Horns, antlers (aka male symbols) on woman dolls

Female caribou and reindeer have antlers, and female buffalo have horns, and tusks (which are similar to horns) are also present in the female of almost all tusked species. Also female giraffes and rhinoceros both have horn-like growths (though they're not technically horns). There are also two goddesses in Egyptian mythology with horns, Hathor and Bat (though she's arguably an earlier incarnation of Hathor).

So I don't see any problem with female characters having horns, or it requiring any explanation beyond what you would expect for why a male character has horns. Whether that is because they're some sort of anthropomorphic character, or because they're another fantasy character such as a fawn, demon, troll, nymph, etc, etc.

Pretty much, dolls are their owner's creations so they're free to do what they want with them. lol.

 

i admit, i had a hard time making a satyr style doll with a female upper body. satyrs are male in the D&D-verse (where i build OCs in usually) and secude female humans to breed more male satyrs. ended up making her a forest spirit instead, since i fell for her sculpt and still wanted to get her.
i also did not give her antlers or horns. basing her colouring on the white-tail deer around here, and knowing that unless it's a rare occurance, white-tail females don't have antlers... couldnt do it.

it's not wanting to avoid giving her male power symbols or yadayada, it's that i wanted to keep my fantasy character grounded in the 'verse and to the species i was developing her in.

the only reason the deer-antlers on female dolls even bothers me is that often they are typical white-tail (bambi) style stag horns (arch to the side and up) if they were the arched back, reindeer/caribou style at least the brainmeats could process it better.
i need to stop being a geek... lol.

 

Some female animals have antlers/horns... there are even females of species, such as the white tailed deer I get to see in around here at times, that have antlers/horns for one reason or another even though only males of that species are supposed to have them.

Just another thought I have not seen (though, I have to admit I did not look ver hard) some people may not know anything about the correlation between an animal having antlers/horns and probably being male or any current or past symbolism of antlers/horns. In this case, I think some people might really just think "that looks cool!" and not even subconsciously be thinking about sex, status, or symbolism.

(sidethought)...there are still children's cartoons/movies in which cattle with milk producing udders are depicted as male. o_O

 

I'm not quite sure what the D&D-verse entails (or what it actually is! ^^; ) so sorry if this is redundant, but I believe that has its roots in mythology: satyrs were related to the Greek god Priapus, who was in charge of male sexuality and, I think, orchards. He was depicted as having hooves, horns, and just to make the picture complete, a truly enormous wang which is where the name of the condition priapism comes from. In Ancient Grecian times, having a large penis was considered vulgar and a sign of bestiality, which added to Priapus' anthropomorphism. Satyrs were like miniature versions of him, and helped out Bacchus, the god of wine, and as they symbolized male sexuality they were all male.

See, it's random facts like this that clog my brain up so I can't remember important ones like where I left my keys!

 

Dungeons and dragons, a tabletop role-playing game. loosely based in medival area, with alot of the same creatures but with diffrent deities and whatnots. the saytr orgins are pretty much identicle thou.

 

NEED a hyena doll now. /OT

...Now that I think about it some more, I don't have a horned female doll (my Cuprit doesn't wear hers, because she is a troll/neck species that represents a brook horse, if anyone knows what it is). And, like, five male dolls WITH horns. Gaaaaah.

I still think that horned female dolls are cool. One or two are planned for my collection, too.

 

This is the most informative thread I have ever read on this site... that I can remember. Rosslyn had a great point, using Judeo-Christian examples. And saraquill, well... penis envy is also a term commonly used in cars, no? I have never, ever seen a phallus shaped like a Ferrari, though I'm afraid to Google it. Besides, resin horns are gorgeous, with shading and color that just ooze strength, and penises are... subjectively attractive, I suppose. In the dark.

 

... XD This whole thread is full of gems.

I'm with the majority here. Horns occur on females in nature and have plenty of association with female entities in mythology and folklore. I love them on all dolls in general; I've currently got quite a few with horns and most of them are female.

 

...Also in children's cartoons there seem to be a lot of male kangaroo characters with pouches. wtf.

Anyway, I agree with the above that horns only seem odd for me when a child doll has full sized horns. Though, once again, people are free to do what they want with out regards to realism.

 

I really don't think that it matter to me if the doll is a boy or a girl. If the horns or in my Clare's case talent look's good on them it all good. After all they are fantasy dolls, and that is what I love the most about them. Have you seen Eleen Lied the female, and the males have small horns. It's all a matter of like, and just like so many thing everyone has their own likes. That is why there are so many dolls out here.

 

If you were to seriously form your ideas about gender by what children's cartoons look like, your concept of Male & Female would be completely warped-- for example, in toonworld, eyelashes are purely a female secondary sex characteristic, & no male ever has them-- and lipstick grows naturally on the mouth of the female. Any female, of any species, is born with lipstick.

As for child dolls with horns, hey, maybe it's a 1000-year-old critter who's earned the badassest & most-phallic horns in the whole herd but just happens to be child-sized. ^^ With dolls as with cartoons, it's best not to pick at artistic licenses too deeply.

 

I think this may be an interesting point to cover. Does the word horn (and/or antlers etc.) have a gender connotation in Czech? I admit ignorance to most languages, and being a native english speaker assigning a gender to words has always been a little difficult for me. But perhaps the word being masculine (if it is) in Czech has influenced your thinking about it whether you know it or not.

Well, something to think about. haha
Also, I'm sure Freud would say something about how a hobby compromised of MOSTLY (not completely) women manages to bring the penis up so much haha. ;D

 

Don't worry, we've also got topics on doll vaginas, doll breasts, and male dolls with breasts, so I'm sure that makes up for it. ...Also a topic about dolls with pubic hair. I'd like to hear what Freud had to say about that. :P lol.

 

Let's face it, modern life is still ruled by penises - it's hard to not (cough) bring them up, especially when talking about anything to do with power. It's women who tend to notice how often penises are involved in anything to do with power, and when they say so out loud, they get accused of penis-envy again. ^^ Vicious cycle doncha know.

And I'm pretty sure Freud would have LOVED the Spiritdoll guys with their Bag O' Wangs.

 

That's true; I guess when one talking point of these dolls is how they're anatomically correct, there's bound to be a topic or more on it.

I also suppose that if these dolls were not like this, we'd have more than a few topics featuring the reasons why they aren't and if they should.

 

Haha we're an equal genitalia opportunities hobby!

Genitalia discussion for all!

 

I've never really thought of horns as gender related symbols but rather a representation of personality traits; each horn shape symbolizing a different one.

For example I think of caribou or deer antlers as a spiritual connection to nature while ram horns seem to show a head strong and stubborn character.

 

I am not going to go over the same ground everyone else already has with the various horned deities/animals/etc, as I don't really have any further examples, though I'm sure with my Search Fu I could find some. I just find this thread highly informative, interesting, and entertaining. XD

I do have some characters with horns, notably at the moment I have demons where even the females have horns, though not as large and visually elaborate as the males, theirs are more elegant and frequently decorated more than the males. Also I have a shape shifter who's form is that of a sheep, and while he does not have horns yet, being quite young, he will eventually develop them though I plan to keep them rather small and feminine as he has a timid and shy personality and having large "Hi How Ya Doin'?" type horns would looks strange on his character.

Around here its not really CARS, so much as TRUCKS that get taunted about 'penis envy'. Lots of pickup trucks with ridiculous lift kits, HUGE tires that wouldn't fit in the wheel wells and some with actual BALLS hanging from the back. Hilarious. But this is a farming community so.... Eh. And is it just me or are penises (Peni?) kind of.... Funny looking. I can't help it, I giggle when I see one in real life. I just find the shape kind of amusing.

We also have about a dozen topics on doll gender and sexuality, because people cannot stop beating the poor dead horse, but we seem to (as a community) be very interested in these sorts of topics.

Genitalia for all! *joins the cheer*

 

female demons often do have horns. but again, that comes back to symbols of power and whatnot. the stronger the demon, the larger/ more elabourate the horns. it's noticable with warrior demons and succubi who often have ornate and massive horns, VS lesser demons, that might jsut have nubbies. (at least in the artworks i've seen before)

whether or not peni are funny, well, i'll save that for a diffrent forum.