Do you believe that some owners mistreat their dolls?

I've seen owners who mistreat their dolls, but the more they do it unintentionally. But it looks awful all the same.

 

Well, I think it's your hobby and you should enjoy it fully the way you want to. If 'mistreating' makes you happier than being careful about your doll play, I guess it's alright. My motto is that as long as you don't hurt anyone or anything that's alive it's alright. I mean, children play rough with their dolls and end up breaking it from time to time, but we know they've fully enjoyed their time with the dolls.
Also, I think it depends on what the word 'mistreating' means. I know some people think changing the pose way too often or roughly is mistreating.

 

While doll's aren't alive, I do think someone can mistreat them; in a similar way that one can mistreat a car (like constantly riding the clutch), or wearing a pair of Jimmy Choo's through the mud. Sure I can stand back a say it's their money, and that I have no place to tell people what they do with it. But I take pride in my possessions, and my dolls have a special place in my heart, and it does sadden me when I see an owner being intentionally 'disrespectful' to either the doll or the sculptor, and ultimately not taking proper care of them. It's an expensive doll, and it should be enjoyed and treated well (and that's up to the owner's digression) but it's not like they're very high maintenance~

 

If by mistreating you mean awful face ups or customization with a Dremel or something like that then no. I don't care if a doll is perfect and I respect people who want to custom to their ideal even when I don't think much of their work. I do cringe to see one stored in a place where it will yellow, like near a window or in a house where someone is a heavy smoker. That's abuse in my book.

 

I like to think I take care of Avalon but I'm sure some of the things I do with him make people cringe. I chipped the inside of his knee by accident when trying to wire him, I restrung him wrong the first time, he's fallen god knows five maybe ten times and I do in fact pick him up by the head and his face up HAS been touched on accidenet. I also cuddle with him and occasionally doze off with him in my arms...But I don't see it as mistreating him. I see it as enjoying him because he's lack of a better word my little boy. He makes me feel happy and if feeling happy with how I 'play' is mistreating him then I don't wanna know what doing things 'right' is.

 

I believe that there are people who do, probably rare though.

 

I think people getting upset at how others use or misuse their dolls is mostly sour grapes.

It can't be uncommon for people in such an expensive hobby to be a little covetous of other people's dolls sometimes, and watching things happen that you wouldnt want to happen to a thing you like can't feel very good.

 

Yes I think that some owners mistreat their dolls. I think it is indicative of today's throw-away society that people can/will spend hundreds of dollars on something and then treat it like a cheap novelty. Sharpie marker face ups, throwing them around and generally treating them no better than a $10 barbie just makes me shake my head.

No, it's definitely not sour grapes as I passed over 100 BJD's some time ago and they all get treated properly. No I don't treat them like fine porcelain or anything but I have respect not just for the craftsmanship that went into creating them but the fact that I shelled out hard earned money to get them.

For example I was at a doll meet and a girl was there with a BJD body. The head had been sent away for modding and a face up to Europe. The body just had the S hook sticking out the top. Well sticking out is too nice a word more like it was being firmly gouged into the resin in the neck and was chipped like crazy all the way around. It made me cringe to see it and others did too. Of course no-one said anything but it was awful how it was being treated. Why spend hundreds of dollars on a doll, then spend maybe another couple of hundred dollars to get a face-up and mods in another country just to mess the body up like that?

 

I am going to make this quick because I can rant on forever about this topic and it makes me very angry so I will say this... In the end the one who bought the doll has the right to do with it as they please, it is no other persons right to harass or berate them because they don't like the way they are treating there dolls, it is not there doll, they did not pay for it so they have no right to tell another person how to treat there doll.

 

Antizel, I absolutely agree with you .... however .... people should never expect to get above market price for a doll when they come to sell it (if they ever do). That is where the difference is, not in how an individual treats their doll. I really enjoy seeing people enjoying their treasures and I admire people who dress them very beautifully, but I'm pretty pedantic about my things in general.

 

Like it or not, you post your business on the Internet and you will get opinions. I have as much right to think it's unfortunate that someone jacked up their doll as that person does to jack it up in the first place.

 

My personal opinion is that it is their money that they spent on it, so they can treat a doll however they wish. (I tend to take care of my dolls because I worked hard for the money they cost!) It is in their right to either neglect a doll, or mistreat them since they are the owners.

 

I'm kind of revisiting this thread and smiling because I've just made a swap for a doll that a lot of people on here might very well consider "abused" but in this case I think what's been done to her is half I half the reason I loved her so much when I first saw her. She's been drilled. She's been dyed a really dark green. She has wire wings done through those holes in her body. Right now she looks like a little wild jungle fairy that runs around on Kong Island, lol. I do plan on changing her outfit a bit, adding a little color to her face up maybe, and giving her a more serpentine look and snake eyes but over all I like the "damage" that was done to her, her modifications. I think they are pretty cool actually. I'm sure a lot of people looked at her pic in the Market and were totally appalled at the idea of the "torture" visited upon her, but I just loved her more because she wasn't factory perfect. She's going to get a lot of love in my house. I'm going to pick her up and play with her all the time. I will never throw her against a wall or deliberately break her parts. She will be respected her but ultimately she's a TOY and I'm not much for leaving my favorite toys in a box where they don't get any time to live outside one and be loved. :P

 

Sure, like any other item, I'm sure some people maintain their dolls better than others. Leaving a doll where it's at high risk of damage from falls, pets, or kids probably is mistreating them in my opinion. But then again it is their decision to make so I guess it doesn't matter whether I agree with it or not.

 

Well what I could define as 'doll abuse' would not treating it as delicately as you should. To be truly honest, I have 'abused' my doll before. Thus is the outcome of trying to be innovative by trying new approaches to certain processes...like taking an exacto knife to a doll's lips to remove gloss which had somehow crusted over. Never.Again.
I don't categorize sun exposure or doll placement as a means of abuse. More so neglect that tends to be unintentional. In defense, I like to have my doll sitting within my room. I like to see and observe the possession I worked so hard and dear to have. Although, there's not very convenient places to place him besides on my bed or on a tv stand corner. Then again, I can risk this because no one besides myself ever goes inside my room nor do I do anything that would cause me to lose sight of where he is at all times. So I believe it depends on what may be depicted as 'abuse'.

 

Mistreat is a word with an emotional component. If the question were, do some people damage their dolls. Of course they do. It can happen by accident, lack of knowledge about them or neglect. Oh, and intentionally. Experimentation is one of the wings of creativity. One person might be pleased with what the result is while another would cringe. There is plenty of room in this hobby for differences in "artistic" preference. The other possible take on the question is comparing a doll that sits in a glass cabinet or in a box in the closet it's "whole life" compared to a doll that is carried everywhere, dressed & undressed frequently, has things made for it, and constant pictures taken, sits next to bed. Ultimately gets more than it's share of knicks and scrapes...goes to doll meets every chance possible even though all its clothes were hand made by a less than professional seamstress/owner. Sort of the Velveteen Rabbit kinda thing ~ I enjoy watching people who are like that with their doll when they get a huge amount of joy from it. I also really like to see someone who knows how to handle them with care, treating them like a very valuable and rare "being". I have a friend like that and I enjoy being around him when he is working with his dolls. They seem to become more dignified and beautiful every time he touches a doll. He has a lot of fun with his dolls too. I would rather be like him, but I don't condemn the other person. Right now I tend to keep my dolls around in little groupings with props. I like looking at them without clothes. I have only one that has been realistically blushed. She mostly wears clothes. The others are to me like sculptures and I'm still fascinated by their joints and detailing. Most of the naked ones are on a shelf in my bedroom so they aren't exposed to strangers, or vice versa. I suppose someone might consider that a kind of mistreatment. Until I learn more about how fabrics might stain or damage, I'd prefer to keep them safe in this way. ONe MORE THING. I was an art framer, and cardboard is highly acidic. I wonder about any affect the boxes the dolls come in may be having, even if not in direct contact. But that is a very long range consideration.

 

Some people have enough money that they are cavalier about what they do with it and the things they buy with it. They are equally cavalier with other peoples' possessions, maybe more so, since they have absolutely no respect for anything they don't own.

 

I think there are some people who mistreat their dolls (and other things), but I don't care since it's their business. If I knew such a person and see how she is treating her dolls, I might be a little upset in my heart but wouldn't say a word about it. Why should I judge other people's behavior anyway? And if a terrible dirty/broken/horrorfaceup doll someday is up for sale, I just don't need to buy it. I don't feel sorry for the doll even it's a limited. It's just a lifeless material thing and everyone has the right to treat it how he likes.

 

It kills me to even think that someone could handle a doll with such a little amount of care but I'm sure that those types of people are out there.
I'd say that what counts as abuse and such would be something like leaving them around pets or small children unsupervised or it could even something as simple as leaving them in dangerous places where they could fall. I guess it depends on the circumstances though.

 

Extremely well said, The "Velveteen Rabbit" sufferance is perfect. I have a ratty old teddy that has seen better days, I love it, it was put in my crib at the hospital when I was born... I have my mothers doll from when she was about 6-10... she tried to 'wash' her baby... composition does not take to water... but I love them not just in spite of these injuries but also because of them. A toy that got accidentally damaged on what was a wonderfully fun day ... it's like battle scars. No one sets out to get them but they can occasionally be reminders of good things... Deliberately destroying something just because.. no. A fellow doll club member has a 'Soka' she created and his poor head has a horrid dent in it... (hidden by his wig) he fell off a chair when hands were otherwise full/occupied, but we all love to see him at meets and would not want him stuck in a box or under glass so to speak where no one gets to enjoy... I myself am still learning 'the care and handling' of these dolls and will likely make mistakes, I just try to lower the risk without lowering the enjoyment. As it is my boy has a blue mark inside a joint I have no clue how it got there... *shrugs* Some fellow club member will eventually help me figure it out to deal but I won't stop redressing him or taking him out until then. In a nutshell 'enjoy' your dolls! And let others enjoy theirs ^^ And if you don't know the story of 'The Velveteen Rabbit' go find it and read it or watch the video of it, it won't disappoint.