Role Reversal - Objectifying Males in the ABJD World

Wow, you guys must have interesting conversations, hats off to you!

That could be the case. I certainly take more topless pictures of my more muscular male, he seems to get picture comments of people saying he's hot or sexy so in away it's kind of giving them what they want to see. But I feel nothing about objectifying him, he isn't a real person, he is an object.
Though I've never put my girls full boobs up on the forum and I have four of them. I might have shown part of a breast but never the whole thing. Go fig.

 

Which, and I hate to burst your utopia-bubble, is never going to happen in our reality. No, you've missed the point again. And seriously, only kids ever worry about things being called mature/immature; at my age, 'immature' is a compliment, but you sound really young, so we'll use that language. So. People here are NOT claiming that men need to grow coping skills out of SPITE. People are not deliberately saying "I'm just going to go exploit my male doll to get up everyone's nose, so there, nyah nyah!" Have you heard anyone in this thread claiming that as a reason? Seriously?

No, people are just doing what they want with their own male dolls, making the things they want to look at, and then saying "Sorry if you don't like what I've done with my doll-- but I didn't make him for you, and it's none of your business what I do with my doll, so you really DO just have to deal with it". This shows no lack of maturity; this shows a clear grasp of reality and a firm sense of self.

A viewer who thinks it's up to the doll-owner to change their doll to suit the wishes of an audience of strangers = that shows a lack of maturity. It smacks of school-kids in the cafeteria esperately trying to guess which of the popular kids' purses/hairstyles/shoes/etc. they should imitate in order to magically gain the most widespread approval.

 

Hmm, I don't dress up my kids that way, but I kind of get what you're saying.

Objectifying Males in the BJD hobby is nothing compared to how many times females are objectified in other hobbies. It's actually more common. I'm not really sorry about it because in some ways it gives a sense of justice. Also,you can treat men or women as eye candy if you want to but don't do that to an actual person. More of...keep it to yourself. Does that make sense?

 

"Do we dress our male dolls in clothing that is impractical for their occupation, just so we can see more of their muscles?"Yes, of cause we do!!! And of cause we do this to accent the traits we like best! in every doll, i guess, not only bjds.

 

I also felt this was important to point out...I'm not denying that there are sexist issues prevalent in many things people enjoy (because there are to an extent) but doll are objects and I think many times, the way a person represents the male gender in their dolls is not the way they would treat a real human male being. For example, I have one doll who is a super girly, feminine boy, but in real life, I am attracted to rather-straight acting, muscular men.

I also wanted to add that, often times when a doll owner dresses their dolls in a "sexy" or "revealing" way, it has to do with the personality and character of their doll. Most of the dolls that walk around in the leather-pants-and-nothing-else (to use this previously stated example) have louder, more flirtatious, and confident personalities. In this specific case I don't think it is really objectifying the male doll so much as dressing the doll in something that the doll's character might actually wear. Of course, there are many, many exceptions.

 

Who cares what the poor priviledged men think, the comic book and video game sexes up women to a huge degree, but it's NOT OK when the BJD community sexes up men? Talk about double standards

BJD owners can do what they please with their dolls and the poor menz can cry moar

 

My toughts exactly!
Very much starting with He-man!
I read comics since I could read, so for all the lack of praticality (And I do pint that often) Slinky bathing suits for fighter women doent bother me that much and also male dolls showing more skin, doesn't either. That's fantasy and I'm very okay with it.

 

oh! nw that you mention it... its true! i do really believe its true, and is something you wont only see reflected on their clothes, just take a look at the face sculpts, i even remember someone posting a thread asking for help to find a more male looking boy, because most of the boys out there have this girlish look, "oh im delicate and gorgeous, so pretty... let me look at me at the mirror a bit longer" appearance, even the most muscular ones have this refined and delicate look, so... well, now that someone complains about superhero woman style they can bring up the fancy boy looking males dolls have :P

 

Very very interesting opinions that were posted and i'm glad that this conversation is going on,
as i've already stated as far as we don't put subtexts on our dolls or as we characterized and dress them all is fair, and I do not see anything wrong.
At very least is mainly what we like, that's include style in clothes, sculpt, BJD size and so it goes, what i hate is when the dolls are manipulated for proselytizing or apology of any kind, this is a hobby and should remain so,
but unfortunately there are people, very few in BJD hobby, who uses dolls just for these purposes, realize fantasies or made the dolls act as it were real living beings or in the end pretends so living thru their dolls,
this is what i call manipulate and objectifying.