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Ribs on dolls

Dec 31, 2010

    1. Ok something I just gotta talk about.. and I wonder if some think the same as I do..

      I have in my possession two lovely male dolls Ryo and Alaxander (see sig). They are both nice dolls.. however.. they both have visible ribs.. and one of them its very noticeable. It make me think he looks quite malnourished. I have known many guys since I have had a lot of guy friends.. and 1 that was pretty skinny even he didn't have ribs sticking out like that.. but then again my friends don't starve them selves.. they eat normal meals.

      So anyway what I would like to know from you is.. Do you have dolls like this? What do you think about it? Is it very common for doll makers to make their dolls undernourished?
       
    2. I believe on both of my dolls you can see their ribs, but I don't essentially think malnourished. It never crossed my mind. Skinny perhaps.:)

      You tend to be able to see my ribs well, cause I'm a skinny girl. But once
      you see my inherently large hips and rear, you will think I eat quite well.
      Which I do. I love food.:lol:

      But aesthetically, I do find it to emphasize 'really skinny' which I'm not sure if
      as buff as my dolls look (even my skinny SD) they should still show.

      It is kinda irksome on my 65cm boy. It to me just doesn't fit right with the sculpt.
      So I tend to prefer the ribs to not show,but I don't love em any less.;)
       
    3. I think it might be a cultural thing as well as preferences/aesthetics of the artists & people who buy those dolls.
      From years of playing only Japanese developed video games (and watching anime), I have learned that the
      most appealing males for the general far-east public are the smaller framed ones, with little muscle definition.
      Culturally/genetically (most) Westerners tend to be a lot bigger – I mean, we (U.S.A.) are probably the fattest
      nation in the world right now… (I’m kind of a health-nut, so that thought scares me a lot) >_>;;
      Also in most media, Westerners (in general, not everyone and their cousins) also tend to “favor” lead males
      that are more built (muscular & taller) as well.

      I believe that was also the trend in Western fashion till a few years ago; male-runway-models were fit and
      had well defined musculature, yet weren’t as buff as most underwear/catalog male-models. However,
      in more recent years, European fashion-designers have started to favor the scrawnier, smaller-framed males that
      look like prepubescent starving teens. I believe media in the U.S. are also starting to follow that trend,
      so maybe that might be the “global” inclination right now, scrawny and frail looking-males. That might be
      why there are so many bony male-bodies in this hobby and not much else. Or maybe it’s something else?

      Personally I prefer the old-runway-male bodies, which were fit and had nice muscle-definition but not the overly
      huge bodybuilder type-bodies – but I also don’t like the starved-look in males. I am pretty (small) scrawny
      (and short) myself, so I am not truly into the skeletal-look when it comes to my male-dolls. I want some ‘meat’
      and muscle in those resin “bones,” so to speak, but not the extreme either. I like nice balance (but I am also a proportion nut,
      so maybe I will never find a BJD-male body, I actually love). I like my male-dolls tall-well-defined and fit (“healthy”) looking,
      ideal to my personal sense of “beauty” but not as stylized as most of these dolls.


      Sorry for the terribly long post – it has always been an interesting subject to me but I think I’m on the minority side (always been),
      and not sure if it is a subject that would be interesting to most, as there doesn’t seem to be much fuss about it.
      Or maybe I just haven’t looked in the right places. Regardless I hope this doesn’t get moved to the debate thread. XB


      - Enzyme ^ ^
       
    4. well I Like about mid range my self.. I don't want my guys lookin body builder buff but I don't like the starving look so much. Like I said it seems that its more noticeable in some dolls while others its not so much noticeable. I understand about culture and stuff.. but I never supported under eating.. I mean I don't really support over eating.. so a happy medium is great for me.. unfortunately the rest of the world wants the undernourished looks to people and perhaps this reflects in dolls as well. I am not a health nut .. nor do I probably practice good habits..(tho i'm getting better about it..) the reason why is because its hard to shake what you grew up with.. but my brother is skinny and i can barely see his ribs when he lifts his shirt. On the doll its like wow eat something you need to gain a couple pounds..

      If this gets moved to the debate thread I welcome it.. I did not think of this to be a debate thread... but if it better fits there then I think it probably should be there..
       
    5. Hmm... I don't think I have any male dolls that look malnourished with ribs sticking out... The Iple men are muscley. Soom sgs are thinner, but pretty smoothly sculpted. My older CP/Luts boys and Volks guys are all pretty soft and rounded.

      So which sculpts are the really skinny, starving ones?

      I always thought Bermanns looked a little on the thin and boney side... but I haven't really had a good look to see if they showed ribs!
       
    6. well the I have a Doll Family Lyre and a Angel of Dream Jimi and they both show ribs but i think the Lyre's ribs are more prominent Tho Jimi is thinner than Lyre. I also think that the sculpt of the chest on the Lyre isn't as good as the Jimi one is..
       
    7. If you're worried about ribs, I recommend a Dollmore Adam body. My Maunier has no ribs in sight, and very nice (not overly buff) muscular definition.

      I personally hate the look of ribs on my boys- in real life my personal aesthetic tastes run towards a healthy looking male body with some nice muscular definition. I'm not a fan of thin, scrawny boys (a friend of mine is about the same size as me, and that's one of the main reasons he's still a friend... XD)
       
    8. I have no rib showing boys in the house. I love bone structure, my Jinwoo has a wonderfully sculpted spine, I love the vertebra at his shoulders and neck. My Sooah boy also has tendons in his hands with no manly veins, so beautiful. I think faint suggestion of ribs could be interesting? I'll lift shirts at the next doll meet and check them out.
       
    9. Hmmm... Maybe the ribs on the newer dolls is just a reaction to having most of the older sculpts being rounded and rib-less? Just to offer something different in a market that already had healthy-looking well-fed dolls (or less detailed)? Or a change in fashion or aesthetic?

      OK... I looked at the Soom SG bod and there are some indication of the ribs at the sides of the male body, but they aren't poking out or anything. NB--on a MALE, this is OK. They have less body-fat and show muscle definition and some bones more than a FEMALE would. If you're talking about the ribs on the side of males--you MAY be looking at the external oblique muscles that run at a slightly diagonal horizontal that echo the look of ribs. Again--seeing this isn't rare on healthy MALES.

      Young males would have more body fat and less definition--a more childish look, and that look wouldn't be as common unless they were very athletic and slender... not necessarily a starving boy.

      Actual rib definition would be unhealthy... If you saw the rib-cage in the front and the sides, for instance. Or if they featured on female dolls.

      Here's a picture of upper torso muscles, to show you the external obliques.
      http://www.elements4health.com/images/stories/fitness_articles/oblique-abdominals-anatomy.jpg
       
    10. The ribs did take me aback at first. They are visible on most of my dolls. I actually like a scrawny look on guys, but visible ribs I'm not so keen on. I love the Crobidoll M-line body but do wish some of the ribbiness wasn't there. It even shows through thin shirts O_O. On the other hand, ribs can be sanded off.

      Having been to sports festivals at Japanese junior highs, I'd have to say the ribs you see on an SD13 boy body are actually pretty accurate. It did adjust my thinking of "healthy" a little. I think my mind does get a little stuck in the rule of thumb for quadrapeds like horses: you should be able to feel the ribs if you touch their side, but not see them. Probably doesn't work for bipeds like us :sweat.
       
    11. No problem here... I think the ribs are cute. I've spent most of my romantic life around guys with knobbly little ribcages, so when I started collecting these willowy dolls I sorta felt right on familiar territory. :D By now my doll collection has more variety, though-- the chubby younger bodies don't have ribs (Volks SD10, DD-Anne 26cm), and the beefcakes don't either (Iplehouse EID). I like the variety of builds that's available these days.

      SD13 boys have especially cute little ribs, with their last ounce of baby-fat still showing below & their pectorals still only half-developed above. Even after all this time, I still think Mr. SD13 is the most charmingly adolescent-boy body out there (you don't mess with the classics!).
       
    12. My only male BJD has subtle ribs, but then he has subtle muscles, too...he isn't too skinny nor too built, which is the way I like him :)
       
    13. Visible ribs do not necessarily mean malnourished, it just seems to be natural for some people. >> I do have a boy with fairly visible ribs, but I think part of it is just muscle, and if you really do not like them that much, you can probably just sand them smoother.
       
    14. I simply look at them as muscles ...:p
       
    15. My ribs and hipbones are quite visible, but I'm also curvy and healthy. Everyone is built differently.



      Do you have dolls like this?
      No.

      What do you think about it?
      I'm not into skinny men whatsoever.

      Is it very common for doll makers to make their dolls undernourished?
      Thin seems to be common, but actually malnourished looking... In my perception, no.
       
    16. I wonder about this occasionally, myself but I think on some dolls it's supposed to be those muscles in the sides, not the actual rib BONES. The muscles do go over the bones, so generally it's not actually bones you're seeing poke out, but that the muscles are so pronounced because of a lack of fatty tissue. Unless of course you can see the shape of the bottom of the rib cage against their stomach and they aren't sucking anything in. That's just..... Ew-y.

      That said~ My two ResinSoul bodies have wonderful muscular definition, especially for a mini-size dolls (want more mini's with a body that nice, WANT.) and they have some definition of those rib muscles, but not a lot. Lovely ab's though. My Dollzone and DollFamily minis don't have as much definition, and occasionally I think my DZ seems a bit.... Chubby... But I get over it because I love him and his character is one of my favourites. XD
       
    17. My boys all have awfully skinny ribs, but then I don't know much different because my boyfriend is awfully skinny naturally.
      I guess that perhaps it's just a asian thing, if you think about asian idols the males are all much skinnier, even when they beef up they remain boney. :/
      It doesn't bother me because it doesn't show malnutrition to me, just naturally skinny boys, which is natural. :aheartbea
       
    18. To me, rib cages are as sexy as clavicles. Very. It's just a feature of one body type that I'm partial to. But that's not to say that I always prefer that body type. I have a Luts boy, who has a body I adore. ....Round. XD
       
    19. I love the look of subtle ribs on SD sized boys or above. But for anything smaller, I like the round childish look. I visualise MSDs as children and I think ribs on children make them look a little malnourished.
       
    20. While browsing sculpts I do notice ribbing on some. For some I think it is suppose to be muscle definition and not the actual ribs sticking out. However, the frame of the body does usually lend itself to looking 'too skinny'.
      I don't think my dolls currently have ribbing. :/ They might but I must have mentally translated it to musculature.

      But as a personal preference, I prefer thicker male sculpts except for tinies.