Portraying Dollie Drug Use?

...Oh wow. That is a hoot. I can't take seriously those who find it 'gross' that an inanimate object is posed with a cigarette. That's a pretty hilarious story, though! At least they loosened up later.

Several of my dolls are juvenile delinquents-- I would be remiss if I did NOT give them joints and beers to pose with. They're here to do what juvenile delinquents do, which is to have a good time without considering the future at all. I was once a delinquent youth myself (back in the Paleolithic Era), and I say the Bad Kids deserve representation as much as anyone.

And, no, my dolls are not employed on any social crusade or cautionary tale to keep minors off drugs/cigs/booze, either; somebody else can do that with their own dolls if they want.

 

Heeheehee ... JENNYNEMISIS....it was cute. They don't even know how to explain about my wife's dolls.

For example, J'Kobae does ritual-type drugs. I don't think I'd be able to explain the in-depth detail that is Faery culture and how J'Kobae does drugs for what is essentially religious reasons.

I'm REALLY fighting the urge to get another doll and turn it into a street kid. My brother was a Street Punk for a year and a half, and we live near a rather large Homeless Street Punk Community.

I'm in the Bay area of California, so it wouldn't be too weird to have a doll dressed in army gear, wear his tattoos, and shoot photos of him smoking a joint.

I love the Street Culture, it's so tempting to get another doll *TO* make him into a street junky! :P So cool that you have punks, JennyNemisis!

I still laugh about those guys worried about my "little girl". I would worry about child-like smokers. It was just too funny to not share, though. Poor Pip is always confused as a young kid!

 

Sure, why shouldn't street punks deserve love & representation too? If one of your dolls reflects the world you & your family live in, and you live in Oakland, then street kids may very well be part of that. :>

(But... as you know, here in the Bay Area, you don't have to be a homeless street punk to smoke a joint. The Nice People smoke it too. You can be in a million-dollar penthouse, at a party full of lawyers and interior designers, and there will still be joints going around. ^^ It's just everywhere.)

My own stoner-dolls don't really have a social context to fit into, in the first place. No backstory, family, earthly origin, etc. They're more like urban sprites. Since they are often seen doing very silly non-sequitur type things, it seems to look most natural for them to have their joints & hash-pipes in hand.

Ritual faery drug use is probably harder for most people to grok at a glance, but just say "y'know, like peyote" and they might get it. XD

 

when i look at this... i think to myself... wow this almost sounds like the arguement i read about dollies and sexuality...

as far as im concerned if it exists for us why shouldnt it exist for our dollies which we use either as representations of our imaginations or our ideals etc.???

though i might find it strange if i saw something like a puki with a joint or something... though if i did see that i would probably just laugh and show it to all my friends!

 

How would you feel if you saw a photo story of a doll who had some kind of drug addiction? Would you read it, or skip over it and move on, or even be offended?
• I'll skim through the whole thing(if that's even possible) and see what the writers intention is. If I don't like it, I'll leave it be. There is no sense being pissed off by certain immoralities that I will not be able to erase in any certain medium. If it was my friend who wrote it though, I would be troubled and have to ask them more about it and their current life and mindset.

Would it make a difference if the character in question was addicted to alcohol or if they were addicted to heroin? How about a made-up drug?
• All vices are the same. They impair and bring up the worst in people. I would not want the characters I create to be like that unless I have an agenda.

Is drug use/addiction too "gritty" for the BJD world?
• I am not one to judge that. These things should be put in an age exclusive/inclusive thread though. It is not a good idea to show the wrongs of the world to kids too early. It will confuse them into thinking what we know is wrong as permissible or good.

 

How would you feel if you saw a photo story of a doll who had some kind of drug addiction? Would you read it, or skip over it and move on, or even be offended?
Read it.

Would it make a difference if the character in question was addicted to alcohol or if they were addicted to heroin? How about a made-up drug?
I don't mind it at all, honestly. Everyone has a story behind each of their characters and makes them who they are.

Is drug use/addiction too "gritty" for the BJD world?
Again I believe it's what makes the character who they are to the owner.

 

Personally, I wouldn't be at all offended, I've read many books about characters who go through a phase with drug abuse and I'd be willing to read a photostory about a doll going through the same issues as well. Also, if someone makes up their own drug then it could possibly make the story more interesting.

 

I have strong issues with drugs, I've never done drugs myself because I have 2 brothers who were into drugs and their lives were a mess when they were into drugs one of them left that world (thank God!) and the other one is still struggling but we are helping him, he's not alone. Then I have my sister who was a huge smoker and she developed difficulties to breath...she left the smoke, thankfully, because the doctor warned her that if she didn't she could die.

So I have seen all these things and the pain it has caused to my mother and later to the ones who did it and I don't want to have characters/dolls like that. I have one doll who is a skater and he still needs tattoos and some piercings but no background of drug abuse and if I ever create one, it will be one of survival (like how drugs can mess you up and how you were able to overcome them) and not of 'coolness' like some people in College who think is cool to smoke and do those things.

 

Yumi
I feel the same. Although drug addicts do exist I don't think it right to put through that kind of abuse(whether just thought of or physical) to someone/something you initially aim to care for. I wouldn't do it if the doll would just be a character and nothing more. If it were put in a story, then maybe I would. It would be a temporary stage.

 

It wouldn't offend me; but I did grow up with people around me being sucked into substances.
It's life, and sometimes it controls a persons life. Maybe that's a part of the character. Why censor that?

 

There is a difference between real life and portraying it. It might be the act of giving emphasis to something that is already bad that triggers people's negative feelings towards the subject and the creator.

The thread owner said, "Let's assume for the sake of argument, that these photostories will be taking place on an appropriate, 18+ board, not on DoA."
It's censored from the younger members who might misunderstand these as norm and acceptable rather than something to go against. Some teen are still on the "monkey see-monkey do" stage.

 

I'd read it or move along? I don't condone drug use or anything of the sort, but it's not like I'd be offended or bothered if someone else decided to make a photostory about it. I treat it like all those horror movies out there? As in I don't like horror movies, but it doesn't really bother me when people produce them. Everyone's entitled to whatever they want to create. If you don't like said subject, simply don't look at it or read it.

 

It all boils down to the doll owners' preferences. For me , no way, i dont want too much realism w my dolls.

 

How would you feel if you saw a photo story of a doll who had some kind of drug addiction? Would you read it, or skip over it and move on, or even be offended?
Its not a story I would read, but I would not watch it as a movie either. But I don,t like to read or watch real life stories. And if a story is "Ripper from the headlines!" I will avoid it like the plauge.
My choice of entertainment is more escapist, I love comedies and sitcoms and musicals
it would not offend me if you were working on a gritty project and some of the characters did things that characters in that situation would do. It's no different than an actor playing a part.

 

If it's done right, it could really lend the doll a sympathetic audience. Besides, the fun thing about dolls is that their personalities are projected on, they can be anything from crack addicts to superheroes, and however well we can project onto them, the better and more likable the character, even druggie ones.

 

I think I'd read the photostory because it'd add deepness to the character.

 

BJDs are not made to be role models for children, just like characters from adult books and movies aren't.

Characters, like people, are complex, and some people have addictions. Some people like to smoke or drink or do drugs. Why should we be confined to make our dolls completely moral, at the loss of depth and the way we portray their lives?

Teenagers do "monkey-see-monkey-do," but they also have the intellectual capacity to know not to live their lives based upon what a doll is doing.

 

Alchohol is the one of the most dangerous & damaging drugs available. Caffeine is a drug (& do NOT try to take it away from me!). The whole atmosphere around this subject is full of misinformation. So anything that might help that, I'm all for. Using dollie stories to tell truth is art

 

this is very well said... i couldn't agree more.

 

I personaly have no problem with photoshoots including alcohol and drugs, seeing that this is a very creative hobby and the drugs and/or alcohol are a important part of many characters backstories.
So I se no bigger issue using these things in this hobby than if it was used for a movie or such..