Do you believe that some owners mistreat their dolls?

I agree!

 

In my opinion you should be able to mod your doll and if you mess up that's understandable. I would simply consider that unfortunate. That is an unintentional misfortune and forgivable. After all it is an accident. However, reckless actions that lead to damage are abuse in my mind. That is to say, I consider "abuse" to be when one intentionally does something that they know could bring serious misfortune unto the doll. Like leaving them in a dangerous environment where he or she may encounter hours of sunlight or be in contact with pets prone to chewing.
Though it doesn't really matter unless you bring to my attention that you left a doll in a window for days. There is no way I can critique you, and even if you were to bring it up, who am I to tell you how to treat your doll? Which roughly correlates to: I personally would rather not see reckless damages befall a doll, but it is not for me to decide

 

Some people are bad people, but no human really deserves to be mistreated, neither should you take it upon yourself to mistreat anybody or creature.

Anyway, I think you're just irresponsible (and crazy) if you leave your doll on the ground for weeks, throwing dirty laundry on it, or leave it out in the mud in your backyard. Same with letting a three year old play with markers and crayons on your doll, or taking a saw and sawing at the leg because you're bored. It's your problem and decision, but, in my opinion, the doll is wasted on you if you ever do that to your doll. Anything like leaving your doll on their shelf for months is not mistreatment, or not dressing it up. If you just admire it from afar, it's your decision.

Um, but yes, I think you can mistreat your property, in the way of not using/treating it in the way it was intentioned. BJDs aren't meant to be broken, or thrown about. I know people can do what they want, but you're not treating a valuable object as it's vaguely "supposed" to be treated.

If any of that made sense.

 

I feel like if they really loved their hobby of collecting dolls then they should know how to treat them properly. Well, after all, the doll is theirs and if they were to treat it badly it would be their loss. But guess if its in their nature to mistreat their possession then i guess it applies to anything including bjds. Its like a old habit that is hard to change.

 

To some people doll collecting is a serious hobby that they care dearly for, while to others they are just "toys". I wouldn't claim abuse as much as ignorance or lack of caring. But to each his own. If someone wants to spend their money on a doll and then not take care of it, that is their problem. I know that I would be angry if someone came up to me and said I was abusing my car because I don't wash it regularly. Different people have different priorities and people change. Maybe the novelty wore off.

 

I'm going to unlurk here for a moment and hope this makes sense...

ahhh, I think I would have to fall into the dolly abuser category here.

I love all of my dolls, but I don't probably take the best care of them. The other week I got a pen mark on my Fin's butt because I didn't take the 10 minutes to find some chalk to mark some fabric for a pattern. My poor dollfie dream has some major stains from dark clothing. They are my sewing models, my modding/faceup guinea pigs, and generally they just lie about looking pretty. Poor things have little scratches from pinning and draping fabric pieces onto them. They have been on the floor!

I have a bag of Obitsu heads for 'fun' and you should see some of the terrible things they have been through. I gave my first big Obitsu sharpie hair and it is still one of my favorite heads, her sharpie hair is precious to me because it was my baby-step as it were. (and it looks pretty damn cool!) It gave me the confidence to do my first faceup, open my first sleeping head (sleeping heads make me claustrophobic!)

My cat was sleeping on my unoa just this afternoon. It makes me queasy when I think of how much I paid for that one, but I can spend an hour just staring at the joints, the hands, the beauty of the sculpt.

I'm never going to sell these dolls, I loooove making things for them to wear, I don't leave them in the sun or posed precariously on the edge of shelves, but I am not the most careful person. I know this and try to counteract it as best I can.

For this reason I don't handle other people's dolls overmuch, I don't borrow other people's books (I'm murder on books) I try to be as careful as I can if someone lets me hold their precious things, they aren't mine to damage. I am aware of my problems. If someone says if you want you can borrow my 'x,y,z' I decline. I know my limits as they say.

I did meet a lovely person at a meetup who tossed her brand new dolly up to me while I was standing on a balcony. I almost died, hands numb from carrying things around a sales floor for an hour (carpal tunnel yo!) and no depth perception, but I managed to catch it and promptly walk it down stairs and back into her hands. :P

There is one doll I never really bonded with or played with. He lives in his box, for which I feel sad... he's in the process of getting a new home with someone who will love him to death. He lives in his box now for his own safety and for the sake of his future owner :P He is too expensive, and too beautiful an object to sit and gather dust in my home (and possibly some other terrible fate from my casual doll ownership) and deserves a better home.

I guess what I am trying in my muddled way to say is that not all "dolly abusers" are bad people who don't appreciate the value of what they have. Some of us are just trying to participate in a hobby we love and muddle through as best we can without too much collateral damage.


*amber

(who will feel bad for the old toaster when it's time to get a new one)

 

there are probebly some people out their who 'neglect' to take proper care of their dolls. all be it purposeful or accidental. If they do not want to take good care of their little doll friends, then fine. But they should be ready to face any sort of consequences from their action. For instance it the doll were to become permanently damaged because they let a smaller child play with their doll, then it is their own fault. But they shouldn't play around so foolishly with such a lovely (and expensive) doll.

 

I have to admit, when I was a very young girl I thought the absolute worst people in the world (you know, that I could think of in the limited scope of a four year old or so) were the people who cut their barbie dolls' hair @___@ So I was prejudiced from the start?

I'm paranoid about damaging my dolls, because to me they are so much more than just an item I purchased - they are absolutely irreplaceable. I think I don't necessarily have the right to judge how other people treat their dolls because legally, they belong to whoever bought them and that owner is free to treat them in any manner. But to me, seeing a doll not handled with love and respect is just terribly sad - especially when I think that there are many people who would have cherished that doll if they had been able to buy it. I guess that sounds a little melodramatic, I'm sorry >.>

 

some owners treat thrie dolls in a unacceptable way to others just like some parents abuse their children, it does happen, and most often when the doll is given to them as a gift
I've seen movie that people throwning from high place, photos edvidences of mistreating...and that is , it is not a crime, and those are their dolls, they have freedom to do it

 

I think it depends on who it is and why they bought the doll. There are people who collect the dolls and treat them like a treasure and take super good care of them. And there are also those who consider these as just an expensive toy and it doesn't matter as much.

To me....if you're going to spend over a $200 on one of these things, you should probably take care of it, especially when someone spent so much time and effort making these things.

 

Wow, that's possibly one of the saddest things I've ever read. It actually didn't occur to me that people might like dolls because dolls won't notice "their" people aren't good/interesting/attractive/nice/amusing/intelligent/caring/charming/worthwhile and so won't reject them - but the dolls aren't going to like, appreciate or love you, either. Neither can a table.

But again, for the same reason that dolls can't dislike or look down on people, neither can they be maltreated. They're just objects. They don't have any inherent value - they aren't necessary to sustain life, and they don't have it.

I'll admit I've looked at badly stained or broken dolls and gone, aargh, what did they do to it? as if it was some kind of tragedy. It's natural when something expensive and pretty gets ruined, or what I think of as ruined, I guess, especially if the object is human-shaped. And I understand that objects can seem to absorb emotion - my childhood My Child, Susie, always makes me feel better, and I think it's because for so much of my childhood I really believed she could sense my thoughts and emotions and it kind of seeped in.

But in the end - it's theirs to do what they want with, and it's not as if it knows or cares. It's just a thing. And so in the end, I don't think it's irresponsible or wrong to leave your doll out in the backyard with the dog chewing on it for three months, if that's what you want. Maybe it just shows a healthily unmaterialistic viewpoint. Certainly I think letting kids play with them is a good thing - it may damage the doll but hey, they're dolls, they're playthings!

 

I woulnd't have thought that you could actually abuse a doll. I mean, it doesn't feel pain because it is only an inanimate object. Dolls are not human.

This one time I left one of my dolls standing and she fell from quite a height (thankfully she wasn't damaged). Now, I woulnd't say that that was abuse. At the end of the day, what a person does with their doll shouldn't matter. It's theirs. They spent all that money so they should be entitled to do what they wish.

Is keeping a doll out of its box, exposing it to the dangers of everyday life abusive. Or what about keeping them inside their boxes all day abusive.

One person might see a battered and broken doll and think that they owner was abusive and neglectful. Another person may see a battered and broken doll and see expressive art staring back at them.

It's a matter of opinion.

 

i guess it would also depend on whether the doll was bought for personal pleasure or for the potential re sale later down the track?

 

I'm sure there are plenty of neglected dolls out there, but I think there is no point of buying expensive dolls and not appreciating / enjoying them or playing with them.

 

I'm sure dolls are neglected and/or treated badly, but... what can anyone do? I don't think it's anyone's place to intervene or draw the line unless it's their doll being abused. The owner paid for that doll and they have the right to treat it how they please, unfortunately... and while it may not be the way WE would treat a doll, there's not much to do... I'm not saying it's right or anything, but we can't exactly get social services involved.

One can only hope that the owner would consider reselling their doll if they didn't bond with him/her and if they realized they weren't giving that doll the attention he/she deserved.

 

I agree with others that would not use the term "abuse" for a doll, but I must confess, even if I can not do anything against it, it makes me sad to see dolls that have been damaged when their owners tried to customize them and used materials that are not appropriate because they did not inform themselves. I do not even want to think of damaging dolls on purpose O.o That's just pretty silly to me.

 

I think people should at least read up on basic care for dolls and what materials to use on them before they even invest in purchasing them. I spent a month researching everything before I bought my first, and I'm still learning.

I don't get what the issue is with picking up dolls by the neck? I've seen people on here talk about it. I mean, I've done it with my own a number of times. Usually when grabbing the midsection, one likes to flop and another kicks. I'll grab them firmly by the neck to move them a little bit. It's not like I'm swinging them around by the neck or carrying them from place to place like that. I wouldn't do it to anyone else's dolls either. But really the neck is a very sturdy area to grab. It's not like picking up an animal or a human child by the neck. x_o

But at any rate, what one chooses to do with their dolls is their own choice. It might not be how others would handle or treat their own dolls. *shrugs*

On the other hand, unless you're leaving them in a box/on a shelf (which could be seen as abuse by others too) accidents are bound to happen.

 

I've been accused of this before right here on this board, not gonna point fingers so don't ask.

I bought the boys to PLAY with and that means they'll get rough around the edges eventually. I suspect Nicco will yellow since he goes everywhere with me including the seat of my school bus. He sits beside me ion my tote bag right under *GASP* the window! OMFG NO! Yes, and he travels in my tote, wrapped in a piece of fleece, sitting on my tissues wedged between book, feet on my lotion and my hand held solitaire game in his lap. This is my way of "playing" with him... and my way of enjoying his presence in my life. And in time I suspect he'll get a bit battered, but I will have tons of memories to look back on and smiles to relive, even if he is yellow and has some dings or broken pieces.

hy spend so much money on something you hide in a drawer or box? I suppose if that's your kind of enjoyment go with it but leave me out of it.

 

In my opinion they're dolls. In the end they're just objects. They can't be mistreated or abused - they are belongings. Once they're bought, the owner has the option of doing whatever he or she wants with them. If they want to throw the body off a building to watch it break, they have the right to. If they want to glue the head to the wall, they can.

I'm very careful with my dolls and they are important to me, but I do handle them and play with them. They go outside for pictures, they go places with me occasionally, but I am careful with them in those instances. I protect them from sun, etc. To me, they are very expensive, so I try to take very good care of them - but I expect them to get a little wear eventually. They are NOT expensive to all people, though. There are people to whom even $1000 is like a penny. Not everyone places the same value on objects.

I do still cringe a lot when I see people doing potentially damaging things to their dolls that could have been prevented by 20 minutes of research. I ALSO cringe when people do things to their dolls that are dangerous to themselves, like dry sanding without a mask. I think if the dolls ARE important and valuable to you, you should take the time to learn how to take care of them properly. Do whatever you want to them, but do it mindfully and take a minute to learn how to do it right.

 

Well, I wrote this wonderful post, but my page refreshed and I lost it! T__T I'll just sum it up.

About abuse: I believe abuse (in a human sense) of a doll is not possible because abuse is physical and mental (or only mental). While I believe that some of the dolls do have emotions (Velveteen Rabbit, anyone?), I do not believe they have minds.

Background: My grandma collected dolls and had some very valuable ones. But I was allowed to play with any doll in her collection as a little girl. She collected them, but didn't play with them, and she felt sad for that and wanted me to give them life again.

Me, personally: I took An out shopping today with my mom. She sat in 3 different shopping carts with no wiping down, her wig fell on the floor twice, and I didn't care. I believe that there is nothing that can happen to An that I can't fix. If you are like me, I'm a very good owner. I love my doll and I take good care of her: she has a growing wardrobe that I made, she sleeps in a bed and sits in a chair and has toys to entertain herself with, and she sits on my lap whenever we are together. If you keep your doll in a cabinet, safe from all danger, I cannot help but draw a parallel to the parents who kept their foster children in cages to protect them from harm. While these dolls are not children, and I point to my abuse statement above, I still feel sad for them.

~Angelkitty