Dolls' Sexuality and Owner's Sexuality: Are they related?

Nnngh, personally I could argue that it could still be seen as offensive even if you are homosexual or bisexual (like, is it racist if you say an offensive black term and you're black?) But anyway.

I've never had a crush on a member of the same sex, so I'm straight. But that doesn't stop me from appreciating the female body, nor does it mean that therefore I must like male dolls more than female dolls. I don't view my dolls as any form of sexual outlet/creativity/roleplaying, and I think it's because at the end of the day I feel sex and sexuality shouldn't matter in situations that does not involve sex.

(My dolls aren't even in relationships, mainly because they're all different 'ages' and sizes and my brain would hurt trying to sort out their love life along with mine!)

 

Can I make a minor observation here? I just wanted to point out that dolls themselves can't be bi, gay, or straight. Their characters can be but a doll itself is not a sexual being. Characters are purely a projection of the owner's personality so the actual question here will automatically pertain more to the owners than the dolls. That's probably why certain people will feel nervous as it's a rather personal question. No offense meant, I just wanted to explain why this topic may make some people nervous.

 

I think... being outside of the spectrum of "normal", bi- and homosexual people are forced to examine themselves on a level most "normal"(no such thing XD) people don't... and that possibly, these dolls are one way to explore various archetypal aspects of the personality. I also think it's possible people who have done less than no soul searching are doing the same thing unconciously XD

 

I fall into the LGBTLOLFCBBQ thingy, and by accident lol, personality of my first doll turned out to be just like me. Androgynous, Asexual and unimpressed.

 

hmm I think for me, my dolls reflect *certain* things about me. For example, I have twins. One is shy, the other isnt. One is quiet, plays violin and loves classical piano, etc. The other loves cyber goth and Japanese hardcore, etc. One is gay, the other is "open" to both sexes.[But I also have "straight" dolls]

All are things that are a part of my life. So I think, because of the fact that I am able to have feelings for the same sex as well as the opposite, I'm "open" to the characters being with the same sex [as well as the opposite].

 

I was going to not reply to this one because it's one of those threads with just too many different ways to take it, but I can express my own situation.

I'm straight, and any dolls whose characters have had any sexual preference, it's been the same as mine. I can say that my dolls are all expressions of myself in one way or another, and following that they've all had the same sexual preference as me. I suppose I never thought to have a different preference because I would have a hard time wrapping my head around it because it's so far outside of myself that I feel I wouldn't be able to adequately, realistically integrate that into the doll's personality.

I think that's a lot of what the OP was asking, is there necessarily a connection between sexuality of a character and sexuality of the creator. I can say that, in my own situation, the character applied to the dolls does, in fact, reflect myself. But that is undoubtedly not always the case.

 

I don't know that there's necessarily a connection between owner sexuality and character sexuality. On the one hand, I kind of want to be offended by this discussion because there's a huge opportunity for assumption. On the other hand, this thread has been very mature so far and I'm actually impressed.

Character sexuality does not reflect owner sexuality. I have lesbian characters, bisexual characters, and characters that are straight as an arrow. I have homophobic characters and open-minded characters. I have a necrophiliac (which is illegal) character, and a really promiscuous one who wants to lay anything on two legs. What does all of this say about my sexuality?

Nothing.

Characters evolve out of the imagination. Maybe some people allow their own preferences to color their imagination-babies, but I don't feel that the same can be said of everyone. I don't assume that just because a person's characters are homosexual or bisexual or what-have-you, that it reflects the creator.

 

Exactly. Like everything else, there could possibly be a connection (like my dolls' characters have the same sexual preference as me) but it's not a hard fact that there WILL be a connection. Also, I giggled at your description of your characters' sexualities and the "now what does that say about ME?"

Also, maybe it would be better to change the title of this thread to something like "Dolls' Sexuality and Owner's Sexuality: Are they related?" so that there's less room for people to read into it deeply enough to be offended?

 

I also don't think there's an inherent connection between doll ownership and sexuality. I think you can find a connection if you really want to, but I think that's true of most things. It may be that this community is accepting of many different types of people, so those with sexual orientations their society may view as "abnormal" would feel welcomed. I personally am very straight, but I have had characters that are not. This does not mean I am curious about my own sexuality, as I very much understand myself and I am comfortable with myself. I have absolutely no problems with anyone for their sexual orientation and if they find they can express themselves and discover themselves through dolls, way to go! (No sarcasm at all, I'm really serious.) I would merely be hesitant to try to draw some statistical conclusion for sexual orientation and doll ownership. We're a group of "different" individuals as it is. Do we really need to differentiate within our group even more? Be proud of yourselves, and love your dollies. That's all that matters. :P

 

I am with a girl for many years now, but having a look at my dolls..well... I have only one girl among some guys *laugh*
If there is any connection, I don't know where. For me it has nothing to do with one's sexual interests. I know straight and gay people who likes dolls but maybe, as strange as it might sounds, it's the same phenomena with doll owners and anime-fans; it's "inn" to be homosexual or bi.
I met a lot of people already for I am a cosplayer myself, and I have only two persons among my friends where I can say that they are truly gay. all the others... just..dunno why, they pretend...

 

I'm gonna go with a quote from my drunken neighbor on this one: "People is people!"

What he meant by it was "Don't arrest me," but what I'm taking from it is a bit more literal. This is like asking if the cars people choose to drive are influenced by their sexuality. There are a lot more factors than just sexual orientation in the mix when you're looking at why people like the things they like. A plethora of personality types collect dolls.

However, I don't think anybody ought to get up in arms about someone pointing out a link between dollies and homos--or any slot on the Kinsey scale, honestly. I think the answer is probably, "Some people."

 

I hadn't really thought of the question presented in this topic... I do know a few bisexual owners, but I had never given their sexuality a second thought (except when they shamelessly joke about it, prats :P). To me, they were just friends or simply other doll owners...

I'm not sure both topics are related, though it's an interesting question

 

Okay... I'm going to be blunt about this...
I'm in this hobby for the dolls.

I don't care one bit about other owners' psychological hang-ups, break-throughs or adventures in "self discovery".
I REALLY don't care about their sexual preferences or their orientation. It's not my business, and frankly... I'd prefer to keep it that way. >_>

 

I'm bisexual, with mostly bisexual dolls. This is not to say that my characters aren't homosexual or straight, just that the dolls I have now are bisexual (or at least their characters are, for all those nitpicky people). I'm inclined to say that sometimes my own sexuality colors my choices and decisions for my characters, but not always. I try to take myself out of the equation as much as possible and let the characters grow and develop on their own.

That being said, I don't think the greater number of people from the LGBT community is only in this hobby, or any artistic hobby. I've noticed it happening IRL, but that simply could be the people I attract to myself, and what attracts me to other people. I won't say much more, since it's off topic, but that could very well be the case. I don't know.

 

...

Well I'm a "straight" asexual person (heteroromantic). And my dolls... I guess they are asexual too, as I don't want them to even have sexualities.

So there is a definite connection between my sexuality and the orientations of my dolls.

But I think the actual question of this topic is... is there a reason that so many LGBT people are attracted to doll collecting, that a noticeable percentage of the population is LGBT (as can be attested by the answers to this thread)

however, I don't think this is on-topic, as this isn't really about dolls so much as owners...

 

I never thought to link a doll's sexuality with their owners own sexuality- to me the biggest link in my mind is anime. There are so many anime fans and within that subgenre is of course yaoi/yuri.

Not saying that every LGBT doll is because of the owner's like for anime, but I would have to assume a large portion of it is.

I, for one, don't give my dolls a sexuality, back story, personality, ethnicity, etc. Just simply a name, and that's all I need.

 

I'm straight, and pretty much always have been (still remember VERY MUCH preferring boy dolls and toys and the real boys over girls when I was in kindergarden). My dolls I like to reflect reality - I have a FEW homosexual/bisexual characters and the vast majority are more or less straight. Yet, I'd consider myself pretty odd, and maybe even a little bit "artsy".

I personally think it's somewhat.... dangerous to claim that there's a relation between hobbies, interests and sexuality. Sexuality, unlike hobbies, IS NOT a reflection of a person's personality. And even if it seems as if there's a link, I really do not think it's a direct one. My boyfriend is bisexual. He is a "normal" guy in every sense of the word - loves sports, PLAYS "manly" sports like rugby or does wrestling, likes to work on cars and use power tools (and he's great at that too), likes the video games the vast majority of guys like. Except maybe the marginal interest in anime/manga there's isn't a single thing about him that makes him "weird" or "odd". Yet he likes and has dated other men. I've met quite a number of guys and girls who were VERY MUCH "normal" other than the more rare preference in genders.

I think the reality is this: (and someone has touched upon it already). It's not that there are MORE non-heterosexual individuals in the "odd" hobbies, it's that they feel a lot more free to discuss that fact (and, dare I say, even any perceived ideas that they aren't quite the norm). My boyfriend never told his sports buddies that he wasn't straight. I imagine that's the case with a lot of men/women out there - and how are you going to accurately judge the percentage of these people in any given common interest if they're very much normal on the outside and they would just never tell you?

So no, I don't think there is a common relation between hobbies (in this case, dolls) and sexuality. There may be some people that have a link, but I really don't think it's accurate to assume that EVERYONE does.

 

THIS. SO MUCH THIS.

I highly doubt there is a higher ratio of alternative lifestyles represented by doll owners than there are in any other hobby out there. The only real difference may be that the doll collecting atmosphere on a lot of forums really puts the kibosh on any sort of negativity so more people may feel comfortable expressing their preferences than in other places so it seems like there are more here than say in the knitting community or whatever.

But I really don't see how that affects MY doll ownership. Who I care to diddle plays no part in what kind of dolls I own or even why I own them in the first place.

 

(I'm pretty sure that this topic will be deleted/locked just like all other topics about similar issues... And no, I don't have a problem regarding the issue)

Well I've noticed the same thing pretty much in every hobby, so my guess is that it's simply because society in overall has pretty much became more open than what it was like some decades ago about these things. Which means that people are less afraid of being open with their identity.

 

I think one reason is there'a a lot of ABJD collectors who used to be/are anime fans, and in the anime/manga fandom, there's a generous amount of yaoi and yuri fans. I'm not say there aren't deeper reasons, but it seems like the most obvious.