Dolly androgyny -why do we like it?

It's interesting to see how everyone has such different reasons!

 

This is a really interesting topic.

I know the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about this, was Michelangelo's statue of David. Although Donatello's David (the bronze Renaissance piece) is a much better example of what I'm thinking, which is to agree with the idea that the appreciation for the androgynous aesthetic is deep rooted. (Forgive me for my art history nerdy-ness here, I blame school.) Looking back at pictures of that particular sculpture reminds me a lot of many of the male bjds I see. The body and face is more feminine and is a classic example of idealism when it comes to the human figure, at least for the time. ^^ So I think it's not really a new thing for people to be attracted to androgyny.

 

I've got two dolls that are androgynous in that they can pull off both masculine and feminine looks. When they dress like guys, they look like guys. When they dress like girls, they look like girls. This is what I feel is 'androgynous', not a guy constantly in femmy clothes, nor a tomboy constantly dressed and styled like a tomboy. For me, the androgyny is in the switchability. If, with a simple change of wigs and/or clothes, a doll can appear to jump genders, that is when I consider it androgynous.

Personally, I like it because, in real life, I appear pretty androgynous myself. It was the image I sought and cultivated after realising that I would never be one of those skinny pretty girls I see every day (nor a BBW), and that I had no real interest in becoming a guy (though I did try for a couple of years).

As for why doll companies like making androgynous looking dolls... well, they're mostly East Asian. And younger East Asian guys tend to look effeminate compared to, say, Caucasian guys of the same age group, so, when doll companies make their young men dolls, they look around them and take inspiration from the faces they are surrounded with. (For reference, google any korean/taiwanese/japanese boyband. Or take a look at my profile pic and remember that that has been mistaken for male.) Also consider, the original SDs were meant to be children between 10 and 13, and children do tend to have less gender-definitive faces.

 

I like androgyny generally in art, so it's no surprise that I enjoy it in my dolls also.

 

I like it for the same reasons that I like my humans androgynous. I like my women boyish and my men feminine. Even for myself, I like bluring the line between what looks like a woman and a man. I don't see any reason to make it any different for my dolls. I can see the idea of some people putting their fantasies onto a doll, but try to act out what I want in my life as well as other avenues.

 

I like how the Puki's are genderless, it just somehow makes them cuter. And I think that a lot of people who own genderless dolls may still give their dolls a gender - which is another good thing; you don't have to decide the gender of your doll based on what's below the belt. If you want a boy doll, it's a boy - no extra parts needed, really.

 

Androgyny for me is a plus, but I find that the boy dolls are the only ones that actually do have that about them, which is a shame. Being an androgynous individual, I kind of relate more with an androgynous appearing doll, regardless of gender, etc. I also think it adds a bit to the 'exotic' look of the doll.

 

Androgynous dolls are attractive because of their versatility and beauty. Many people find an androgynous male doll more attractive than a very masculine male doll. It's also interesting just because it can correspond with the character of the doll.

 

I lust after androgynous men in real life so it's just a natural fit for me. I like 'em thin, pale, with beautiful cheekbones, finely shaped eyes, and full lips.

 

If you look at anthropology and go way back, most all civilizations have had an affinity for the image of a strong muscled male, a provider. But in the background of those front men was the desire for eternal youth and beauty. Beauty is particularly strong in cultural lore. Today's concept of beauty lies in youth itself, pushing forward the young as a symbol of attraction. Examples are, if ridiculous, Justin Beiber, Lindsey Lohan, Jonas Brothers, all of them made into icons and obsessed over, let's face it sexually, by fans.

Thus the combination of the youthful face, beauty, and a strong body, provider, gives a perfect combination of the desired attributes in ourselves and others.

 

I like androgyny, simple as that. My dolls are adolescents, between kid and adult because for me that is the age where the possibilities seem limitless. I don't like to be pinned down and be restricted by having to choose.

 

I like androgyny and gender-bending. I do agree that gender-bending and such are more popular than is widely believed. Perhaps simply because it's seen as somewhat taboo (at least in some circles), and therefore embarrassing to like?

 

I like the arts of both because I'm into some anime, but I also look at the perspective of realism on the human body. My motif is and has always been people, so when I draw, I go for manga, cartoonic, and even realistic! I'm versatile, but prefer the men dolls since I'm a bigger fan of male celebs and such (which inspire me!).

I also like the feminity in most males as long as it's more unisex because it shows a softer side to the male dolls, in which would be neat to think of as the real world, only it's one's own!

 

I wish I could locate the relevant articles, and there are many many volumes out there on the general psycology of gender, but having recently undertaken graduate studies in educational psycology, statistics show that as a general rule androgynous males and females tend to be more popular than those who display more overly masculine or feminine traits. The reason being, these individuals are generally less threatening to our own masculinity or femininity and seem to transcent the barriers of their individual sexuality whilst at the same time remaining inextricably male or female.
To some degree, these androgynous individuals seem to transcend the human. So too I think this is with many dolls, that in this day and age what we seek is what we desire in ourselves, and many times this is to transcend the limitations our own humanity. In this, I am not saying that we merely desire to be more than human but more that we seek to break the barriers and limitations of our own individual human existence.

 

Well if you want to go with a biological and psychological perspective:
Youth, beauty, healthy bodies (muscular/fit) are the natural biological signs of a suitable mate.
Although I'm sure almost all of us don't think this way, looking at our dolls as lovers, it is a natural physical biological identification system that was used for identifying the best mate for survival dating back to our monkey ancestors. These dolls hit all the rights spots in our natural cues. Although realistically, beauty can found in anything if given to positive conditioning, including overrding natural cues. That is why some people do find beauty in these dolls and some don't. It depends if you were some how conditioned to admire these cues in a certain format or not.

 

I think choosing an androgynic doll is about the possibility to choose the beautiful things out of both genders.

 

I've never thought of bjds being "androgynous". I think most of the boys look exactly like girls, lacking the 'girly parts'.
I did a quick search on Wiki and it says androgyny "refers to the mixing of masculine and feminine". Is sticking a girls head on a little boy's body really mixing?

 

@ Emmalise: That is , I think, a very personal thing. I think you can call it mixing if you want to but a lot of boys I know in real life seems to have a girly head on a boy body but I wouldn't call them androgynous but maybe somebody else would.

 

Yeah, not everybody thinks that boy doll heads look "exactly like girls" to them. That is definitely a subjective thing. Emmalise could also be talking only about chibi sculpts, like MSDs & YoSDs & what-have-you; baby faces are totally androgynous anyway. One could stick a girl Yo-head on a boy Yo-body and it wouldn't make a bit of difference..

The reason I personally dig androgynous dolls is because I dig androgynous people. Just last week I dressed my strapping SD17 Genji in a shiny outfit just like the one Carrie-Anne Moss wears in The Matrix, and I think he came out looking every bit as butch as she did. Which is excellent.

 

Since gender is a cultural construct (senior college student in anthropology) I don't have much of an opinion on gender androgyny...e.g. males acting more effeminate or whatever. I do not like sexual androgyny. I don't want a doll of a little boy or girl...I want a doll of a woman or a man. The dolls on my wish list are decidedly male and female.