Do you believe that some owners mistreat their dolls?

I once saw someone with a very expensive doll drag it around by the arm, letting the clothes get dirty and the hair get mussed. I would not have done that. But I can't say that her way of playing with her doll was any "worse" than mine, which is to rarely touch it for fear of damaging it. And it's not like our dolls are cultural heritage artifacts.

I know that collectors of antique dolls often consider themselves custodians, with a responsibility to pass the dolls intact to the next generation. But that's a relatively recent view, I think. To their original owners, they were just toys, as our dolls are now. If the owner enjoys the toy, then the toy is fulfilling its purpose, and that's not mis-use, that's proper use.

 

do you believe that some people MISTREAT or ABUSE** or just have a serious lack of respect for their dolls? Yes, I think so. I also do it sometimes.

If the answer is yes, what is mistreating? I took them to the field in mid-summer sun, lift them by head rather than holding by hips, make clothes for them out of worn socks

 

In the end, they are dolls. They can't be neglected or abused. They aren't living beings. People may 'mistreat' them a little by letting dust collect on them or not using the proper materials to give the doll a face-up. They might toss them aside and cause them to break, but I don't really consider that abuse or neglect.

But in the end, I can't tell someone what or what not to do with their doll. I mean, if I didn't pay for it myself, I really don't have a say so in the matter. I just hope that they can enjoy their dolls as much as I want to enjoy mine.

 

As awesome and expensive as they are, they're still just dolls. I mean if you paid $500+ for a doll and are perfectly fine throwing it around and doing dumb things with it....power to you. Apparently you have too much money lol. Abuse is something you do to living things. Improperly using something is what you do to inanimate objects. It may be in-advantageous to do it, but you won't be going to jail/hell for doing it.

 

First of all: Yes, I think that some owners "mistreat" their dolls, whatever the word may mean. I think that some people do awful things to their dolls that I myself would never dream of doing to mine.

BUT, who is to say what is right or wrong? It's their dolls, not mine. They don't care what I think, I don't tell them how to treat their dolls. They bought it, they can do whatever they want with it. I don't necessarily think it's wrong, but I don't think it's necessarily right either.

To each their own. Some may think I mistreat mine, because I rarely take them out.

 

This. I'm sure there are people who "mistreat" their dolls but I am not the one to decide if that is wrong. It's their doll. I wouldn't anyone else to decide if I treat my dolls right or wrong so I won't judge others.

 

They are dolls. Expensive, precious to me but still dolls.
I know many people who really buy them and put them in a shelf, for plain admirying. I just can´t do that.
I take care of my dolls, but I like having them with me. There is one sitting beside me right now.
I don't trow them and never broke one, but they also don´t sit still in a shelf so that nothing can possibly happen.
They are dolls. I bought them and it's my prerogative to enjoy them as i want (the same way it is to the people who just stare at them, and inclusively never take them from the box).

 

No, I don't think someone can "mistreat" a doll because it's highly subjective. It's up to the individual to take care of a doll as they find appropriate because it's their doll. By many collector's standards I don't take especially good care of my doll.. have dropped her a few times, don't clean my hands before touching her, etc. but it's good enough for me.

 

Hmmm... Well, I do know of people who mistreats their dolls a bit, in the sense that they don't really care to check their doll is secure before leaving the room. For example, I know of a girl who tended to leave her doll standing on the kitchen table while doing whatever, and the poor doll fell down a couple of times. Since I make sure my dolls are at least sitting on a safe place before leaving them unattended, that counts as mistreating to me, I guess.

But everybody has the right to play/use their dolls as they want to, and if a parent wants to let their children play with the nice dollies, it's their decision. Besides, they are dolls; either you collect them or play with them (please understand "collect" here as buying them, putting them in a shelf or leave it in the box and keep piling them). And, if you play, there's bound to be damage of some sort, IMO

 

Am I one of the only people who believe that with each doll, there is a soul placed inside? 0.0 I feel that they are as alive as we are, If only they could talk. Sometimes people say that objects that are made to look human or similar is given a soul. By that I don't mean chuckie killer doll soul, but an energy. Anyways if we are talking about this, then I consider it abuse on the soul of the doll.

 

...Yes insofar as you can damage the material the doll is made from. I wouldn't count accidental breaks/the inevitable discolouration that will occur from UV exposure as mistreatment - but stuff that actively damages the plastic that the doll is made from, that could have been avoided? Yes. By that I mean using innapropriate cleaning products, the wrong material for painting - anything that wil actually react with the polyurethane, applied to the doll when there was no need/reason for the incident to have occurred...

If that makes any sense... I once saw a 60cm vinyl/abs obitsu doll in a terrible state - the owner had managed to melt/dissolve large sections of the vinyl in a bid to remove staining... So essentially all that was left was the inner ABS skeleton... poor thing!

 

People can do what they want with their dolls.. but there have been some situations where I wished I could 'save' a doll.

I knew a 'fad owner,' in which they're like, 'Oh, I want it!' and then by the time it got to the house, they had forgotten all about it... and then when it got there, they opened it up, said it was pretty, and then tucked it in the closet... where it has been sitting for about 6 years now. Honestly... I wanted it so bad! It was a pretty doll, but that wasn't really my motivation. It had been six months since she last looked at it and I asked her if I could have it because she wasn't interested in dolls anymore.. She told me that her mom said I had to buy it from her, which, was fine.. but since it wasn't really a doll I wanted, I didn't want to dish out the $600 for it. In the end, we ended up not being friends anymore because of other circumstances, but when I saw her six years later, and we got to talking about my dolls, she remembered hers, laughed and said she 'had that old thing in my mom's storage garage.'

I only see it as 'mistreating,' because it wasn't how I would treat my doll. Really, I guess she wouldn't even count as a doll owner.

 

other people can do whatever the hell they want with their dolls in my opinion - i may secretly think that their dolls are not being handled or treated the way that i care for my own dolls, but frankly it's none of my business. it's their money and their property. i can judge all i want but i have no authority to interfere. a doll is an object to which we ascribe (sometimes irrational) amounts of material value, it is not a person or animal that can actually be hurt. if someone wanted to buy a $1000+ dollar doll and smash it to pieces for kicks, then that's their right- just don't touch my dolls if that's what you're into!

 

I'm afraid I just can't find it in me to really care what anyone else does with their property that they paid for.

 

I've seen people do things with their dolls that I would never do with mine,but it's still their business.

 

When you spend 300$ on something and use a 1$ pen to draw all over it, I would say yes. They are mistreating their doll.

 

Meh, I don't care and it's not my business how other people treat their dolls but they'd better respect my rules for my dolls.

 

I know that some people can do that but I don't know someone who do and I'll never mistreat my dolls!

 

It's a shame when someone breaks, damages, or ruins a doll due to just not caring. I think it's a shame when beautiful or expensive things are destroyed and I will shake my head and be like "why do that?" but it's not my business and I don't say anything to the person.

 

I would expect someone to take care of a +200$ doll. I don't mean 'acting like it's glass', but for example NOT throwing it on the ground, putting permanent markers and other simple things that will decrease the lifetime of your doll by many years.