The obsession with beautiful boys?

Most people in this hobby are women...Lots of women like more androgynous men. It's the same to having a preference to tall men, or men with beards, etc.

Obviously in hobbies like this one that has a lot to do with aesthetic sense, people with the same tastes will gather, just as people who buy lots sports cars as a leisure thing will all have a similar aesthetic (notice how a lot of cars like Ferrari or Lotus all look quite similar?).

If you look around you will see a lot of people here are fans of anime/manga or rock music both Western and Asian (David Bowie anyone? Kurt Cobain? Brian Molko? Gackt? Or Hide?). Rock music is very much about rebelling against traditional gender roles. And then you see, perhaps there is something a bit rebellious or exotic about an androgynous male, which is appealing into and of it's self!
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I find most heterosexual relationships extremely boring. Girl dolls don't interest me much, though I am leaning towards a bit of hentai inspired fun with a DD for my future and only girl. I love BL, I collect A LOT of BL doujinshi, and grew up extremely frustrated that I had nothing but ugly male dolls to play with when I wanted boys just as beautiful as the girls.

These dolls allow me to have those dolls and enact the relationships that interest me. It all boils down to personal preference. My Shiratori, Jiroh, IS a crossdresser and it was strange to see him in pants this previous weekend because I have yet to manage to find him the right dress to wear. He looks like a girl, uses all of the cute girly Japanese speech patterns, and yet is still very much a boy. He tops his much larger, much more masculine looking partner and is the dominant of the two.

Different strokes for different folks and all.

 

I just love androgynous looking people..effeminate boys, masculine girls, all that good stuff To me it's not preferring one looking like the other's gender, it's about making two completely new genders.

 

I loved your answer and the way it was phrased St. James!

I don't follow anime, nor their subcultures, so I like my boys to really look like boys, and being that they are mostly Dollshe boys, they do this quite well. Some of my guys will wear some ruffles and lace, but only when it's part of a historical outfit that is otherwise masculine.

I think as much as anything it's about visual and artistic preferences. I have always been drawn to "pretty" men who were distinctly masculine. Come to think of it, my girls dress fairly feminine as well.

None of that is a judgement on my part about any choice or lifestyle, I just tend to make the clothes for my dolls that I find personally appealing. I have been commissioned to make very girly clothes for boys and enjoy making them for others, it's just not what I would have my own dolls wear.

 

Funny that there seems to be a lot of these topics popping up lately.

And I don't know what the explanation is, but it's become so prevalent in this hobby that I am dead bored of seeing it. The feminine, crossdressing gay male dolls are the norm in this fandom, so it's gotten terribly boring and fad-like for me to see. Now it's a nice surprise to see a boyish doll, whether he's straight or not. Like most, I come from a yaoi fandom, but the types of manga and anime I'm interested in don't have those shoujo roles made into male characters.

There are still quite a few dolls out there that don't fit into the stereotype, though. All of Christy's Dollshe crew are very gorgeous and very masculine. And Lucahjin's boys too have an adorable boyish charm.

 

I agree Miss Sha... The same doll character is being cookie-cutted in my humble opinion...It's very refreshing to see a straight boy w/ personality, and even a homosexual boy w/ some different characteristics and personality traits then what's been raging lately *sigh* But I have to say, this probably comes w/ the territory of being in a hobby that creates characters...there will always be some that are very similar and then a couple that are so unique and real they might as well have a birth certificate...

 

Oh yes, definitely. Unfortunately, this hobby seems to be prone to fads and stereotypes, possibly because it is so small. Look at all of the skirt-wearing MNF Shiwoo boys, or the tortured soul vampire Els, or the brooding Dollshe boys (I personally love this stereotype, though XD) -- I think a lot of it is just that people realize what's popular and go with it, perhaps regardless of what they actually like. It may hurt some to say, but it's impossible to deny that there are some textbook stereotypes running rampant in this hobby, even if there are people who genuinely like those characteristics. Feminine male dolls is one of them -- a BIG one.

 

But that's only logical isn't it? These things are stereotypes because many people like them so it stand to reason that you see them a lot here.

I hardly think people go for it against their inclination. Why not pursue what you realy like only because it is popular?

 

I fail to see why such a big deal is being made over it though. No one is being stopped from having their butch, 100% heterosexual male dolls/whatever else they want, and the people with their mini skirt Minifee Shiwoos all appear to be having a good time with it. It's a trend and you can choose to follow it or not, and I doubt it affects your ability to enjoy your dolls. The fandom is not an originality contest, and I dunno why people view it as such. If someone is happy with their gay vampire El, that should be enough.

This isn't the only trend that is in this hobby, and yet it's the one that gets criticized the most. I really hate the trend towards more realistically proportioned heads and hyper-realism in dolls. I don't like the french resin trend since I think it is a flawed material and it's supposed advantages do not outweight the horrible yellowing. I don't like how female dolls must always be shorter than male dolls. I think 60/45cm romances look silly because of the scale differences. I simply don't buy the realistic dolls because I find them unattractive, and won't purchase one made of french resin. I don't look at photostories or shoots with things I find silly or unappealing. Do any of them actively affect how I enjoy my dolls? No.

 

*applauds St. James*

Most of my male characters could be considered beautiful (and several of them are or will be dolls), but about the only one that I think of as feminine is Angel. Azri is extremely masculine, and Azure is really just a normal guy who happens to look pretty. And even Angel tends to blur the lines of male or female, because he just does what he wants.

I think I like the idea of being who you want to be with no regards for what mainstream society thinks you should be. In real life, I life buff, masculine guys as much as I like pretty boys, but for characters. . . I just go with what feels right for ther personality.

 

I have to agree with you on the 60/45 romances.

In any case, my point was to say that I don't like the trend, and why I don't like it. I don't think there's anything wrong with me wishing that there were less of them -- it's not like it's going to happen, or that anyone is going to be persuaded to stick their girly El in a pair of pants just because I said I didn't like them.

 

My mindset in life crosses over into my doll life. I don't do things to follow - or to NOT follow - a 'fad', or what's 'in'. I do things because I want to do them, because they make me happy, and it really doesn't matter to me if some people frown upon it, as there will always be frowners. (:

I think blurring the gender lines with boys in skirts is delightful and fun, so of course a few of my characters would represent that. I can see how it might seem that I'm trying to follow a 'fad' because my only two dolls crossdress on occasion, but that's just their characters. They just happened to be the ones that came home first.

Most of my future and current dolls are from my rps, my stories, and in their world, love is love. Gender isn't even a factor, they love who they love. And if boys love boys, that's just who they fell in love with, like Nezumitoo stated earlier. Which is basically my opinion for my own life as well(love is love), so that crossed over into my rps, stories, and characters.

I really don't care if people are 'bored' with the kinds of things I post, just because it's become common. Just because something's common doesn't mean it's boring. Maybe for some that's the case, but I think if a story is good, it doesn't matter if what it involves is a 'fad' or not. I like(and dislike) stories for the stories, not because the content is popular or not. I do intend to keep posting the things I post, because there are people that enjoy it, and moreso, it makes ME happy.

I concur! (:

 

For myself, I like the way they look. Pretty boy dolls don't look exactly the same as girl dolls (their bodies are considerably different), and I find them attractive. I don't like uber testoterony looking guys.

I too enjoy yaoi, and don't think that's at all strange--sometimes there's a bit of a double standard where guys can like two girls together but it's considered weird that girls would like seeing two guys together. Because I like boy/boy stuff, I do the same with my dolls. One of the things I like about bjds is that there are a lot of boy dolls that don't look like the more typical square jaw bulky guy dolls that get produced here in the US.

I have one boy that is very girly, one that dresses funky but still masculine and the rest are average guy types. The average guys of mine are all preexisting story characters (though they are still in boy/boy relationships).

 

I've noticed this too. And I think it actually puts pressure on me to have my boys were boy clothes and like girls, just for the fact that there are so many gay couples! @_@;


The whole pretty boy thing is mostly influenced by anime/manga and Jrock.
Yaoi is a craze right now and Jrock seems to be getting there too.

 

This fandom is *waaay* too expensive for people to jump on board just to be a fad-follower. If you're going to dump $300-$800+ on a resin-person, you're going to do it because it's what you *want* to do and what you like. This isn't big '80's hair we're talking about, it's BJDs. Personally, I'm tired of "the gay-goth vampire El" being slammed as some tired stereotype--the reason there are so many is because the people who have them *LOVE* them, for whatever their own personal reasons are--they love them and want them. Why should anyone else care--it's not their doll. If I had the money, I'd have a whole army of bishie Els, from gay vampires to cross-dressers and back again, but in no way because I want to follow a fad and be part of trend. Because I love the mold and all those yaoi/bishie/goth characteristics appeal to my tastes and my likes. Like Kim said, this is in no way an originality contest--people are going to spend their hard-earned money on what they want, not because it's cool.

I think on topic--the reason people do androgynize their male dolls is multi-faceted and varied and it's individual to each and every doll owner out there. From anime/yaoi lovers to J-rock fangirls, to bi, gay, lesbian, hetero-penis-envy and just plain personal aesthetic. The ideals of beauty are different for everyone, it's really no one else's job to understand any doll but their own. And I like my skirt-wearing Minifee Shiwoo, damnit.

 

Id actaully prefere is there were some manlier looking male dolls out there. I would like to have dolls of my male characters but a few of them are far more manly than some of the dolls out there. But as for the girly looking boys sometimes it just fits the character in mind or in some cases its just cos its cute lol.

 

I agree with the folks that have basically said "who cares if it's a trend". There's a reason that things become popular--people like them and it goes beyond just yaoi...look at slash fiction, and 80's rock bands (talk about androgynous men). Androgany is interesting and attractive to many women and are dolls become what we what them to be and often reflect our interests. Yaoi is just one more medium where androgany pops up--one that comes up a lot here do to the interest many have in Japanese pop culture, but it's not the only factor.

 

I have one who crossdresses but it is due to his background. The rest of my Bishie men may have long hair, but they dress as men. The reason I like it, I like looking at beautiful things and these are beautiful men! I love anime and it crossed over. Besides, these can't go anywhere while I sit and stare!

 

Well said. (:

 

Thank you