Do you consider BJDs a hobby or a subculture

Subculture based on hobby). I am more outsider then part of community. May be, because of age range, most of people I know in bjd have 1-2 kids and we have different interests and different life style, may be because I prefer mixed gender communities. Of course, there some male in hobby, but it's very small %.

 

For me its a hobby. though I think your hobbies can still sort of define you, in the same way that a subculture is. Like I'm a musician, thats still a hobby but its part of who i am.

 

It's a hobby. Being a subculture would envolve philosophy and ideology that change your way of life, does this happen? No. Everything you do will have terms proper for them other people won't know and can involve many different areas, just think of anything art related. And everything you do, say and use defines you, doesn't mean is a subculture.

 

Well said. Me too. ^

Every activity has its terminology that you learn as you learn to do that activity--- but lingo does not a subculture make. There's no philosophy, ideology, lifestyle, fashion sense, or anything else that's common among bjd owners and that has to be adhered to in order to be in the hobby. Which is exactly what it is: a hobby. Many of us have NOTHING in common except for our shared enjoyment of bjds. And I think that's great, frankly. There are enough hive minds in the world. My recreational activity doesn't need to be another one.
Dolls are one thing that I do and enjoy. They're not a huge part of my identity, and having them doesn't define me as a person in any way. Lots of people like lots of different stuff. Bjds are one of the many things that I like. It doesn't make me different or special or part of a subculture that OTHER people don't understand. I have more in common with people that don't know a thing or give a crap about bjds and like totally different stuff, than I do with people who define themselves by their bjd hobby and make their doll ownership the main event in their life.

 

This statement hits most of the high points for me. I constantly refer to collecting BJDs as a hobby, because that is what it is to me. I don't consider collecting them a subculture. I think that it can be an aspect of a subculture, but isn't a subculture. It is something I'm interested in, like reading or gardening, and is a pleasant way to spend some of my free time.

 

I would definitely say a hobby. Simply having a strong interest in something is not enough for me to consider myself part of a subculture. For me to say that, it would need to have an impact on other areas of my life - and for me, doll collecting just doesn't do that. It's something I enjoy, and spend time and money on, and I think it's a great way to make friends, but it doesn't have the level of holistic effect on the other things in my life that would make me feel like part of a distinct subculture group.

 

It just a hobby for me. Something I enjoy and have fun with in my free time

 

It's one of many hobbies for me. An expensive one, but hey, all of my hobbies are expensive!

 

I'd say it was a hobby too. My life really doesn't revolve around my dolls and all of the doll people I know are very different from each other in too many ways.

 

OK - I am a big geek nerd cosplayer - that whole subculture. I have dragged my BJDs INTO my subculture So for me the dolls are another way to express myself within my subculture - a creative extension so to speak.

 

I'd say it was a hobby. It's something I want to have fun with, not base my life around.

 

Hmm, I don't wanna say hobby because that's something you do and collect but don't necessarily have a relation with. I think of my bjd girls as my "children". But then I don't think it's a subculture either. What does that even mean?? There's culture as in our different native backgrounds and such...I guess I see them more in a philosophical way and not just as "objects" but rather objects with being...okay, sorry getting too technical here. Anyways, they exist, they are alive! You don't "hobby" your adopted children...

 

I think it is a subculture in general. But for me it's a hobby) I just collect dolls and sometimes take pictures of them so it doesn't take much time)

 

I think it is a subculture in general. But for me it's a hobby) I just collect dolls and sometimes take pictures of them so it doesn't take much time)

 

I think of it as a hobby with a community.
I like to compare BJD owners to collectors. I wouldn't say collectors go as far as to put themselves in a subculture, but I definitely think that they find significance in their collections.

 

I consider it as a hobby that i can enjoy with friends, and through this means express my creativity. I also have a chance to meet people of the same hobby and interact with them about our likes and dislikes

 

For me the dolls are just a hobby.
Throw in everything related to them in one big pot and mix...and I can see how it could be viewed as a subculture.

 

I dont really now what subculture would mean but to me it is just a hobby. Im a life long hobbiest

 

I consider it only a hobby. I do not think it is as extended or conditions the life of the BJD owner as the known subcultures.

 

I consider it a mere hobbie, I think I wouldn't let bjds take over my life, and I wouldnt want it to cause other things.. :/