Did you play with dolls as a child?

I played with barbies when I was a little girl, but always preferred the ones that weren't really barbies. My favorite was Tinkerbell who is shorter with flat feet and a less exaggerated figure. Finding clothes for her was a bit challenging, though there were sometimes pieces that came with a barbie set that fit her a whole lot better than a barbie. I started collecting Tonner dolls at age 15 about five yeas ago. I only just realized that they are MSD Scale not 1/6. The adults are 16 or 17 inches tall. Because of them I found fashion doll magazines that led me to BJDs. I'm looking forward to getting my Banji in the mail because she is similar in size to a rubbery doll that was once my mom's who I had as a mini-me as a child. Sorry for rambling.

 

I used to play with dolls I must say, the sense of beauty is so different between dolls I used to play with when I was young and now. The bjds are much more... elegant? Because I remember playing with dolls as more of a human sort of a thing rather than as an art form. if you get what I mean >_< haha not that I'm artistic about playing with my dolls,

 

what goes around comes around... 'ball joint dolls' are actually very very VERY old in concept. just look up antique dolls... you will notice that dolls used as fashion models (in miniature form) we very sophisticated and ... well only the very rich could lay hands on what was a tool of the tailoring trade at one time in some cases... but even the 40's 50's... well really all throughout doll history bjd's were not unusual. just not for the common masses ^^. I've been fasinated with that 'type' of doll more or less all my life... which could be why 'Barbie' was only a so so doll in my eyes as a kid... I wanted the antique ones even before that lol. the mechanical dolls of the 1700's and the articulation... guh.... to me ABJD's are almost a comeback in a way of one of the better types of dolls ^^

 

I played with dolls, mostly Barbies, when I was little. I think I started when I was seven years old.

 

The only time I played with dolls was with my younger sister. I didn't like dolls, and the few that I did have were collectable type dolls that I had on display. I like stuffed animals (still do), but dolls simply never appealed to me. I don't know why I liked BJDs so much when I discovered them as a preteen. It might have something to do with the fact that I "flipflopped." I was a tomboy as a child, and became a "girly girl" as a teen. I kept most of my childhood hobbies though, such as video games. So honestly, I really just don't know ^^;;

 

I played with barbies when I was little, though they were usually the bad guys in epic games of My Little Pony. xD I also had a couple Jem dolls that hung around with the barbies, an American Girl Felicity, and a few baby dolls. (Actually, I still own them all; they're just in the attic somewhere.) I think in general I've always been intrigued by miniature representations of the human form. I was delighted when I found out BJDs existed - I've always thought one of Barbie's main faults was her limited mobility. So I suppose, to me, that BJDs are the ultimate doll, if you will - something that's made with care, that's not only a toy but an art form, that can be posed and changed and made into whatever we want them to be. ^_^

 

I played with lots of dolls as a kid! Barbie, Maxie, My Child, Cabbage Patch Kids... but I always loved my My Little Ponies more LOL

 

My family has always been a doll family. I've always had Barbies and Sashas and Ellowyne Wildes. And around 13 I got my first BJD and I've been playing with them ever since.

 

Hated 'em. My auntie was obsessed with keeping me from being a tom-boy and dumped Barbie on me on every possible occasion. *rolls eyes* Like that was going to cure my urge to play baseball with the boys. Some people are clueless. I didn't like dolls at all until I saw my first BJD and freaked out over wanting one.

 

Yeah, I played with dolls all the time. Never baby dolls, but Barbies, Sailor Moon dolls, and soooooooo many action figures. I still collect action figures, since it would be very hard to find a doll of Michael Morbius. I guess I'd have to get a minimee head for him.

 

Yep. I had Barbies and a Barbie house and car. I also had my mom's dolls from her childhood as well as the little green army men from the 1940s. I always remember being annoyed that there was so little mobility with the dolls at the time and that I couldn't change the hairstyles. BJDs are really the perfect doll in many ways...

 

I never really liked dolls when i was little, the first doll i actually wanted and got was a baby born doll but that was only because my older friends had them and once they got bored of them i did very quickly too, then i got into bratz and i still have all my dolls of them, so i have about 30, i only bought them cos i liked how they looked, i never played with them, i think its more so the same with bjd's, i just like how they look, i like sewing and photography and drawing, and that all fits into this hobby as well.. like i know these dolls arent to "play" with, but there is a lot more you can do than just the things i do, im still trying to come up with a personality for my first bjd Arisa, im not really going well with that

 

I used to play with all sorts of dolls. I noticed that I strongly preferred some over others because of the characters that they were and that they looked exactly to my liking. I think that's why I came to like BJDs, because they are completely customizable and personal.

 

Yes, in the 60s and 70s my dolls were my main toys of choice. Haven't stopped playing with them since!

 

I collected Barbies when I was younger along with having some Porcelain dolls. I always liked dolls--although, I'd be lying if I said I could explain exactly why.

As for what got me into BJDs, it was finding one I really liked for once.

 

I never played with dolls myself when I was little! I had Barbies and such lying around the house, but they just sat in my room looking pretty. Even now, I have a lot of stuffed animals but I just keep them for comfort and sentimentality more than anything else. I think that was why my mom was so surprised when I told her I really wanted a BJD as a teenager!

I did, however, loooove acting out stories with my best friend with my marble collection! We would make up stories with them for hours, and we did that straight up until middle school. I also loved making houses and worlds out of Lego and playing with marbles or those little Lego characters there. So maybe that's what rather factored into my love of BJDs. They're so customizable, they can be whatever you wish them to be! And one trait I notice around the BJD community is that we often tend to be the creative, storytelling types!

 

I did play with dolls... mostly Star Trek dolls. I'm old enough to pre-date "action figures," so the Star Trek dolls I'm talking about are Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Uhura. My relatives who weren't clued-in on my geek girl status gave me Barbies, and I got my start in sewing making them Starfleet uniforms to fit in with the Enterprise crew. Also? I first knew that there was something different about me when my friends started playing in a certain way with Barbie and my male Star Trek dolls, or with Barbie and Ken, and I kept wanting to match up my Barbies with each other, or with Uhura. I had the Enterprise Bridge playset, and everyone always wore their uniform on the bridge... but off the bridge, there was a lot of nudity!

I wrote a paper in college about doll play and the evolution of sexuality in children, and talked to a lot of friends about it, so I know that Barbie is far more sexual than some people would suspect... but it still feels like a dirty little secret every time I talk to someone about it!

I left my dolls behind when I joined the Navy at 19, and my little brother proceeded to steal them and do things with firecrackers and Estes rocket engines, so they're all gone, now. I didn't get back into dolls until I was in my 40s.

 

I played with dolls when I was a kid. (still do play with them, actually. Most of the time they're not BJD but still) Mainly the usual dolls, Barbies and Bratz (which were awful oh gosh) I can't remember the other dolls I'd play with, mainly those two types.

I did have my older sibling's toy at one stage, it was G.I. Joe action figure (let's go with I borrowed it for a very long time) and I thought it was so cool because he could stand up on his own feet. I couldn't change his all of his clothes or take his shoes off or anything but it was still cool. No idea where that little thing is...probably in my old cat's bed...

 

While I did play with dolls a little when I was a child I liked action figures (comic book at tv related) matchbox cars and my little pony toys best. The ponies were the girliest thing I played with as I have always been a tom-boy. The doll I bought (still need to pay him off completely) is in no way connected to the few barbies I had as a child. I love the BJDs from both an artistic view point and the ability to allow it to become anything I wish. I feel like once I own more BJDs they may have more than one character attached to them at any given moment. I have so many stories going it's not even funny. :P I have no problem saying now that I collect dolls. They are not the same as barbies nor is the purpose of collecting them the same. At least not for me.

 

I played with dolls like Polly Pocket, but never anything like baby dolls or Barbie.

I found Barbies and baby dolls sexist (probably picking up on my mother's opinions, since I was too young to really fully grasp sexism at such a young age). It was an odd divide, because I loved Polly Pockets (very much 'for girls') and MLPs (ditto, to an even greater degree). I guess it was honestly a bit arbitrary

Even though a childhood love of dolls didn't get me into BJDs, but my childhood love of MLPs did! There was a surge of MLP collectors getting into the Pullip hobby, and I ended up in the hobby as well. And it's a very short jump from Pullips to BJDs, as I'm sure many of us on DoA know

I think it definitely influences my position in this hobby. I came into it with the mindset of a collector, which means I see BJDs differently from someone entering the hobby with plans to get just one doll, or someone looking to rekindle a childhood love of dolls. I don't think any position is better than the others, though. One great thing about this hobby is that there are so any ways to enjoy it