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If there was another word for BJDs, would they be easier to talk about?

Jul 6, 2011

    1. It sometimes helps to call them collectible articulated figurines. *smirk*
       
    2. I don't see the point - they are dolls, after all! And there are plenty of adult collectors and customizers of fashion dolls, play dolls, action figure dolls and so on (and plenty of cross-over between the groups of collectors - just look at the "BJDs with other dolls" thread in the games section here), so why would you want to distance yourself from those people? Certainly there are more commonalities than there are differences.
       
    3. I think they should be just called round dolls, because almost every part of them is round.
       
    4. It's NOT awkward for me to talk about them to non-doll people. :lol: I have no trouble with it.

      Everybody knows what dolls are; why not call a spade a spade? It's the easiest way to communicate your point. If you say "I collect dolls", uninterested people will say "oh really", and move on.... interested people will say "Oh really? What kind?" (After which point then you can split the genre-hairs as fine as you want, describing them as Asian or action-figures or ball-jointed or cast-resin or art-dolls or whatever.)

      It sounds like the crux of what you're worried about isn't "what to call them", but rather "what will people think of me if I tell the truth about what I like to do in my spare time". No change in vocabulary's ever gonna help you out of that one... the ability to stop giving a shit about what strangers think, that is something you figure out for yourself. A life-skill. You learn it as you become more secure with yourself.
       
    5. I do the same. I'd rather be more specific up front instead of just saying "doll" and leaving people to their own imaginations. Most of the time, people are actually very interested in what an Asian ball-jointed doll is, where it specifically comes from, and if it has any history or what-have-you. I've actually led a few people into the hobby because of it.

      Coming up with a term to use instead of "doll" won't do much good. If people don't know, people will usually ask. The answer of "doll" typically comes up because that it the closest true answer to give the question. That's why I find it better to lead with "Asian ball-jointed." It takes away the idea of Barbie or Tonner or whatever.
       
    6. I told an old friend that I collect asian ball joint dolls, and showed her one. She thought it odd that I collect them and gave me the strangest look. I didn't expect this because she's an artistic type and art is her career. I felt stupid showing her one of my dolls. I should have given the dolls a different name, like articulated resin figures or similar. I told her they were hand made and blah blah blah. To her, they were just dolls. She couldn't see anything beyond the label.
       
    7. From now on I'll refer to my dolls as "Bifurcated Power-Trophies". Because I am an Executive Collector, not a Weirdo Collector.
       
    8. I usually call them art dolls and define their size also, almost right away, when I talk to people who are not in the hobby. Saying 'art dolls' immediately lifts them away from being confused with a bunch of cheap babydolls or something that has a much more negative connotation.
       
    9. Well, um, I for one am 13 and collect dolls, so at this point it's not "cool" or even understandable for me to be collecting them. At this point, people view me as some sort of overgrown child and see my dolls as barbies or bratz or whatever, because they don't understand... I myself have SEG, so people usually are like, "Oh, she's just a kid, she's not serious about the hobby." There's a difference between older women and teenagers collecting dolls and children (well, I am a teenager, but...) doing the same, or at least people perceive it that way, even other doll owners. So when I mention BJDs around non dolly people, I don't say "dolls" I say "BJDS", and when say, I want to go to the doll store, and am mentioning it in passing to my mom in interest of getting her to consider it, and there are non dolly-people around, I'll refer to it as "Kerbey Lane" not "The Kerbey Lane Doll Shop". I know I shouldn't be ashamed of my hobby, but I'm teased about enough things already, dolls don't need to be one of them.
       
    10. handmade and painted sculptures?
       
    11. It might make things less awkward. Sometimes when I take my dolls to school people ask what is in my cases. I tend to try to avoid the word 'doll' because last time I tried to explain the guy was just like "so its like a Barbie then?" It was a little upset when my babies were called a Barbie. :(
      And it's always at times in the hall where I can't really show them that they're different from a Barbie. It's just a little disappointing when your precious BJDs are called something so derpy. :I
      But maybe that's just me.
       
    12. Either way, they're dolls. Even if you call them figures or the like, people tend to think "oh, they just don't want to say they collect dolls" anyway.
      But I do think specifying what kind of dolls they are helps. If one says "art dolls" or "Asian ball-joint dolls" there's a distinction between these dolls and barbies. Even if they don't know what an ABJD is, most people would assume there's a difference between a barbie and an ABJD or art doll, or you wouldn't have specified it. Plus, maybe it's just me, but an ~art doll~ sounds more grown up than just a doll. I wouldn't imagine an art doll being something you give to a kid, nor an Asian ball-jointed doll. They both sound like something fancy and cool instead of just toys xD
       
    13. Not really, they are dolls and that's fine by me. I find the term "art dolls" a bit pretentious to be honest, I usually say I make cloth dolls unless I'm on DOA and trying to differentiate between the dolls I make and my collection of BJDs. I have always loved dolls and don't really worry that there are some dolls intended for children and some for adult collectors. Any problem will be in the other persons perception of my hobby, not with me. Call them anything you like and those not in the hobby will just sneer and go "Get over yourself, it's just a doll". You can't control what other people think of you no matter what you do so I just don't worry about it. ;)
       
    14. I always just say "ball jointed dolls" because that's what they are, and I'm not embarassed about it. I think the "doll" bit is actually important, because otherwise people wouldn't know what the hell you're talking about unless they already know about the hobby. However, I wish we had a more pronouncable acronym, saying "ball jointed dolls" every time feels artificially long, just saying "dolls" does feel a bit childish and isn't always distinctive enough, and actually saying "B-J-D" sounds silly to me. So in that respect, yeah they'd be easier to talk about if they had a shorter name or something :lol:

      Seconding "art dolls" as an adult way to describing them without going into too much detail. But lets face it, it's not like we could talk about them for any length of time to anyone who's interested in our hobbies without revealing "yeah, they're dolls. They're dolls and I like to dress 'em up and cuddle them whilst I watch tv. But it's cool, because I'm an adult now and can do stuff like that. Want some chocolate cake for breakfast?"
       
    15. I think you've hit the nail on the head with that one.

      I've always believed in calling a spade a spade. They are dolls, there's no real sense in deliberately trying to conjure up an alternative term. If people are interested, they'll ask what kind, if they're not they won't, but no one should worry too much about what other people will think of an adult collecting dolls. Usually I will clarify with 'I collect Japanese dolls', because the majority of my collection are Volks dolls, so there's at least that distinction between 'I collect all kinds of dolls' and 'I collect specific types of doll', but they're still dolls after all.

      I've only ever had one instance of confusion from calling my dolls 'Japanese dolls' and that was from a friend who doesn't have a very broad view of the world and shyly asked if I meant 'those Japanese sex dolls' :lol: We had a giggle when I explained that they're actually customisable artisan dolls and very different from sex dolls. She is interested in fashion, so she was fascinated by miniature clothing and shoes available for BJDs and doesn't find the idea odd anymore.

      When I first met my boyfriend I was up front about my 'Japanese doll' collection and we had a long conversation about dolls because his grandmother also collects them (although her dolls of choice are porcelain rather than polyurethane :)). I find that men are more interested in dolls when you explain their construction and articulation - my brother and my boyfriend were a lot more interested in my dolls when they figured out that there was 'real' engineering work involved in making them articulated and balanced. So the men in my life admire them as feats of engineering, but I still broached the topic by calling my dolls 'dolls'.

      I don't always understand this wholesale rejection of the word 'Barbie' either. It doesn't have to be an insult and most often it's people trying to engage with you about dolls by talking about the only doll they know anything about. All it takes is a little explanation of the differences between BJDs and Barbies, sometimes the 'tell' is all that's needed, you don't always need to show the differences between a Barbie and a BJD because the majority of Barbies have limited joints and BJDs are covered in them :)

      Barbies are as precious to their collectors as BJDs are to us, there's crossover collectors on the forum too who collect lots of different dolls, and their Barbies are no less precious to them than their BJDs.
       
    16. I call them dolls, and have no problem doing so. I'm also quite up-front with people about them.

      I do have one coworker (male, ex-Army, in his late 40's) who collects resin comic book character statues, and so we talk about his statues and my dolls quite often. Amusingly, he seems uncomfortable with the "doll" aspect of my collection, and refers to them as "figures" instead. It makes me chuckle.
       
    17. This sentiment made me name one of my dolls Barbie. When people ask "So, it's a Barbie?" I can say "No, but her name is Barbie. :) "
      It's safe to say that I have no issues with the Matel Barbie, a doll with, compared to ABJD, a relatively long history.
       

    18. *mighty snork*
      :mwahaha :mwahaha
      EXECUTIVE Collector! With a capital C! Oh yes. I am stealing that. Bifurcated Power Trophies FTW.
       
    19. My opinion is that we should have have one short, specific sentence that sums up the hobby in one go! That way when people ask, I don't have to vomit out a long, defensive explanation to keep their eyebrows down, because I'll have one simple, easily-understood sentence that halts the flow of questions and criticisms from BJD NON-BELIEVERS!! (like my family) Hehe :lol:
       
    20. Aye, indeedy ... not to mention that people have been customizing (repainting, rerooting) Barbies (and Genes, and Tonners, and etc.) for years. I feel sad when people feel they have to justify what they value by belittling something that other people value. The need to be a cut above is really just sort of depressing.