Do you believe that some owners mistreat their dolls?

Can I yank this discussion in another direction? I have less of an issue with people manhandling their dolls in the various ways already discussed--it's obviously their property to do with as they please, regardless of my tedious mutterings about the disposable society . However, I would feel badly if I knew that an artist had put a great deal of effort into doing a custom faceup or creating a OOAK or limited fullset, only to have an owner disdain their work. It's one thing to discreetly wipe a faceup that no longer suits, and companies expect their dolls to be modded, but to see a work of art scratched and scraped, the wig ratty and the limited outfit missing bits or torn, would make me wince. Even more so, if I knew other people would have given their eyeteeth to own that particular doll. Of course, this is less than likely, given that people who can own a rare doll usually know its value and how to retain it, but those would be the circumstances under which doll-buse would definitely bother me.

 

I feel an emotional attachment to my dolls and it appalls me when someone buys the doll and doesn't take good care of it.

Yes, ITS IS their choice.
My heart does go out to the doll in some way because it is being mistreated however.

I mean "Mistreated" in the sense that the doll is shoved over on pourpose tossed around, and generally not cared for.

There was a girl at one of the meets I went to a awhile back who simply tossed her doll onto the concrete to pick up my friend's doll. Needless to say, my stomach turned when it bounced off the pavement and I ran over to check it for damage.

Everyone has a different term of what the classify "Abuse/neglect" and so on, but it will, and always will, make me cringe when people are rough with the dolls.

 

Man, if I had been your friend and I saw that girl do that, I would have hit her with something before I would have let her touch my doll.

Off topic: Rizu-San, I see you live in Cincinnati. Will you be at the doll meetup on the 19th (I think that's the date)? I should be there with a friend.

 

My friend kept a bird's eye watch on her and kept the doll away.

(Yes I will be there for the meet. ^^)

 

I do not feel that it is anything more than being irresponsible I do not think that it shows much self respect though to treat your own things so shabbily. But isn't it all situational?

 

I think this is a very valid point. I create and make things like paintings and drawings and clothes, so I can emphathize with the creators, even at a much more um... not-so-special level.^^; But I hate to give others' paintings I've done for them to see it banged up and stored behind a bookshelf..

So I would hate to be that disrespectful to a piece of work that is so much nicer and more expensive than my own humble stuff that I create.

 

But most of those custom face ups are done for money. They were paid for and thus still a part of the owner's property. If they paid for it, even if it is beautiful, it's their choice how they handle it. It can be a shame but how can we judge them on it, especially when its out of the artist's hands?

 

I agree with blackwingsblackheart. I think that for the most part, if you own something you have the right to do what you want with it. BJD dolls are art to me, however, and I think any type of art has an intrinsic value that should be respected. It's just like if someone bought a beautiful painting then dumped red paint all over it. They have the right to do it, but it would be a real shame and a waste.

 

I have to agree with the artistic sense of it as well. I'm an artist myself, and if I sold a drawing to someone, even if it was sold for $1000 or something, I would still be pissed if I found out that they let their kids draw all over it with crayon. Everything I make means something to me. Of course I couldn't get too mad, because like everyone else has said in truth, it is theirs and they can do what they want with it. But still, it would get under my skin because that art piece held a piece of me in it, like all of them do.

On the other hand, BJD's have always been meant to be customized, and no one can expect someone to keep it exactly the same. OOAK or not, it is a BJD, and their eyes come out and makeup can be changed for a reason.

In the end, I don't really believe there is actually a solid "wrong" way to treat a BJD, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be appalled if I saw someone punch their doll in the face. I just realize that it's a personal thing, not really universal "mistreatment", but some things would be mistreating in my eyes.

 

I'm one of those people who could become emotionally attached to a ROCK (and even give it a name) Also, maybe I read too much of "Corduroy" as a kid.

Though it would make me sad to see a Dollfie splayed out on the floor, in a sock dress and with a rather messy nailpolish facial, it's not my doll and there's nothing I can do about it. If somebody wants to spend $500 for a fancy doorstop, I can't stop them. If somebody wants to take them to restaurants and on vacations where they can certainly get dirty, it's their choice. Likewise, if somebody buys them to keep them locked away in a glass box, that's their choice as well.

I don't do either of the above - it's kinda in the middle. I keep them on a table in my room. Sometimes they get dusty or fall onto the floor. I don't put gloves on before I touch them but generally like to make sure my hands are clean. I don't toss them around but anyone who picks them up has to be careful, and so far I haven't allowed them to be played with.

 

Yeah, me too. I don't even have my boy yet and I'm already pretty bonded with him so I'd feel horrible about letting him fall(i feel badly even if my plastic action figures fall and apologize to them XD) much less do it purposefully. But like many have said IT'S THEIR CHOICE. I don't agree with chucking your doll around like its invincible but as long as you treat MY doll with respect I won't say a word about how you throw yours around. I'd also feel bad for an artist as well because I too have the feelings Loagaeth does. I mean...of course if you buy something from me you can do whatever you want with it but it'd still make me sad to see it because I worked so hard only to have it 'ruined'. I feel emotional attachments to everything though so...it could be chalked up to me being too sensitive ^^;

ha ha I'm the same way elvenmoon. I named my mom's houseplant and refer to it as "he". I like him and would probably be sad for a bit if he died. "i'm picking off these leaves cause they're making him sick! jeez!" I don't think she's noticed yet XD

 

Wow, I agree with so many of you. But just to add my own input...

Although I do agree that a doll that you buy is yours to do what you will with. I know that I would personally cringe to see another person mistreating their doll. Even to see people who let their children take cheap toys outside and leave them there to go through all sorts of weather really gets under my skin. I have seen too many times a good toy (Beanie Babies for an example) being taken out into the mud and ruined. I could never imagine something like that happening to a doll that is worth $150-$1,500.

I just think that theres a difference between taking your doll on adventures and them getting bumps and scratches, and leaving a doll out wherever you lay it.

*starting of a rant* I know that I would feel an emotional pain for the doll, and an emotional pain for the owner who obviously never grew up enough to learn to take care of things. I just find it horribly childish to buy something expensive and turn around and ruin it. *ending of a rant*

But, I know my complaining won't stop what an owner will do with their doll.
After all, it is theirs to do with what they will.

 

From reading random posts, it seems that some are taking the word "abuse" a bit far. I don't believe dolls to be a living thing, thus it shouldn't really be taken as a social issue.

BUT.

This is an item that is worth a lot of money. And my belief is that I take care of the things I spend my money on. I don't simply chuck it somewhere on the ground.

There are some dolls I notice that I feel haven't been getting enough care. Either they're excessively dirty, have scratches, etc. As many have said, the owner can do whatever they want, but it shows how careless they are with their money.

I personally do a good medium of making use of my dolls (whether it's taking photos or making stuff for him) and also taking care of him as well (I usually clean him every 1 or 2 months). He has yellowed and such from exposure, but it's not so terrible (at random times he looks either asian or beauty white lol), and that's something owners cannot avoid anyway.

As for feeling for the doll being "mistreated," it's not emotional for me. These are items bought with a lot of money. I'm not saying that they're just objects, but they're not human beings either. I just believe that people should care for what they buy, especially if it's very expensive--same goes for cellphones, game systems, cars, etc.)

uh I think that's all I have to say lol

 

I feel that some people do happen to mistreat their dolls, but I also believe that it depends on what level of 'mistreatment' things are on. Yes, I've been the owner to sometimes stand my doll in dangerous places, but I also watch him like a hawk. I think that mistreatment to a lot of people on this forum is merely being careless. I don't think that many people purposely mistreat dolls. Some of the things people describe as mistreating them is just growing comfortable or careless. On the level discussed, I don't think that that's mistreatment.

 

I've seen pics of dolls that seemed a little roughly handled, but then I'm paranoid about such things...I can't even watch a restringing tutorial on Youtube because it looks like the doll is being tortured, lol.

I've also seen pics of dolls put in precarious poses in precarious places, but I don't have much of an opinion seeing as I don't even own a doll yet! I'll probably be using gloves and tongs to handle mine though.

 

There's also the fact that sometimes the doll was given as a gift, or just generally someone else paid for it.
So if ever the owner has a tendency to be an "abusive" one, it would be because they weren't the ones spending on the doll - so they don't feel the blow when the resin gets chipped or when the face gets scratched or ruined. It's not their money and they didn't have to work all those months stashing money away.
The way someone treats a doll could very well be equal to its value -- To some, that is.

Then there is also another side - that people don't mean to be abusive owners.
They just love their dolls so much, they carry them around, strap them with their own seatbelts when they drive places, take them to the beach -- in effect the dolls get battered faster, but that doesn't mean the owner doesn't love them.
It might look like abuse to people who are watching, but to the owner, its all just part of the experience of having a doll (who becomes an extension of you).

 

It is certainly within any owner's purview to take their $1500.00 doll and blow it up with a fistfull of M-80 fireworks, if they want to. [....dunno if they even make M-80s any more.... dangerous.] They can pose the doll dangling off the top of the Golden Gate Bridge by one ankle, they can use them in XXX-rated stories... the hair-raising things people can do with these dolls is virtually endless.

Can I stop that? Nope.

Do I like it? Nope.

Are the owners going to heed any protests? Most likely not, so I would never even bother.

Owners sure can do whatever they want with their dolls, and get away with that. But here's the kicker:

I'm going to think a lot less of people who do these sorts of things, I'm not going to want them near MY dolls, and I am not sure I'm going to want to be all that close friendship-wise with them. Because between the way they think and the way I think, there is a great gulf fixed, and these sorts of thing appear as danger-signals re the owner's psychiatric state - at least to me, they do.

[Am I talking about people who do stuff like taking their dolls to restaurants, or on vacation? Of course not.]

 

I have some very expensive dolls...and some not so expensive. But they are all treated with care. I remember when I was a kid, my brother threw my Barbie doll across the room....I was so upset I cried and I was angry that he'd 'hurt' her...I feel the same way now.

But some folks...yea...I don't know...it IS their perogative to mess up a doll or break it if they want to...but the phrase that always comes to my mind is "You know the price of everything, and the value of nothing"

beejaydee

 

your dolls went on adventures... if they have souls, letting kids play with them was probably fun for them. i think it's more abusive to a doll to just keep it in a display case in some far away room somewhere for the whole time you have it, if there even is such a thing as abusing an inanimate object.
I KNOW that i'm going to take my doll out of the house, and out places with me, and I KNOW that my 10-year-old cousin is going to want to play with her, and I KNOW that my eight cats will probably attack her wig, or even worse scratch her skin up or pee on her, if i leave her sitting on the floor all day, so i take the proper precautions, such as sealing her, and everything will be fine.
people who spend 600$ on anything, whether it be a doll or an electronic device or a designer handbag, and just kick it around like it's nothing make me sick, just because they had that much money to spend and this is how they choose to spend it, but there's nothing I can do about it.

 

ITA...since dolls are inanimate I don't think abuse the same ethical issue as abusing a living thing. Some people value their possessions and treat them with care, and some people don't. To each his own.