and Noname. This is all fine and dandy except for the fact that the twins look like twelve year-old children despite not being that young.
• The actual story opens with one of the main characters attempting to end his life.
• Several characters are homosexual, bisexual or pansexual, both males and females.

I could go on for a while but I fear that I might tire you...

It must be noted that none of these controversies are glorified in any form or manner. They are presented as facts, as happenings, as things that just... happen... the same way they do in everyday life and the characters must all live with their choices and the repercussions of their actions accordingly, same as all those who those actions affect.

In conclusion I'm just going to say that controversy isn't exactly a bad thing. It's part of the real world and that only stands to reason that fiction would portray it in a similar manner.

 

I love the idea of controversial stories just because they can be fun, fascinating and they add variety. Just like with anything else, as long as they're well done I like them. The TV shows Dexter and Breaking Bad are incredibly well done even though, you know, killing people and making meth aren't exactly good things. I know those are TV shows but I think the same applies to dolls, stories, art, whatever. It's all exactly the same.

It would be a sad, sad, world if everything was puppy dogs and kittens and rainbows and pudding with sprinkles on top. I like those things but I also like tragic stories. We need variety in this world

 

Personally I am very uncomfortable with dolls dressed as Nazis. I'm from a jewish family, my great grandfather fought against the nazis and eventually died from damage to his lungs he had sustained at war. My grandmother remembers the bombings in birmingham and I have family members who were in camps or who had to flee italy (where a lot of my family were based) equally my best friend's family are polish and her grandmother was in Auschwitz as a child, my best friend knows Russian because her grandmother had learnt it from a russian prisoner whilst in the camp and it's been passed down to my friend.

I've had enough people tell me that it didn't happen despite it being a very real and very recent event that devastated families, mine and my friend's included. I may not have been alive for it but I know a lot of people very close to me who were. I know they're just dolls but I find the idolisation of nazism without really understanding it or caring to be tactful about your representation disgusting. That said, if someone has a shelled character who is a nazi and they've done their research and they deal with the topic appropriately then I don't mind it at all. It's people who go 'lol sexah uniform, so hard core and edgy oooh ' who I want to slap across the face.

 

Wow...I don't have much to post here. The only thing relatively controversial in my doll's backstory & story is:
a) he is a merciless, brutal killer, as well as a racist when it comes to certain supernatural races...
b) has a older girl infatuated with him, despite being in his early teens (12-14) and the girl being in her late teens (17-19)...but it never gets past platonic, since he's only focused on revenge and sees her as a nuisance.
>.>

 

I'd like to add another little note here: This is what - supposed to be a PG-13 forum? So a good writer should KNOW how to do that for heaven's sake! You can deal w/controversial subjects in a way that's acceptable for that age group. For instance religion (any religion) - it's NOT controversial to have a little story about 3 friends who all celebrate the winter holiday differently - that could be a cute little photoshoot - Hanakah, Christmas, Solstice - adorable.
It will offend somebody. Too bad. Still PG.
I could make a lot of children's stories too controversial for a PG 13 forum - just by dwelling on graphic details. On the other hand, I feel certain that I could tone down a lot of really adult type stories to make them fit the guidelines, by leaving OUT the details. It's NOT the subject matter so much, you know. PG - he's a wounded unhappy boy because he lost his parents & lived thru some unfortunate events. X rated - let's just spell out every single nasty thing that happened to this child after falling into the hands of some pedophile.

 

Hence me mentioning why I don't have much to post. My character's story's level of sexual content is literally non-existent as it isn't something he could realise or see from his perspective, activities going on around him that are beneath his notice...as opposed to the level of violence, which is high, but not something I just casually get into great lengths and details about. I go undetailed most of the time for graphic stuff, 'he threatens to shove a pen into so-and-so's eye, he pushes what's-his-name into a pit of coals, he pulls out the finger nails of etc.' Or, go even more stripped down, as usual, with 'he was a violent and cruel person to deal with.' Most people aren't going to ask past the barest details, unless it's really interesting or you're insistent. When they do, I think I'd just end up getting into stripped down details again...it'd be strange for me to talk about acts of violence I write about with no real experience behind it, only learned by reading of it in a book or watching it in a movie...
>.>

 

Personally, I think I have the right to make up stories about anything I like. There are actually fairly strong nazi themes in my story (focusing mainly on the science without ethics rather than genocide, but there is still an element of cultural genocide implicated in the selection of test subjects). I'm not directly drawing any parallels, and I like to think I'm avoiding the most potentially offensive topics (there are no direct analogue of the Jewish race or gypsies in my story, and neither homosexuals nor people with physical deformities are targeted as subjects), but there are still parallels - for example, the majority of the scientists are German-ish ('ish' because this is an alternate, fantasy world, not the real world).topic

Even though I have the right to write this story, I respect that I'm handling very sensitive topics. Even though I feel it's justified (because the dehuminisation of people in the name of science is, I think, I very interesting and important topic to think about), I also feel that anyone who finds it offensive has valid feelings and they have the right to tell me my work is offensive. I wouldn't try to shout down anyone saying they didn't enjoy my story, or that they found it distasteful. I might try to discuss with them my reasons for not thinking it's distasteful, but at the end of the day I could accept that one of the risks of dealing with controversial topics is, well... controversy

 

I think it is hard to avoid controversial topics, they are a part of our reality. I also don't think it would badly affect people who went through a similar experience, sometimes people would like to relate to characters who went through a similar experience. It is not necessarily a bad thing.

But, when writing about sensitive topics, I believe they must be well analyzed and balanced. It might only hurt some people if it came off as offensive and discriminating.

 

Honestly, what's not considered controversial by someone somewhere? People can get offended by nearly anything. I think that it's a good idea to write a quick synopsis of the story first, and include a list of things included that might offend a significant portion of people. For example, let's say there's a photostory somewhere (not DoA likely) called "Gideon's Revenge". I think that sounds interesting and click on it. However, the author states at the beginning "This story involves a boy who kills puppies because his mom spent more time with her dogs than she did her son. The story contains: animal abuse, murder, child neglect." I personally would not want to see pictures of a doll killing puppies, and would immediate hit the "back" button on my browser.

So, I think you can write about anything if you post the story on an appropriate forum/blog and give a nice warning at the beginning. I don't think just a rating is sufficient if you truly want to avoid offending as many people as possible. I'm fine with R rated content in general, but there are some topics I avoid (like animal abuse).

 

I appreciate that some doll owners have great back stories that are amazing! But I think ones that include subjects such as those might be a bit insulting, especially to those who could have lived through things like world tragedies.