He, She or It?

All my dolls are referred to as their proper gender, unless they are sort of ambiguous, in which case I usually resort to referring to them simply by name. But the majority of them are he or she, because that's who they are. Yes they are dolls and technically an it, but I severely dislike that term myself for such cases as this and my family has easily accepted what I call them. Infact my whole family refers to them as their respective genders. There are no IT's in my house or my family and there won't be.

I think that kinda explains my opinion on it too. I feel it's right to refer to my only girl as she when talking about her, my boys as he when talking about them and Toad and Zeme are just... Toad and Zeme right now.

 

Everything that has eyes and can look at me is either he or she. Trust me, you will not go crazy by calling your doll a "she". I have 700+ of hes and shes in my room and I am still pretty sane

 

I usually call mine she, it's definitely not weird. They are representations of people, of characters, so it's quite normal to call them "she" or "he" even though they are just objects in reality. Pretty much everyone I know who owns dolls or teddy bears or models will refer to them this way, especially if there is some emotional attachment, but often even if there isn't an emotional attachment. It's quite natural to personify items (even things that aren't supposed to represent people, like cars. Several of my friends have given their cars genders and names)

I also do sometimes call them 'it' depending on the situation. This is usually if I am talking about the doll as an object, or in a practical sense. Say, if I'm taking it apart or if I'm moving it or packing it into a box. In these situations I'm not always thinking of the doll as a character and it becomes an just a piece of resin that I have to deal with, so 'it' is appropriate.

 

I use he/she depending on the doll's gender. I don't really mind if anyone misgenders my doll though. "It" sounds too impersonal to me, like a lamp is an "it" but a dog isn't. In instances where I refer to them as objects, I use "the doll, my doll, their doll, this doll".

 

I generally refer to them by the gendered pronouns appropriate to their sculpts, personally (or character, in the case of the nongendered sculpt). It doesn't seem appropriate to me to refer to them as "it;" and to be fair, I refer to any of my plush toys with distinct genders by gendered pronouns as well (for instance, character plush). Occasionally, I also refer to my computer with one (the gender of the computer's namesake). Once something has a name and an identity, it becomes more awkward to refer to it in a generic term like "it."

 

I don't find the gendered pronouns weird. Our computers and related devices here are all referred to by a female pronoun. Our pets are gendered. Some of the plants even have an apparent gender.

Most of my dolls have an apparent gender, so that is how they are addressed. I got a new doll, and my husband wanted me to make sure "he" (the new doll) gets a nice wig and eyes.

It's normal; no one is going crazy.

 

Everything with a face has a gender to me. My cat is a she because I know she has lady parts. My roommate's cat is a he because he has fella parts. the majority of my dolls are hes, hims, and hises. I have a a couple of girls, and they are referred to as such.

I do that with all my figurines, too. I have a Sailor Moon figurine and she is... well, a she, not an it.

The only time I refer to my figurines or dolls as 'its' is when I'm on public transit because if I'm talking about "selling her to someone" or "taking off his head" or something, I don't want to alarm people ^^;

 

Eh, whether it's living or not, if it has a gender, it's only natural to refer to it by gender. Especially dolls, or anything that has a humanoid figure. I mean, go to any online site that sells dolls or figurines. I'll bet you that the description selling them refers to the doll/figure as a he or she.

Personally, I think the boyfriend is the weird one, freaking out because of calling a female doll "she". I call my dolls he or she all the time even to friends who don't collect, and nobody bats an eye over it, because it's perfectly normal.

 

I think calling a dog "it" is exponentially stranger than calling a female doll "she" and a male doll "he" lol.

Even though I don't have my doll yet I still refer to her as a "she".

"I can't wait until she gets here!"
"I adore her".

To me it is strange to refer to her as an "it". I don't see why it could be considered crazy. Although I have heard crazy people don't know they are crazy so I could very well be crazy and not know it haha.


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It's typical to refer to dolls with gendered pronouns.

 

You are certainly not weird/crazy for referring to your female doll as a she. There's no difference in calling your female doll "she" than referring to Cinderella as a "she" or Edward from Twilight as a "he" for that matter.

I have male dolls and one female. For my boys I use he/him/his and for my girl; I use her/hers/she. 99% of the time I think of my dolls in terms of their character within the context of my story. It would be very weird for me to call one of them "it" unless it was in response to a gender neutral question/statement and I don't know to which doll the person is referring.

 

Once in awhile I call them "it". But they have boobs and lady-looking parts so they usually end up being called "she".

 

The only reason for me to use "it" is when I'm talking about dolls in general and too lazy to type out "he/she". To my own dolls I refer as their respective gender - like mdonline03, I usually think of them as their characters.

 

All of my objects of value (except maybe my laptop) have names and genders in my mind. Especially toys. It helps me mentally deal with them better. When I'm mad at my GPS named Maggie it's much easier to vent quickly and get it over with. It's more satisfying that way.

 

What do you call your dolls?
I use he and she. 'It' is reserved for non-gendered dolls (like anthros that represent non-gendered entities, or automatons, or animals).

Are you refering to them as living persons by saying "he/she", or refering to them as unliving items through "it"?
I'm referring to their characters, that are neither living nor unliving. Next time your boyfriend talks about a fictional character and uses 'he' or 'she' to refer to them, I suggest you tell him it's 'weird' and that you're afraid he's 'going crazy'

And what is your opinion about the subject?
Pretty much my answer above - fictional characters have gender. Sometimes that gender falls within the male-female binary and 'he' or 'she' is an appropriate pronoun to use. Most people find this usage incredibly natural and normal. Your boyfriend is probably just flipping out a bit because a doll is involved and people can be pretty weird about dolls.

 

Are you refering to them as living persons by saying "he/she", or refering to them as unliving items through "it"?

Luckily I don't have that problem because in my native language nouns have assigned genders and dolls are female. And I only own girl dolls, so no problem at all.

 

I always refer to my bjd boys as he or by name. I also think it stranger to call a dog it than refer to a doll as he or she. Most people I know refer to their dolls as he or she or by name

 

LOL, your boyfriend thinks you are going crazy just because you are calling your doll she? hahaha! i tell my mom before i go to bed to say good night to my "babies" xD LOL just imagine! but here at home everyone loves mah dollies and already has a grasp more or less of what the hobby is like ...i've turned into some sort of crazy woman because of them though LOL xD...so yeah, that figures i call them he, or she, depending on their gender, or simply by their names as i would call a person, i see them as characters completely more than just dolls, even my mom now knows all of their names and calls them by them too haha! it's so much fun! xD

 

It depends on who I'm talking to. Usually I'm calling my dolls he/she, depending on their gender, but when I'm talking to people who are uncomfortable about dolls, I call my dolls (and especially my own sculpts for some reason) 'it'.