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Should Some Sort Of Age Limit Be Imposed Regarding The Sale Of Gore-Themed Dolls?

Nov 1, 2011

    1. when it comes right down to it.....it's just a doll. i don't see putting more restrictions on doll buying. to me the whole idea is just silly. a young person can buy a quite normal-looking doll now, and if he or she has the skill, can make that doll into something pretty horrifying, or if not, he or she can send the head out and have it done by someone else.
       
    2. I don't want the Dark Ringdolls anywhere near me either, so I do understand your distaste; but I hope that any teenager buying one would be aware of, and take into consideration, how younger family members feel about scary stuff. Maybe keep it in the closet, on an upper shelf or whatever. I know that some dolls and toys can be creepy and cause nightmares in young kids who are sensitive, and believe me I'm not making light of that (I remember it very well!), but I think it's the responsibility of the doll buyer to be careful and considerate, not the doll company.
       
    3. Awesome, I totally agree!
       
    4. Wow... I've never seen such a frightening doll as the Jessica you mentioned. She looks like the tortured victim of a serial killer, in my opinion.

      I really don't mean to offend anyone, but it's difficult to understand why people would be attracted to dolls like this. Why would they enjoy seeing a doll that looks like it's been abused and exploited? I don't believe it's very tasteful. But if someone really wanted a doll like this, I don't see why they shouldn't have the right to buy it, provided that if they are living at home, their parents are fine with it/never see it.

      I, personally, think that if a young person were attracted to a doll like this, it may be indicative of inner emotional problems that should be addressed: What about the doll appeals to them? Do they relate to the doll in any way? Do they find pain and gore intriguing?
       
    5. I think teenagers are mature enough to handle it, and anyone younger probably wouldn't be interested in BJDs. And I mean.. they're dolls. I think there's a big difference between a ten year old going to a rated-R for gore film and a child of that age coming into contact with a piece of plastic painted the color of blood. It's not like watching an act of raw violence, it's just a doll.
       
    6. I think Jessica isn't that big a deal--it's all just a faceup, which can be easily changed. A lot of children are exposed to horror films and other graphic material more than we think they are. I know I did, and that was before the internet was in every household. Speaking of the internet, with all the horrific and gory and REAL images one can find on the internet of the disgusting things human beings do to other human beings (just through a simple google search,) I can't imagine why a doll with some horror-movie style makeup would be in particular need of an age-gate. Really, is this any worse than seeing half the stuff in the Halloween store? It's obviously fake. I'd be more worried of a parent that can't tell the difference between fantasy/silly/halloween style gore and reality, when a kid might see this obviously as something that would be amusing or fun.

      It's not like she has sculpted wounds or a knife through her eye or something truly disturbing.
       
    7. Age restrictions on dolls could be a bit fuzzy - movies, yeah, but dolls are not as graphic, even those ones. I think if an adult bought one they would do well to keep them away from kids, and the same goes for dollies which one doesn't want to get little sticky fingers on! ;)
       
    8. Jumping on the, "It's just a doll" Train. Target audience is someone with the cash to purchase it. My 12-16 year old self would have not had access to that kind of money.

      Also, Most of us know what we can and can't do in our parent's homes, and I'm sure most of us would be like "Mom and dad would MURDER me if I spend several hundred dollars on their credit card / bring that doll into their home" and if we didn't know and our parents did find out, it would probably be a hard lesson learned, unless said parents are wealthy enough to not notice the $xxx increase in debt or never EVER set foot beyond the hallway into your room.

      Seriously though, the dolls are just dolls. If in our parents home, we know what we can and can't do. If we decide to indulge in horror dolls, we know how to keep and enjoy them even around someone who won't appreciate them as much as we do. I'd like to think we have something called common courtesy, when in regards to our "less than common" interests. lol
       
    9. I think if the child has the money and their parent(s) say it's ok they should by able to. Now whether the child should be looking through the gore dolls is different but, if it's what the child likes they shouldn't be limited.
       
    10. Actually I know a number of age limited sites that do require this if they suspect a user to be underaged. You have to show at least your name, your birth date, and photo in fact I think you were allowed to only cover over your address and the actual license #.

      As to age limits being posed on certain dolls I hardly see why it's a problem. If you're over the age it's no issue to you if you're under the age your parental figure simply has to sign off. Your parental figure doesn't approve? Then guess what? You're underage they have that right tough shit for you.
       
    11. I personally don't think that there should be a ban on dolls to do with age at all. I mean, if you're 13 and you save up enough to buy a doll and you really want that doll, I personally don't think that there should be issue with which doll it is.
      I don't know what constitutes non-ok talk of OT dolls, so I won't say which ones, but there is actually a line of collectible art dolls, that are really popular, based on their gore factor. They've got childlike proportions and some are bleeding from their eyes, some have clothes that are made to look like they've been rotting away and bones showing through their torn skin... And there are a lot of people who find them cute. I looked up Jessica and Norman and personally don't see a problem with them. I don't think there should be an are ban on dolls. Especially since no child small enough and scared enough of such things is going to be purchasing such an item anyway.
       
    12. Two words:HELL NO.


      Their money, their lives, their problem. If their parents get mad it's THEIR fault they bought it. My mom and I wanted to buy Zombie Sol from Ringdoll but the fact he was too big to display properly and too expensive lead to me passing him up. If I DID have him...I would probably huggle him.
       
    13. I don't have children.
      I would love to hear more from people who do have children in this thread.
      I think it's interesting people are using the words assumption and then assuming what they would do as parents. Many of my friends, who do have children, have all told me they never thought they would do/say some of the things they have done/do...there's that assumption word again...
      Also, the use of the word censorship has been brought up. I didn't see where any one said they should stop making the doll. They have placed restrictions s on the purchase. I know many parents who so place restrictions on their children. I don't think that's censorship...

      What I can say for sure...
      In my place of work we sell a 1/2 sized Chuck doll (the scar faced, burned, staples on his face) and without fail the first to go to him are little girls under the age of 10!!
      We had a mother chasing her little girl around the store because she would not let go of him.
      Finally, I felt bad for the out of breath mother, and asked her...so what do you want him for...cause he's cute she says...
      lol
       
    14. Speaking as a mother of a young teenager, I would be nervous if he told me he wanted a gory themed doll. I would worry about his reasons for wanting it.

      Admittedly, when I was his age, I was entering my vampire phase...I was obsessed with them, wanted to know everything about them, spent all my free time reading up on vampires and reading far too much Anne Rice, and blood didn't bother me. This was followed by my creature horror movie phase and kinda went downhill from there. But I was a very introverted child who didn't feel like I fit in anywhere.

      If my son came to me with one of these gory dolls, I would be disturbed and I would seriously consider telling him no...even if that made me a hypocrite...because I know him, I know that he's not very mature for his age...he has trouble dealing with adult concepts and things like that. But would I say the same if I had another child with a different personality? Probably...

      Every child is different, some can handle the gore and the blood and the concept behind it. Some can handle things like Saw movies (and good luck to them cause at 31, I can't stomach them). It depends on the child, it depends on the personality and development of the child. I don't think there should be age restrictions on anything at all, it should be the parent's judgement call. But then again, the issue there is that some parents just don't think about the possible effects things like this might have on their child and just let them watch whatever they want, so that's why age restrictions are necessary.

      The price of our resin lovelies alone provides a certain restriction on what ages would have access to them. Most people I know would balk at giving their ten year old or younger a doll that was worth close to or even over $1000. If my son, at 13, wanted something expensive like a doll, I would be having the talk about being careful and being responsible with such things...and I would also be using my common sense and judgement on whether I think the purchase is appropriate for his age and maturity.

      It's been hard enough to wean him off My Little Pony and onto reasonable movies...and I have sat him down in front of Chronicles of Riddick, but he wouldn't be able to handle Pitch Black.

      End of the day, (and I have gone off tangent a few times I know) it's a matter of knowing your child, knowing what they can handle, and making the call of whether you think they're ready and mature enough to be exposed to this kind of content. Some kids can take it much younger than others.
       
    15. I mean movies have NC17 and PG and stuff so should dolls have this type of restriction too?

      Sorry, I don't believe in restrictions that are made on people, unless it's illegal. If a person doesn't want to scare children around them THEN THEY CAN JUST NOT BUY SUCH A DOLL. Why does it have to be some sort of restriction imposed by someone else?

      There are children who will cry at ANY doll because they just don't like dolls. Does that mean no one should have dolls? IF you have such a child around, then just don't get a doll! Right?

      There are also people under 17 who may love gore. Why shouldn't they have such a doll if their parents approve?

      Too many rules just make people stop thinking for themselves!

      For me, I don't want to be anywhere near such frightening dolls. And I say this from the bottom of my heart, I do not think children should be anywhere near them either.

      Well, you are not everyone. Some people enjoy a variety of things that you might object to... And some people will raise their children differently than you would raise them. Why should your way be the only way? Look at it this way: What if everyone in the world thought gore was great for children and made a rule that all dolls should be gorey? Would you like them to make such a rule because they think that is the way it should be? I wouldn't.

      I'm not into gorey dolls, but I think people who want them should be able to buy them.

      And if a child's parents give permission, why shouldn't that be allowed? It's really not anyone else's business what others do. Children and parents are not all alike. Nor should they be!

      I don't mean to offend people, but instilling fear into young children out there with dolls does not seem very nice.

      Nice or not nice shouldn't mean there must be restrictions. And what is nice for one person isn't nice for another--so why not let people decide for themselves?

      Before 20 most still live with parents, and we don't want our younger siblings/cousins getting nightmares of such dolls, right?

      It's not up to you. If you don't want to buy, then don't. If your parents don't want you to buy, then don't. Very simple.

      Anyway, this doesn't make any sense. Do you mean that you will never have family around after you reach 18? Life doesn't work that way.

      We can get them after we move out, out of respect for our family members right?

      You assume that all people feel this way -- but that is not true.

      Some people don't like dolls of any kind. If you have family members who hate dolls, then you have to deal with that on a personal basis. You can't go around saying that no one should have dolls! *_*

      ----

      Monster High Dolls. We can mention them, we just can't make them into a discussion thread or post photos without an On-Topic BJD in the pic.

      Some kids are attracted to outrageous or gorey things. Some aren't. I never cared much about it either way, but there were some monster stuff I thought was OK when I was a kid. It didn't give me nightmares.

      Parents need to know their own kids. My nephew was scared of things when he was 6. By the time he was 9 nothing phased him at all. And at 14-15, he's happily making head-shots playing COD and has played Grand Theft Auto. Thankfully, he's not obsessed with all that, but he's pretty much a normal kid and not into gore any more than any other... but he sees gorey stuff all the time, these days and it's up to his mother to decide--- and by that age, if a kid really wants to do something, he can go over to his friend's house and play graphic games... you can't really stop them by then. You just need to have brought them up well enough that they have a basic sense for right and wrong. If not, then all the restrictions in the world isn't going to help!
       
    16. To be honest, I think having an age limit on a doll is a little bit pointless. I mean, you can't exactly stab somebody with it, and there is way worse that you can see in real life than a gory doll. For example, when I was a kid, one of the more traumatic experiences was seeing the gory, dismembered body of a run over cat in the middle of the road. I remember my cousins owning some bloody dolls, and I was absolutely fine with them.

      Then again, all kids are different, I guess. I still think the age limit is super unnecessary. If a sixteen year old feels like they want the doll, and are fine with gore, why not buy it? I know when I was 16 I was fine with it, and having an age limit is a bit silly. I mean, a 20 year old could buy the doll and have a young child in the presence, so it would be up to them to keep the doll hidden if they didn't want it to cause trauma to the child. Therefore, having the age limit is pointless. If you weren't fine with gore, and were younger... Why buy it?
       
    17. Upon further consideration...and after reading a well written response from Quoth...
      I would like to think, and do believe, the intention is coming from a good place...That I commend them for saying "hey, this is a mature theme".
      Besides, as Quoth pointed out, if a child wants something that expensive at such a young age, chances are they will need to ask for the money. That being said, at that point the parent, knowing their child, better than the doll company will be able to make the decision.
      Also, as the vast majority of board member are above, some of us well above, the age limit...kinda moot topic really.

      God I'm getting old...
      I mean...Does anyone think this may be why we are seeing more and more violence from younger and younger CHILDREN.
      I think that's the first thing...18...19...20...Yer still a CHILD. You may be mature...but still a child.
      Also, what gets me is that parents who do let their children watch overly violent/explicit movies/games.
      IMO, it's not about if they can "handle" it as in if they cry or not. I believe it goes beyond that. In that parents communicate to their children that those behaviors are okay with them as parents.
      If you say that's not so...A child does not understand why you would allow them to watch/play certain things then say "don't do that". Now the majority of parents dont. My concern is that, again, we DO see more and more needless, senseless, sad violence from young people...
      I just think...I REALLY am getting old...That older fashioned values have gotten lost in this "it's okay cause its not real" society.
       
    18. I have to say I agree with most of the other comments. There really isn't need to censor a doll, and really the creepy factor seems to stem from the faceup...anyone could make that faceup. If the person can afford it already done, let them. Not everyone wants fairies and happiness in their dolls. Let them express what they need to through the purchase. If it is something that makes someone uncomfortable I should think they are grown enough to make an educated decision on how to handle running into such gorey dolls, such as hitting the back button and not going to such a site. In the case of ringdoll, it seems there is a mostly unsettling theme throughout the website, if it is a site that produces dolls that make you uncomfortable then I would say, just don't visit it.
       
    19. I feel the need to comment again as I just left my post and didn't read the OP.

      Here's the thing:

      At least in MY family we watch scary movies, nearly as often as rom coms and I saw my first horror film at eight years old, watched paranormal documentaries that scared the PANTS off of me and now adays it takes a lot to phase me. I love adventure, sci fi and mostly: Thrillers.

      And now adays kids aren't so easy to scare. Some of the anime films I wouldn't even imagine my cousin letting her son watch, they all watch together as a family now...And I don't mean Studio Ghibli (although they ADORE Studio Ghibli right now and Hayao Miyazaki is everyone in my family's current favorite), I'm talking Blue Gender, some Satoshi Kon films. Heck they even watched FullMetal Alchemist and their kids have no problems. Their kids also play minecraft, frequently blow each other up on said game and my cousin received an anatomy book with a teeny tiny penis...He thought it was as quoted: "AWESOME." We also got him a drawing book since he is a skilled artist to be and it showed how to draw werewolves, zombies (not babyish werewolves and zombies either, I'm talking brain eating, people mauling creatures) vampires (real vampires) and aliens (creepy ones). But in my family, when my mom and her siblings were growing up they watched Creature Feature every time it came on, they would be up all night scared to death behind the couch...And they still love scary movies...Yes my mom will scream like a little girl and my aunt watches them from under a poncho (lots of holes) but they can handle it...Heck last year my mother took me to The Conjuring and we LOVED it.

      But we're also the family that just loves that crap. My younger girl cousins ADORE Monster High (I see MH dolls for them both in their near futures) my boy cousin likes monsters, witches, warlocks, Harry Potter all that good stuff. He also loves giant robots.

      If I wanted a doll like Zombie Sol, or Frankenstein I'd get them if I could. My mom even wants DC Elizabeth as do I. She even has plans for hers if we ever are able to get them both, she wants hers completely default even with body blushing...Me...I want a Black Widow spider doll.

      And I am ARACHNOPHOBIC but I want an MSD spider-taur to join my collection.

      It depends on the person and I don't think age should be a limiting factor. If parents don't wanna look at the doll...They don't HAVE to. If the kid feels uncomfortable they can do what nearly everyone does if the doll just doesn't work out:

      Sell it.

      And that's MY two cents.

      Also fun little tidbit: When Night of the Living Dead came out my dad and his siblings were children and my grandpa took them to the drive in to see it.

      On their way back, my grandpa stopped at a cemetary and the kids watched as he started to go in. He pretended to fall and hit his head on a tombstone then got up and started moaning and moving like a zombie.
      My aunt Linda starts sobbing and panicking and Laura her younger sister is passed out. Uncle Steve and my dad start freaking out because Linda being the oldest is the toughest...And they know when SHE starts panicking THEY should start freaking out.

      My grandpa trolled them. Bad.

      And yeah...They turned out semi-okay...All have seen countless zombie films after that but yeeeaaah.

      Also:

      If my cousins are here, they aren't allowed to touch my dolls period, Avalon and Kazumi are up high where they can't reach, they know from the past FOUR YEARS that Obitsu's are NO TOUCHY and that I have MUCH better crap that I am NOT attached to. And they also know my desk is a danger zone for needles and who knows what else. They don't like my room and I don't want them in my room ANYWAYS.

      And another piece of food for thought: What if someone buys a zombie and his character is all comedy, puppies, sunshine, chocolate brains and all? What then?

      Or if they buy a doll for intended characters.


      Example:

      Ringdoll's Jack the Ripper and Warren are MY dream dolls for MY perfect Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson. Not only because of their defaults but how I picture Watson and Sherlock when I read the books. If I could have THOSE TWO I would be over the moon HAPPY. And yes whilst they're the more 'human' ones...they're still part of Ringdoll's horror collection. It's different for each person.

      And if I explained they were loosely inspired by Jack the Ripper I would explain: "But now they're Sherlock and John. See? I even got them little pipes and canes." Because...If I can...

      THAT IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
       
    20. And I've been forced to comment again as I looked up Jessica:

      Ideally Zombie Sol and Jessica would be perfect for my zombie characters, Zachariah (Sol) and Trina (Jessica) all I'd need is a wild blonde wig for Zach and a long, shaggy orangish wig for Trina...So thank you protective OP...>8D I've just found inspiration to one day make my ENTIRE cast of zombie characters dolls!