Making Boy Dolls....Boys! [~Small Edit~]

I get told my boy is "such a pretty girl" aaall the time. Even my parents, who I've told a million times he's a boy, call him a girl. Sure he has long hair and a soft face, but he wears boy clothes, and lacks a certain feminine assest...

I did strip him down to prove he was a boy to a couple of my friends once though... Other than that I just thank people for their compliments on my "girl".

As for making him 'more manly', I don't really bother, just the occassional shirtless look.

 

I just have to put in my voice here...
Some saying things like "people that are not in the hobby thinks..."
Well I have been in this hobby for about 5 years now, having own dolls since about 3 years.
And I have some problem telling gender from time to time. Or quite often, if not the gender or name is written out. I suck at telling genders, since lets face it, most doll molds are made for work as both male and female.

 

I have two Obitsu 54 cm male dolls. One of them in particular looked a bit feminine to other doll collectors. I "butched" him up a bit by altering his face paint, giving him a more masculine wig, and I purchased the "macho" chest to make it more clear that he is a boy. It really made him look more like a male doll. Sometimes it's hard for people to understand that the male dolls are actually male. But I like both of my boys no matter how others view them. But I'm all for a little bit of androgyny.

 

I once saw a YouTube video of someone's BJD pictures. I then commented to them that I thought their doll was really pretty (and referred to it as a 'she'). They then politely corrected me, and told me it was in fact a 'he'. Now I don't comment unless I know the gender, so I don't embarrass myself. But this was when I was brand spankin' new to the hobby; like, I'd never seen someone else's doll before, and had no clue about this commonality.

 

A lot of people already told to me that all of my boys look like girls. But it's not a real problem for me, I love girly boys so when they say my dolls look like girls, I just laugh XD
The thing I can't bear is when people ask me to pull off my doll's pants because they don't trust me >'< I know it's a bit stupid but I categorically refuse to do that.

 

In all fairness, most BJD boy sculpts could be female if you chose to make them. I have a modded Yuu sculpt from Dollzone, and my mother says he looks like a girl (except for down below), which could be true depending on how I dress him. Especially since many people in the BJD community seem to find it fun to cross-dress their dolls (either for a character, for giggles, or just because it's Tuesday), I try to be careful about assuming the gender of any doll without getting backstory first. So I'm with the people who wait for some kind of signal from the owner before assigning gender to a doll, similar to how I act around ambiguous-looking young children. I certainly don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I've found that an innocuous question--Tell me a little about your doll, for example--is a great way to find out how the owner perceives the doll.

 

Both my Masaru and Alexander look feminine, especially my Masaru with his long lashes, pink glossy lips and makeup, though inspired by that of Visual Kei bands.
Both, more so of Masa, have been mistaken as female and I can only laugh when I tell people that they are indeed male, and watch the reactions on each person's face. I happen to admire guys who are very pretty [insert names of various Jrock bands] xD so it doesn't bother me when people mistake the gender of my dolls, I know they are male, that's all that matters ;p

Edit*: I did both their faceups, so what they look like is intentional

 

I want my Owen to be a boy so i try to make him look like a boy. I even tried trimming the wig but i think the hair is what makes people think he's a girl... i tried! Wigs for boys are impossible to find!
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Mah chips by Dolly_pop, on Flickr[/IMG]

He mainly looks more 'manly' with his hood on.

But i will say that the most boy doll i have seen is this...
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arrgh by Kittytoes, on Flickr[/IMG]
I don't know how or where they got the wig, but i want a brown one >_<

 

This.
I dunno how it is in other countries or states, but in the two I have lived in, boys typically have short hair, and don't wear makeup. Average guys do not wear lolita or clubwear out into the daylight. They do not wear hotpants and they don't wear lipstick, by and large.

If your doll has feathery soft eyebrows, long silky locks and is wearing smokey eyes makeup even if it looks "natural" to you... He's gonna get called a girl.
Androgyny may be whatever it is, Gender Identity may be whatever it is, but in the real world I know of, most people are either male or female and the human brain takes an involuntary half second to decide which.
However you care to Orient your doll, MOST people are gonna think, Makeup, Long Hair, Pretty face = Girl. If you desperately want your guy to be instantly recognized as Masculine, then you're going to have to make him more Masculine. Otherwise, just get used to laughing when people say, "What a lovely girl!"

 

I honestly don't really mind when people think my DOD Code is a girl. A lot of my friends think he looks pretty feminine, but I've been keeping his shirt open lately and his masculine body is pretty hard to confuse. However, he does have a feminine faceup with a bit of shimmer on his eyes, and that is just perfect for his character. I personally wanted him to be girlie looking and masculine all at the same time.

I absolutely agree with AmyAngel and Rosslyn. But BJDs look pretty feminine to begin with honestly. There are few exceptions I would say exist where it would be hard to confuse the doll's gender. Unfortunately in our culture, gender identity is very important, and this is why people don't like androgyny for the most part. I'll continue to correct people and just shrug it off, I don't mind people confusing my dolls.

 

I think this is an issue related to gender roles and differences that's been shaped by society throughout the years, about how boys and girls are "supposed" to look like, and how they're "supposed" to dress... In this hobby, I don't think it really matters because most people use this hobby as a form of extending their artistic expression, so you are free to make whatever you want out of your doll. Most of the mainstream male dolls out there are pretty androgynous, and I think that most people are drawn in by the beauty of that aspect...
That being said... I own a Crobidoll Jun, and honestly I don't think I've ever seen a more feminine looking supposedly male doll. At first people kept going on and on about how he'd make such a better looking girl, and to be honest it kinda bothered me because I wanted it to be a boy, and I wanted others to know that it was a boy... But that's not always possible, so I've just come to see past the gender issues, because either way, it's a beautiful work of art.

 

If you still check this post, Ixupi, the doll in your icon looks like a mischievous Disney character, possibly a boy from the neck muscle detailing, but I could be fooled by a company's style molds. ^_^

I think a lot of dolls can look androgynous, so I don't judge. Companies want to make their product attractive as possible. Dolls like the Iplehouse boys are mostly obviously male, but I've been badly fooled by a pretty face. Sad too, because he would have made a lovely girl.

A friend from work on seeing my dolls for the first time, thought my Dream Realm Black Crow, Kyou, was a girl. He has broad shoulders, and was wearing a shirt and jeans and sneakers, but her reasoning was, he had a long wig with a pony tail. She said he looked like a very manly girl, after I let her know he was a boy. Then she mistook my girl doll as a boy because Jiji was wearing a boy's shirt and pants while waiting for her first girl clothes. Jiji's not flat chested, and was sitting right next to the boy doll, so I'm even more confused about my friend's criteria. It didn't bother me, I was just wondering why she would see it that way.

 

I don't have a boy BJD yet though I've had people call my Taeyang Jade "she". I find it slightly annoying because he's not dressed ambiguously at all.

Ultimately I suppose I don't care other than being slightly irked that they're not bothering to do more than glance as I think at least in his case it would be obvious. I posted a picture of DIM Alpon saying I wanted the doll and someone referred to him as "she" as well. It's not even that they call a he "she" it's that they're not bothering to really look at the doll. I think in most cases it's fairly obvious by dress and by their body shape. Though typically male dolls have softer features (which is great in some cases but frustrating if you really want a very masculine looking guy).

Funny sort of half on/half off topic story. I once got into a cab with my friend Mike who is a guy and who dresses like a guy. I lived in residence at the time and told the cab driver to take us to "Lady Dunn Hall". The cab driver says "Two ladies to the Lady Dunn." I still laugh about it to this day. So it's not just our male dolls that are mistaken for girls.

 

Oh people allways take my SD boy dolls as girls!Always!Iven if they wear short wigs , pants and neutral colors people think they are girls.What`s wrong with them? My dolls do not have boobies, and their shirts are tight inuff to show that.Iven my Lekeworld Mihael, wich is a prety mature/masculine sculpt.People say he just does not look like a boy.I got so sick of explaining my dolls tah sometimes I just let people believe whatever they want.

 

I never really mind when people mistake my DOD Code no. 2 or Limited Edition DZ Asura for girls... honestly I think that is why I love them so much. I'm drawn to the feminine appearance of them, so the gender confusion doesn't bother me. Plus, in a society where boys are generally thought to have short hair, no make-up, and masculine clothes - to give a male doll long hair, make-up, and feminine/androgynous clothing can be quite confusing to the average person. So I understand the confusion, so it is not a problem. Though I usually tell friends and family "when in doubt, always assume male" I have accidently refered to my DZ Asura as "she" before, so I am even guilty of that slip.

 

There is alot of, for lack of a better word, girly- boys in Bjd community. I never guess the right gender for people's dolls and never really I cared. Until I'm trying to doll one of my character who is the more masculine type, and then it drives up the wall. Especially when looking in the smaller sizes like msd.

 

Give Ark a long wig and he'll be called a woman. XD

 

Well... it's a doll.
Most people think that doll is equal to girls. Both the doll it self and their owners.

 

My first doll is a AoD An. I bought her on Ebay at a official retailer with a female body and she cames with a short hair wig.
Later on the AoD site I saw the same face sold with a male body...
So even for the compagnies for MSD size there is no clear idea of gender for some molds.
I don't really mind but I regret that there is so little choice for face molds with more "male" and less juvenile features (larger head, squarer chin...) in MSD size as not all my characters are suppose to look so young and androgynous (I know the choice is larger in SD size but I prefer MSD).
It's not a problem of long hair : my husband has long hair, but nobody can ever confuse him for a woman, even without his musketeer's whiskers and beard !

 

I believe this XD
My mom saw a picture of my IH Kamau, shirtless and with facial hair and said he looked too girly for her.

O.o

No amount of masculining up will ever make some dolls look like men to most non-bjd collectors (and some who do collect bjds lol). My Kara Klum is one of those unfortunate enough to have a male-shaped body, dress like a man and is always, always mistaken for a girl. He will always be mistaken for a girl. His poor face is just too pretty. It makes me laugh, cause what else can you do?