Girls view on guys who own BJDs

I'm from the anime and lolita fandoms, so men enjoying dolls is not a shocker for me and I am quite welcoming to such things. I'm used to seeing men coo over the cutest little anime characters (<-- my boyfriend is like this) or even Hello Kitty right along side me instead of off drooling over the big-boobed characters (<-- my boyfriend says "ew" to these 'tasteless' characters).

I've seen men dress up in lolita styled clothing and/or go just to enjoy the cute and fun atmosphere. Why do people insist on trying to make these things gender-specific? A person enjoys what they enjoy, that has nothing to do with what body parts they have. A mind and a body are two very separate things.

But this seems to swing in reverse, too. I used to be a heavy gamer, you know, like the type with three computer monitors 5-boxing on World of Warcraft. Girls in the gaming world are pretty often looked down upon and are normally told by men in the hobby that there must be something mentally wrong with them for a girl to enjoy the same games a boy does. But there are those other men who find it to be the most awesome thing ever and wish they knew more girls that played so they'd have more in common.

My personal view on guys with dolls is that it's perfectly acceptable and to be quite honest, I look forward to it. It's great to get a guy's point of view on the hobby. In the other past 'female' hobbies I was a part of, it was the meetings with the men that stuck out to me the most. I often learned a lot of new things from these men and got to experience a whole new depth of the hobby by hearing their opinions.

There is this one man I especially remember at an anime convention. He was carrying armfuls of cute little stuffed anime dolls, mostly animal ones like the cats from Sailor Moon, Kero from Card Captor Sakura, Maromi from Paranoia Agent, etc. I always figured surely only women bought these types of plushies, and my friends I pointed him out to were all saying, "Pfft, surely he's gay, it's the same thing as a girl buying them.", but looking at him I was sure he wasn't gay. And I was proven right when he walked up to his soon-to-be wife and kissed her and started talking about the new little discoveries he'd made and showed her his newly bought plushies.

After sitting and watching all this, I was intrigued and went up to talk to him. We were good friends for the next couple days of the convention. I got to learn a lot from him and his soon-to-be wife. All in all, he was a very normal guy who just really liked cute things as much as I do. In fact, we both had the same favorite characters, male and female lol.

 

I always say this: A doll (any doll) Is nothing more than a representation of a human. Why can't both males and females project their feelings and nurturing instincts on a doll? I have an 8 month old boy, and for Christmas I plan on buying him a Bitty baby doll to play with because he loves all my other dolls so much. Am I promoting "gay behaviors" by doing so? Of course not. He is a baby and wants another thing to play with that looks like a baby, nothing more.

Same with dolls. We just want a figure that looks like us, or our dreams and hopes, fantasies or aspirations. They inspire imagination and its not fair to only say that they are for girls. My husband finds they very very interesting and loves to talk about them with me to the point where I actually asked him if he would consider buying one for himself! (I never thought he would)

He told me that maybe one day he would buy a boy Volks doll make him look like the character from Trigun! Haha, it made me smile that he likes them so much now.

To conclude: I went to the Volks showroom in LA on Saturday and there were plenty of guys there that were picking out clothes and dolls for themselves! Almost as many as the girls, in fact I was surprised by that. Some that did not come attached to a wife/girlfriend either. They were of all ages and sizes and shapes and I am thrilled to see it!

 

Honestly, I don't think about this topic very often. I cosplay. Some guys do too. I am a Renny. Some guys are too. I'm into ABJDs. Some guys are too. Yes, the "somes" in this post really should read "lots." But I really don't give much thought to guys in any of my hobbies. I like meeting people who have the same interests as me, but I've never thought, "Wow, it's weird to see a guy doing this."

I guess I view men who own BJDs the same way I view women who own BJDs. 8D

 

So who said that dolls are only for girls, anyway! :P
I think guys playing with dolls are hot ^^

Seriously, there is nothing wrong for guys to play dolls, same as girls playing guys stuffs like video games. Enough of stereotyping and norms, its about being yourself and doing the thing you love..!

I wish my next boyfriend would like to have one though...

 

The only thing that bothers me about guys collecting dolls is the parents (mostly fathers) of said guys that go "No way my son is playing with dolls, dolls are for girls and gays and if I ever catch you with one I'll throw it in the trash and kick you out!" Seriously, there's a boy on the Dutch forum who has a father like that, I still feel like sending all the men on our forum to his house just to prove daddy dearest wrong>.<

 

Reading through these replies, two things come to mind:

1.) Even as a female, people find the fact that I own dolls at my age odd, so even if it is more socially acceptable than men owning them, it is still considered odd and creepy by a lot of people.

2.) I've seen a lot of comments about men objectifying them, or it being a sexual thing, but how many of us girls comment on how sexy a male sculpt is, or own all boy dolls, or dress those male dolls up in, um, interesting outfits. And we won't even go into the whole yaoi among dolls thing.

So, in short, I don't think that men who ow dolls should have to feel ashamed, or be treated as weird or creepy. I think it is just preconceived societal concepts that cause the initial reaction even in other doll owners. But hey, as a community we have seen much stranger things, so I say welcome to all!

 

my first thought is always : are they gay? (not that there would be any problem with it... but in my head dolls= girly. boys = do not like girly stuff xD)
wich is really a stupid stereotype because most of the guys i saw shared this hobby with their girlfriends/wife.

but i think it's really cool I would so love it if my Boyfriend liked dolls as well! ^_^
my second thoughts is then: LET'S BE FRIENDS!!!! >8D (because i prefer yo hang out with guys and i like to have a common interest with my friends ^^ )

 

I honestly thing that's it's perfectly fine. >>;;

My dad said the other day, "Hey don't make me hold this doll, people will look at me weird." And I said back "HEY GUYS CAN HAVE DOLLS TOO, YOU KNOW." I think why can't people just do what they like? I don't see why people, male and female, can't like dolls. D8

The ones that just get those rather perverted figures though, I might have slightly different thoughts, but then again, I have a huge collection of anime figures and I'm a girl, so I wouldn't say anything about that either. Like....point is, people can like what they like. ^^

 

Honestly, I would love to meet a guy into BJDs whether they own some or not. I mean, if it's acceptable for girls to play with trucks why can't a guy be into dolls? That's my take on it anyways. I think it would be really awesome, just like finding a guy who's into cosplay or any hobby I happen to be into for that matter. I don't really think it's weird at all.

 

oh why not ^-^
i know two guys. one has bjds and the other boy wants to have one XD
i think its's okay and why not. i also played with toycars when i was a child, instead of dolls. and i think bjds are more than just a doll...

 

I would say that it's not just a western culture thing that guys might feel embarrassed. If you go into a Volks store in Japan and buy a BJD, you will be given the fancy white bag with "Super Dollfie" written across it. If you buy a Dolfie Dream, you will be given a plain brown paper bag. Dolfie Dreams are specifically aimed at a male audience, and they seem to want to offer a discreet way to get them.

I've seen a webpage that lists Tenshi-no-Sumika (Volks stores) and lists which are easier for men to go into (less embarrassing). People in Japan don't advertize their hobby/fan activities much, and guys in the hobby there I think keep it even more under wraps.

When you're in an event, though, you see all kinds of guys dressed in all kinds of ways, and while lots of them have DDs, there are plenty with BJDs - often in the froofiest dresses you've ever seen! And why not? I see a guy wandering around an event with a YoSD tucked into his shirt pocket, my first reaction is awwwwwww, not ew.

 

I think this is completely normal!!
I don't understand those who prototype dolls are for girls... what's wrong with guys having dolls anyway?
I do know a lot of guys in this hobby, even a married man who is an expert in BJDs! (him and his wife loves BJDs!) It's just cool to share this hobby! and gender shouldn't be a barrier

 

I wouldn't think too much of it. Actually I'm really impressed with those into the doll hobby who also make clothes for their dolls. This guy is freakin' talented. ><

 

We have a pretty even balance of men & women in our local group of BJD friends... And for some gatherings, we actually have a male majority. It's amazing how few people believe you when you tell them that! ^^ Some of the fashion-doll clubs around here were founded by men, and have been around for 30-odd years.

But here in the San Francisco area, men do tend to be accustomed to doing whatever "marketed-strictly-for-female-demographics" activities they want to, in general, as compared with other more culturally-rigid cities. The halls of power are virtually crammed with middle-aged men who're now getting even with every single insitution that was responsible for denying them that Barbie when they were 7. It's pretty cool.

Re the Hentai Dudes, I think there's room for everyone. And I certainly can't throw stones when it comes to "hey, you're exploiting that gender's body!" Wouldn't dream of it! Any man who's OK with my Bag Of Many Tiny Bondage Implements and my portfolio of Faux-Mapplethorpe Wannabe nudes-- he can bring his Expansion Fetish Dollfie Dreams over to have tea with my all-boy harem any day.

 

I think BJD's fall more into hobby and crafting than anything else and there is nothing wrong with a guy who likes to design and use the dolls as a canvas for what I like to think is art. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's normal, but it's not something that should be shunnned. It's not bad, it's just that it falls outside the normalcy of a guy. Your just extra ordinary!
My husband thinks it's "werid" and "odd" that I AM so into dolls. I know he mostly jokes, but I don't think I could ever get him to dress a doll. HOwever he was talking about how he wanted to get this big breasted life size mannequin to have in the living room as a joke? I was like???? ok LOL Maybe I can get him to own a Dolfie Dream. hahahah! XD

I think guys with dolls are great, and especially great for little boys to see that you can play with dolls too and be perfectly normal. My brother liked playing with my dolls when we were little and my parents and would tell him dolls are for girls.
I don't think toys should have to be gender specific.

I personally know a few women my age think it's werid I "Play" with dolls, and I'm not even 30yet. xD
I mean I can't even sit down with them and talk about it cuz it's just too werid.
So when they call and say "hey what ya doing" I say. "oh nothing" as I comb through my dolls hair.
It's not that I feel bad that I play with dolls, but I've learned you can't just go around saying "Oh today I just made some doll clothes and tried a new hairstyle on my favorite doll" to just anyone. I can see how that can be even harder on a guy. If I were a guy I would feel like I couldn't share my hobby with many people outside the hobby community. The thing is
You can feel shunned being a guy or a girl, just depends on who your talking to.
Some people don't think it's appropriate being so into dolls and being a new mother, they are like "don't you have more important things to do?"
WEll what about my free time dangit!.

Anyhow sorry for rambling, but
my point
guys with dolls are cool to me.

 

I think it's fantastic. I have met all sorts of men, young, older, gay, straight, who own BJDs and I think they are all marvelous. And I love them. I don't think there is anything wrong, strange or odd about owning a piece of art like that.

 

I think it's awesome. I wish I could meet more of them.
Ones that like dollfies and videogames = lots of awesome hangout time. lol
I have a real respect for ones brave enough to go to public meets with their girls or boys. Because most people that are outside of this hobby still believe it's wrong for boys to have dolls and the male doll owners probably get looked at so strangely in public, it's horrible. x_X

 

Personally, I think it's great if a guy owns BJDs, and I seriously think that there should be more in the world xD I mean, they break tradition! Not to mention that they're not afraid to be different, especially since belief is that dolls = girls. So yeah, I'd have no problem with it. Gender's nothing that should stop someone from enjoying something that makes them happy, right?

 

I find there to be absolutely no issue for a male to own a doll. But then, I don't really see many males with dolls (or females in my area). I don't see any problems. Though, if I saw someone like my grandpa with a doll... I would be rather worried. He just doesn't look like that doll type.

 

personally, maybe because i have yet to meet a guy who like bjds.
i would love to meet one someday, or at least a guy who is understanding of my love for bjds. but for some reason older guys will make me hesitate to think for a moment. cause it makes me curious as to why. but then again i would rather get to know a guy with a doll first. like ask "why he got into bjds? and stuff along those lines."