Psychology related to dolls

But, can you? I mean, could you right now? I would give you $250. $500 if you put a vid of it on You Tube. Git to it, birf me a Chiwoo! *snap*



To address some other things that are coming up in this thread:

I'm not the least bit hostile about children. I love kids. My cousins and my friends kids rock. I personally have issues with pregnancy and birth and that's all about me, not about other people's choices or decisions. The only time I am hostile to other people about it is when they get on my case and tell me how I "need!" to "experience!" the "wonderful joy of pregnancy!" and imply or even directly say that I'm not a "whole person!" until I have & raise a child. I have some very nasty words for people with that mindset, and would strongly suggest that anyone who wants to tell another person that hold their tongue and mind their own business.

Also, I like to refer to myself as a "dollmom" but it's always in a context like, looking at some frilly lolita dress and parasol set or a sequinned grandma sweater, thinking, "That'd fit Sol" and immediately following it with, "I'm a bad dollmom..." There's a level of sadism inherent in being a writer of fiction - characters with really good lives and perfect personalities don't make for epic plots and great dramatic scenes. It's the opposite of having kids - you want your kids to have great perfect lives. You want your characters to have wild, exotic, sexy, cutting edge lives, or dark and troubled pasts, or be blessed with incredible, unrealistic, impractical, actually very risky in the real world situations that'd make you cringe and fret if you were their parent. Fantasy vs Reality.

 

Ouch, that certainly sounds like a condescending Personal Attack on many members to me.
I'm going to hope it was just a poorly-worded joke?


I like these dolls because I like these dolls. I like that they are not just baby dolls (some are, but I'm not into those), but they're not just big Barbies either. I like the customization part, eyes, wigs, clothing, even eyelashes and makeup. I'd say it would definitely fall into the "control" area, at the very least because as people have suggested, it's sort of like being a writer. We can create a character, and instead of just being an idea in our head, it can be a physical, 3D object that other people can see. We can create stories (or "lives") around the characters. Or not, if you're the sort that just likes to sit the dolls on a shelf and look at them. The whole hobby is far to broad to categorize it's participants with one single label, or one single motivation. That's part of what makes the hobby itself so interesting!

 

Aw come on you guys... It was only meant in jest, I wasn't trying to make anyone mad or anything. I thought it was funny.

My apologies.

 

That's good to know! Thank you for the clarification, ravendolls!
This is a huge message board, and we can't all know everyone else as well as we'd like, so it can be hard to tell if someone's joking, especially in text, or if they actually think that (especially since I do know people in real life who could say that and intend it to be mean and not joking).

 

I totally second you dear, on this - the subject itself cannot be anything else but fun and entertaining

 

Sounds like a bad horror movie....

But they already made Seed of Chucky, so it's kinda been done before. Except the human wasn't the one who gave birth to a doll. Hmmm... low-budget student film time?

 

I dont think there can be any general thing bhind this hobby that apply to everyone that practice it. For me its an outlet for my creativity. My doll is not my kid.. I don't want my kid to be like my doll or the opposite. I want my doll to be what all my fantasies are.. My inspiration come to life into an object of beauty that both me and loads of others can appriciate.

 

As some of you have already pointed out, we're going a wee bit off-topic here. Please let's keep all posts related to psychology and dolls - and not about our personal thoughts on children.

Thank you!

 

Well, considering that during the pre-Barbie days, most dolls were baby type dolls for young girls to foster maternal instincts. At least that's what I got out of this Barbie documentary.

I'm not too surprised by that psychologist's response. Though I do know people who consider their dolls are their babies.

I consider myself more of a caretaker...kinda like Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, but instead of blue condom thingys, it's all resin kids! It's an outlet for creativity for me as well. I think of Eponine as my creative muse and model. Though it's a pity, I cannot have her model my outfits when I plan to sell at Dolpa.

 

Okay, I'll weigh in -- I'm a mom, I have one teenaged daughter (and two cats), and I have no desire to have more children.

To me, dolls are both beautiful art objects, the product of human craft, skill, engineering, inspiration, and love . . . and also a way for me to project characters into a physical incarnation.

I love them because they're beautiful and because I enjoy customizing them and making them "mine" . . . so, in a way, they're expressions of my individuality (I AM A SPECIAL AND UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE, DAMMIT), as well as fun artistic/fashionable creations.

They spark my creativity and have been a great motivator to learn new skills, meet new friends, and explore some different aspects of cultures that I already enjoy and am fascinated by.

They do have their own personalities, but their lives are controlled by me . . . whereas, as a parent, my goal was to let my daughter create her *own* personality and grow into an individual independent of me, albeit with my support and love. It's a very different dynamic.

Honestly, I think of my dolls as small adult roommates in a way -- they have their own lives that go on, and I just have a window to peek into them :>

-- A

 

LOL @ the Foster's reference!

Blastmilk described me as a governess for my dolls and I think that's the best way I like tell people XD

 

How very silly (maternal instincts). I have two kids, thank you. They're still plenty young enough for me to pour any maternal instincts I have into their rearing, all by themselves. (and, um... I didn't like kids either, or want any of my own, until at about age 36 Mother Nature said "NOW, DANGIT!" ... I was pretty floored by the whole thing. Kids are good peoples. They're just different from us. A tad uncivilized. )

I'm not entirely sure why I love my dollz. They're pretty. I like playing make-believe Hey after almost 50 years I've earned the right to do so, don't ya think? I like having them look at me while I'm doing stuff on the computer. It's... comforting, somehow.

But distinctly not maternal. I do know the difference quite well

Aww gee, Hobby, you said it so much better than I did!! ^^ what she said!

Bra-VO!! Exactly! Perfect.

 

hahahaha i think there's a small grain of truth in that statement, and part of the reason why more girls are attracted to playing with dolls than guys. It can be a maternal thing. However i don't regard my dolls as children but as roomates. I also fancy making them than fussing over them. heh. But yes...ironically enough my liking of dolls did surface with me considering having children. But i'll leave that for the hormones to decide. I like what i like *shrug*.

 

As many have said, it IS an over-generalization, but I fall into that category.

I desperatly want sons, but I'm not sure I'll have them -- or they'll grow up the way I want!

So my dolls are mostly based off of what I want my sons to be like when they grow to be a little older... though I'll treat them like best friends, anyways This way my REAL kids are free to grow up and choose whatever path they want --- even if it's just to be a salary man


My boys are really special to me.

 

I think guys/men aren't into dolls for other reasons than not feeling maternal or paternal... for one things dolls are seen (in western society anyhow) as items for little girls and there's not much in the world weaker than the stereotype of the defenceless "little girl". Most guys are too busy trying to keep their manly image intact ^_~

It's a brave guy (straight anyhow) who is a doll collector!!!

I hope I didn't put my foot in it again... XD
Raven

 

I wanna see this documentary! I'm very interested in Barbie, though I only have two left... Most people think dolls, like Barbie for example, are harmful because they make girls think they have to look a certain way and such. It seems like there's a lot of psychology involved in toys... @_@ When I was little, they were just fun, not something that determined my future...

Edit: You're a boy Raven?! How cool! I wish I knew a guy that would share my obsession...

 

There is also the tendancy of women to love pretty things while men prefer practical things. Not to say that's true for everyone, of course there are exceptions. But what you say is true, and it's sad.

I think people outside the fandom have a tendancy to see all dolls as dolls...as the same. Lots of little girls love their dolls like their babies, in a maternal way. When they move onto Barbies they become interested in all the clothes and stuff she has. But with these dolls it's more of a creative outlet, something to mold into whatever you desire, or a love of beauty.

It would be really interesting to see a well-rounded study on why people love dolls, with views both inside and outside the community.

 

I loved Barbie more than Ken because of all the things she came with. Ken was...ugly. DX As a little girl, I wanted the prettiest doll and I'd stare hard at them to pick the best one. Then I'd beg for more shoes and clothes, even though I had enough to clothe a Barbie village. >.< But I never thought of it as a "mom" thing. It was more like...I had my own soap opera. I used to watch a TON of them as a little kid, so everyone lived the way they did in a soap opera and I guess I had my own drama filled Barbie universe on my bedroom floor... xD I'd even stack up books and stuff to make houses since I only had one real Barbie house and it was a small blue one, not the Dream House. For some reason, though, I cannot find a sinlge female BJD I would bond well with, though I think Latidoll's Cara is quite cute. But I like the boys now. xD How weird.

 

The mom thing seems to end usually with the Cabbage Patch type dolls. I don't think I've ever met a girl maternal over her Barbies. I did the same Barbie-village thing during my short-lived Barbie days. The girl had SO much stuff...for some reason it seemed like mine never had enough. You're right, they did make great soap-operas XD

 

Since I had three Kens, there were lots of affairs. xD And someone was always jealous of someone else. I could see the mom thing with the Cabbage Patch dolls...but those really scared me. DX When I was little, I thought they were the ugliest dolls ever. In fact, any doll shaped like a baby was something I threw in the back of the closet. I liked dolls that looked like adults and in fact, I never even liked the teenage or little girl barbies, just Barbie. I was never into the "mom" thing even as a child.