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Pediophobia

Sep 13, 2005

    1. Wow. I read through the whole thread and it was like getting to know everyone. ^^ I've never been afraid of dolls, though. I've had all sorts of dolls, from the plastic baby dolls to rag dolls to barbie dolls and all the way up to porcelain dolls. Interview with the Vampire was what made me go out and look for porcelain dolls. ^^; Of course, it was never the antique kind they showed in the movies (I'm too poor for that) but I loved them.

      The scene where Claudia throws of all the dolls from the dead body? ^^: When I was younger and bored, I would pile up all my porcelain dolls andact out the same thing except I'd never throw them around.

      All my porcelain dolls rest above my closet that looks down on my bedroom. My friends used to hate that 'cause they said the dolls were like watching them. Actually, the dolls are facing the window and are all looking outside but I guess I'm just nitpicking.

      I love all sorts of dolls, I especially love dolls from tribal art that reflect a culture's belief system. Idols, statues--I just love the artwork and what they're used for. Anyways ^^; The only dolls I don't like are kewpie dolls. Why? Cause they remind me of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. Ugly~~~

      When I first saw a BJD, I loved them. I like the way Nuriko stares back at me. My porcelain dolls don't have that expression. I don't mind if I have my back to him. I don't like leaving him by himself though, he always feels kind of lonely.

      Well, Nuriko and I were watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (*geek alert*) and this came up in an episode concerning a ventriloquist's dummy:

      'On rare occasions inanimate objects of human quality, such as dolls and mannequins, already mystically possessed of consciousness, have acted upon their desire to become human by harvesting organs.'

      Then I thought, "Oh...that could help explain the random terror...." I side-eyed Nuriko and snorted, "Nah, he's too sweet and squeamish." ^^;
       
    2. Enchantress wrote:
      That is exactly how I feel about Hiro. I have put so much into his personality and his history that he is much more than I ever expected him to be. He is more like a real person than any other doll I have ever owned. When I look at him, I see the character I have made him into. And though I do plan to get two more BJDs, I will always feel my closest connection is with Hiro.

      I emailed my younger brother about Hiro one day. I sent him pictures, and told him I had been making clothing for Hiro. He's known I've collected dolls for years. Now, of all my friends and family, I thought that my brother would understand Hiro the most. He and I are both half Japanese, and he spent three years in Japan working as a teacher and translator. He watches anime and reads manga, so I know he's familiar with the physical characteristics of these dolls.

      Well, guess what my brother replies to me? "I don't mean to be rude, but those Hiro pics just freak me out. I would not be able to sleep in the same building as that doll - I swear it will come to life and do evil things."

      So I replied to him: "*sigh* And I thought you of all the people in my family would understand about Hiro. Oh well. Don't worry, I think I'm quite safe in the same house with him. Does this mean I can't bring him down for Christmas? Too bad, because he said he was especially looking forward to meeting YOU. I don't know why."

      Got no reply to THAT one.

      Linda S.
      galatia9
       
    3. i'm actually hoping to get over my fear of dolls by getting an SD, because this is the first doll i've ever been interested in and truly wanted. When i was younger, i was scared of the porcelain dolls i had on my dresser and would lay awake thinking they were staring at me or moving around. i've had a fear of dolls for as long as i can remember, i never liked recieving them as gifts, i told family not to get them for me. the only dolls i liked were Barbies. I don't think i've ever owned an actual 'baby doll' in my life. It's odd, i know, but believe me, these were some of the first thoughts i had when i considered getting a BJD, and i suppose we'll just have to see how it works out. If the anxiety forces me to keep the doll in a seperate room while i sleep, there's a good sign it didn't work. :sigh:
       
    4. I had a period in my childhood where I was afraid of my toys (especially dolls!) coming to life and trying to "get"me when I had my eyes closed/was sleeping at night so I always slept with my back to the wall. My beds to this day have to be in a corner so that I may sleep with my back to the wall. It has transferred itself to a general fear of the dark bt I still remember fearing my dolls.
      I think one reason that people are afraid of dolls is because they look so much like people. They are beautiful imitations, they make look "real" but they are not. I have an aunt who is absolutely terrified of Kellen and it is because his face, especially his eyes, are so realistic. I don't think you could ever pin down the stem of any phobia to just one cause. We've heard anything from, they're too lifelike to they're like dead shells. The human minds is so unique and interesting in it's fears.
       
    5. Intriuging, I love the story about the girl and doll trading places. That is linked to more folk-lore than you could imagine It is true too, that dolls have a long history as objects of power. They are traditionally used to heal or harm sympathetically, the doll acting as an image of the target.

      I believe I read somewhere about buddhist healing ceremonies in japan, it was often believed the cause of a disease was a demon or spirit inside the persons body. They would use a young girl as a medium to tempt the spirit out and it would talk through the girl. I believe I read something about a doll being used for this purpose too.

      Thanks Anne for the correction about Pedio vs Pedo, I got the definition from another site which is probably less reliable.
       
    6. To be picky, the voodoo doll is usually a link to a human body, using some part of that human (nail clippings, hair) to create the link, so that damage, control or less malevolent treatment given to the doll would affect the living person.

      The popular image is of a simple cloth doll, stuck with pins, but a wax doll is also common, & dolls can be used for positive magic, too.

      Sorry! Worked in an occult bookshop for too long!

      Lucy (she of the interesting jobs)
       
    7. Lucy - you're totally correct. Not knowing much about it I didn't think of the differences in harboring a soul and being a connection.

      And to the person who called 'where the woodbine twinith' a love story, I find that so interesting. Most people are horrified at the thought but you were able to see that the interaction between the little girl and the doll was not dominance or possession but a mutual sharing. Each had the chance to care for other and protect them when they were helpless and is a strong way to show love.
       
    8. like someone elsewhere pointed out, i think the link between dolls and fear is actually quite similiar to that of taxidermy. again with the similiarities of life while still being very clearly not alive. while taxidermy is (obviously) very very lifelike - that is the point afterall - it is still blatantly not, and thusly a great many people are creeped out by it. this seems to be the case with very many dolls as well.

      i am not certain how much stock i put in the dolls = children phenomenon; making a fear of dolls a fear of children/dead children and therefor a love of a dolls equated to a love of children. personally i really really dislike children and have always been quite echanted with dolls. though not child dolls. and it is not that i am afraid of them, i am not, but rather - well i don't like children so why would i want a doll of a child?

      then again, i am also immensely fond of taxidermy.... so what do i know? :oops:
       
    9. Lucy, she of the very cool jobs. I would love to work in an occult bookshop but...
      I saw your LJ, didn't actually read but I will :grin: You were right, he's... ehm... yes well, does he have a brother? :o

      Let's turn this thread into a dating blog, shall we?
      Heck, why not at this point we might as well, we've touched on everything else?

      ~Single, strange female seeking single strange man who MUST like and/or own ABJDs.

      BACK OT: What amazes me and it's really the reason why I chose anthropology, is how dolls have always been part of people's lives in one form or another.
      I come from a long tradition of doll collecting and I have always been curious about it.
      I think doll collecting must be one of the most wide spread "hobbies", for lack of a better word, in the world.
      Why this obsession, which I now share, with owning dolls. I never really thought about my own obsession with my dolls, until now. I was more interested in doll collecting as cultural and social phenomenon. Dolls sometimes get dismissed as play things but that's a very simplistic and narrow view of them.
      I started reading about it and voila, I was hooked and persued it as a life long commitment.

      Whether as part of a ritual, an effigy or a toy, or even as a tool for evil, we've always had dolls, including bjds, bjds were found in Roman catacombs, some dating to the Syria and the Etruscans. Even the Minoans had them.
      And the more "evolved" we become, the more evolved our dolls do too. Some BJDs are totally human-like; they look like real people. I find that some dolls are so human-like they are eerie, in a good way. Twigling has an Estella that looks like a real little girl. When I saw the pics in the Gallery I did a double take, of course the artist's skill at face-ups has a lot to do with it, but you need a good sculpt to begin with.

      We evolve so do our toys, enter technology and all of a sudden dolls are automated and the" building" materials become so sophisticated to point of becoming toxic.

      ~Wear a respirator people when sanding your doll's seams, the resin dust is harmfull for you, And always work in a well ventialted area! Sorry, I'm not trying to be bossy hear but that stuff is toxic. You don't want that dust coating your cillia. :o

      Some dolls talk and move with a RC and more and more robotics are being introduced into the toy world. I wonder if eventually we'll have BJDs that talk and move on their own.
      Imagine walking up in the middle of the night because your dolls are having a converstation, LOL or moving around? Well... I don't know how funny that would be, I'm really crumpy when noise wakes me up, so I'd probably throw something at them to make them shut up. :lol:
       
    10. I jsut wished ppl woudl stop blaming dolls like barbie on women's body image issues. I mean, barbie is supposed to be a grown women, and they are supposed to have make-up, big boobs and wear heels. and girls don't want to play with dumpy-looking or ugly doll. barbies are beautiful adn I just wished ppl would see there are many, many girls who have played with barbies and never thought they had to look like her.

      gah, I had to get that off my chest. I mean, every culture has a body ideal. mine when I was growing up was a woman witha big chest a little waist and big hips. now a days it may be to many ppl a woman with a very boyish figure. but the point is that every culture has an ideal and the dolls the girls play with does reflect that ideal, more or less. so you can't blame barbie for being what ppl think is pretty.

      damn that was so offtopic... I'll edit it out if you guys want me to.
       
    11. Read through everything and thought I'd make a few key points based on personal theory:

      Why children in particular may have a hard time coping with dolls:

      Children tend to 'animate' inanimate objects, giving a sense of 'anima' or spirit to them. You will often see a child with a stuffed animal, doll, or action figure they are playing with. The child's mind is usually then in the pre-constructive form of organization, meaning basically that fantasy can appear far more real than concrete subjects. Oftentimes, adults try to correct this in a child very young, but given time, they will come out of it on their own.

      They tend to either imagine that their dolls/toys are real with the ability to come to life, or they fear the object itself. In regular baby dolls, the lack of life (movement, speech, everything which the child himself can do) proves to make the item (unless they imagine otherwise) soulless to them. Since they recognize the difference, but their mind is not fully able to comprehend it yet, it often results in a state of fear. (Stories about moving toys, etc. often help move this idea forward that they should be able to move or maybe -do- while the owner is out.)

      This can be perpetuated throughout adulthood, dependent on the amount of trauma exhibited during childhood.


      On BJDs- adults and children alike:

      Lifelike qualities but the ability to still being taken apart (as well as not being able to move on their own...for children especially) reminds one of the fragile quality of the human body. A child might worry that they can become 'paralyzed' too. Or fears an eye might come out. Adults simply tend to worry about falling apart or the absence of real life, maybe recalling childhood experiences.

      On "Dead Child Syndrome":
      Common thread again is lack of movement/ the imagined 'spirit.' This syndrome is actually quite natural to most, expecially those familiar with what has already been discussed in the thread ( i.e. mummies, daguerrotypes) as well as folklore.

      Another side note on this is that sometimes mothers and fathers would request a 'doll' of their child to be made to commemorate the child's life after the child died. This practice was taboo and not highly established as common. It's more of a subculture.

      On "Forced Integration" with feared objects:

      It is not wise to just place someone in a room with an object they fear. If it is truly a fear for them, it can be overwhelming. For instance, a child put in a room with an object they dislike, will respond to it with tears and fits. It can lead to serious emotional trauma for the child depending on how long they are left with the object.

      There was an experiment done with association a while back (I forget the name) where a little boy was introduced to a rabbit (Or was it a rat? We'll call it a rabbit.) ...Yes, well everything was fine and dandy. He liked to pet the little rabbit and seemed to enjoy it. The rabbit was white, I must mention. Anyway, then the one controlling the experiment would make a loud sound every time the rabbit was in the room with the little boy. The sound scared the child and eventually he associated the sound with the rabbit, so that when the rabbit was brought into the room, the child would burst into tears. Though there were other ways of testing the association theory. I recall the man running it came in at one point with a full fur coat on, which sent the boy into hysterics. A white beard also did much the same.

      So it can be associative as well. You could have a problem about 'green eyes', or 'black hair' and seeing a black haired, or green-eyed doll, you felt the urge to wet yourself. It's natural. It's all in unlocking the psyche.

      I suggest not forcing integration with a child however. It is best to let them try to approach it on their own, but some children are more able to handle the approach. It depends on the individual, which is why it is always best to see how the child reacts to the idea of it first. After some recent experiments with children about their natural fears, some methods of combining the child with his fear, proved to bring back (or start) bedwetting.
       
    12. I have to say I agree with this- I played wtih Barbie nonstop as a kid, and I never once, not ONCE remember (nor does my mom b/c we've talked about it recently) being upset or feeling inadequate because I didn't look like her. OR being obsessed with her boobs which I certainly didn't EVER have as a 9 year old (and still don't). I just thought she was pretty and fun to dress and we went to the mall and to the beach. I think it was up to my capable parents to educate me about the difference between reality and fantasy.

      I loved cartoons too, OMG bugs bunny, still do, and never once figured that if I jumped off the roof of the house holding my pants upside down like a parachute over my head, that I'd drift gently to the ground unscathed. Again... just educated by my parents about the difference between reality and fantasy.
       
    13. He has two brothers (red_tom & jon_the_id on LJ) but I think they may well both be taken now... & mine is the shortest at 6' 5".

      But being married to a writer isn't always the best fun, even if he is always muttering about elves...

      Lucy
       
    14. This quote reminded me of the one and only time I was ever afraid of dolls. It was when I was a very small child. My mother had lovingly sewed a huge, life-size rag doll for me with yarn hair. It was as big as I was. She gave it to me for Christmas that year, and she told me years later (I don't actually remember this, as I was too young) that as soon as I set eyes on that thing for the first time, I screamed my head off and ran away.

      It scared me because of its size. I was maybe 3 years old ... I don't know. Anyway, mom later cultured a love for dolls in me by buying me Effanbee and Madame Alexander dolls as I was growing up, as well as barbie dolls.
       
    15. i hate zombies. so im always perplexed at the uncanny valley thing. i hate dolls that look unrealistic - like barbies. i relish in the dolls that look more realistic; like BJD.

      another thing, i sometimes call my dolls my 'bone children' - because even how realistic they look, some part of me cant get over the fact that they are, and always will be: cold, hard resin. their joints remind me of bones. but bones dont scare me - ive always been fascinated by them.

      and also i have noticed; i take great comfort in the FLAWS of dolls and people. someones eye slightly off? fantastic. the more its perfect, the more its creepy to me.
       
    16. my brother's favorite toy when he was really small.. a racoon doll that was big as him. he would carry it around and sleep on it like a matress XD
       
    17. I've gotten comments from my sister that my doll is "Oh my gawd, so creepy!" But I ignore her, because she is.. well.. an idiot.
      But I don't think she's afraid of her, just a moron who can't respect that I really love dolls.

      Neither my mother or father are bothered by her.

      Well is Pediophobia is fear of dolls AND children.. well.. Isao doesn't look like a child does he? Does Heath, Bermann, Hound? No. They're smaller than a person, than a child, but that doesn't mean they are childish.

      That's my opinion on that matter.
       
    18. I think often with these dolls at least, it's just because of their sculpt and eyes, etc, that they look very real, that creeps people out.

      in particular I've found that dolls with larger, darker eyes in proportion to their face tend to creep people out a lot.
       
    19. I agree, it's the ideal that makes the barbie, not the barbie that makes the ideal.. if our idea of a perfect woman would be a very fat, old woman, barbies would take a lot more space ^_^''

      I'm currently making an animation(for school)about fears for dolls..this topic gave me the idea, so thanks for that, everyone who replied :D(and the topicstarter, of course)
       
    20. Fascinating topic. I'm going to agree with the idea that the fear is caused by how closely the dolls resemble us, yet they are not QUITE close enough. They look like us, but they clearly are NOT; creating a sense of "otherness". I believe this may set off some very old, very primal fear signals in the oldest part of our brain. Wiring that goes that far back doesn't usually lend itself to being easily explained, it's just a response that's there and gets tripped, and tripped HARD when it goes off.

      When I was a kid, my G.I. Joes HAD to be placed in a box, behind the open door of my bedroom at night when I went to bed. This was due to a dream I had in which I woke, turned my head to the side, only to see one of my Joes standing at the side of the bed, staring me in the face with that blank expression of his. The sense of "no one at home" in some of the dolls can contribute to the creepy factor for some people, I think. The dolls look so lifelike, so real, but they are empty, they are an unknown, they can be conceived of as cold and inhuman in the midst of their human-like appearence; and the idea of a being like that is truly frightening to some, especially if it looks SO lifelike that at any moment, you expect it to MOVE....

      I don't harbor any fears (overtly, at least) over my doll collection anymore, and am only just nurturing a burgeoning fascination with BJD's, but I can see how some would be truly creeped out by 'em.