Too many? (Dolls in drag, / relationships, etc)

So aside from the point that there are alot of similar dolls...
Why?
Why arent there more different styles? That's the best part about fashion, and life in general. You can express yourself in so many ways. There's tons of different styles and eras, so why do alot of people pick emo, leather 'n fishnet goth, loli, and steampunk for their doll's styles?
Like what E.Hadrian said, there's so many eras and fashions that are just not covered. Like sci fi/futuristic, prairie/pioneer, ancient greece, egypt etc, 20s-70s fashion and others. There's fairies and stuff but there's alot of mythological creatures not covered like banshees, chupacabras, and stuff like aliens.

 

I think alot of the time that's because people go for things with their dolls they can't pull off on their own. I love lolita dolls because I've got a very boyish looking face and would look horrid in a pink dress covered in lace, most people would think I'm a cross-dressing boy, most likely.

But my dolls? People could take one look at them and go "Aww, what precious, cute little girls!" (if cutesy dolls were their thing, that is, to some people my dolls look very cartoonish rofl ) They can pull off looks I never could, though deeply wish I could. They also convey things I wish I could too.

Also, it might have something to do with what's available to doll owners. More than half the forum can't sew, it seems. Leaving them with only the option of buying what they see on websites, which is very into mainstream and popular looks since those are what sells best, or else paying an arm and a leg for quality commissions of over seamstresses.

Look at all the people who have super dramatic back stories for their dolls, I can bet you a pretty penny most of those owners have never had things like that happen to them which they had happen to their dolls. Lost memories, time-travel departed lovers, new siblings popping up out of a box all of a sudden... It seems most people go out of their way to make their doll different from the everyday life and style they see, which also makes them very common in the un-everyday because so many people do it, causing an effect of over-done-ness. Sorry for my odd way of explaining things.

 

Those different styles *do* exist if you look for them. They may not be as common as the goths and the punks and lolis, but they ARE there...

Someone on DoA has a resin version of Marilyn Monroe that's absolutely gorgeous. There are 18th century dandies, Victorian ladies and gentlemen, Mongolian princesses and dolls who look like they could have stepped out of the 1001 Arabian Nights just in this site's Gallery alone. People have doll characters that are all kinds of things beyond the usual "elves, demons, angels, ghosts and vampires". I've seen everything from aliens to zephyrs over the last four years, and I haven't even read every database entry or looked at every photo-thread that's been posted.

It's a little like gay vs. hetero couples, though... All that variety isn't the "expected", the "standard" or the "stereotypical" so it's very easy to overlook, even when it's all in plain sight.

 

I think people should be able to do whatever they want with their dolls.
I know for me at least, things that I just /like/ happen to fall into categories usually, leaving me stereotyped and told that I'm just following trends. which is, very not true. I just do what I like.
even though certain things on here tend to pop up more than others, I don't see a problem with that as long as it makes the owners happy :3

 

There is no such thing as "done to death." If "done to death" existed then every thing we do would be "dead". People can do what ever they want with their dolls. If some one doesn't like it then too bad for them.

 

If you agree that yes, people can do whatever they want with their dolls so long as it doesn't harm others (wether you reached this conclusion in the same way I did or not is in the past), then unfortunately we are in a sound agreement. I'm sorry that for some reason this coming-to-terms offends you. If I spoke in a way that warranted your hostility, I didn't catch it and I apologize. The last thing I want to do in this thread is have people angry at me.

 

Then you are a fool to think I support your implication that if someone thinks they can do whatever they want they may physically assault someone. That is exactly what you were suggesting this "slippery slope" would lead to. There is no slippery slope, infant.

 

Well, being able to "do whatever you want" does include physical assault, unfortunately. How a person being allowed unlimited freedom to do whatever they want without consequence doesn't include physical assault, this doesn't make sense to me. If I'm failing to see something here, please help me out, because I really am trying to understand. Also, please don't use ad hominem. This is a debate of opinions, and I don't like the way you are making it into a personal attack when I have only been trying to explain what I am thinking to the best of my ability :\

 

You are taking a situation to a ridiculous extreme to where it cannot be considered seriously.

I am done. You will only twist and warp my words. I am not agreement with you nor am I your ally in this.

 

And, to be fair, you're not really explaining it to me in a way that can help me see the error in what I've done. Perhaps if you took the time to give me a better explanation, which is what a debate entails, this conversation wouldn't even be happening. If you aren't goint to help me to understand how I'm wrong, then I don't see how you can continue to be so angry and hostile with me when the fault isn't completely mine. I have been nothing but calm since we started debating and yet you have insulted me once and been consistently hostile with me, which never does any good in a debate. I can't help but be confused, and I'm sorry.

 

I think dolls are dressed or crosdressed for many different reasons. If the shoe fits, wear it! Personaly I find myself crossdressing my male dolls fun. It is definetly a way of exploring and fullfilling fantasy's. Since I started collecting my BJD I no longer wear feminine clothes in secret. I now dress my dolls instead. I am not gay, but I admit I used sneak into a pretty dress and panties for my own personal pleasure. Now I crossdress my dolls. I guess it could be a form of thearapy for alot of guys if they could first just get over the fact that collecting dolls is OK for a male to do.

 

Dude, really? Since when did name-calling become acceptable in debates....

Can't we all just, like, be adults here?

 

Alright, I'm going to explain it in the most elementary way possible, and if you can't get it from here, I can't help you.

Let's go back to the original paragraph of contention.

I want you to answer this question: in REALITY what person would actually behave like that?

Any normal, well-adjusted, well-socialized individual will never act like that. However, you are proposing that people will do so. Because it's a "slippery slope" people will act like animals, justifying their actions as being "able to do whatever they want."

However, REALITY does not work that way. I do not see any sane normal individual with any smidgen of empathy behaving in the manner you are proposing. I do not see a sane, rational society tolerating that behavior for very long.

Your slippery slope argument is based on an UNREAL situation. It has NO basis in reality. You are trying to get me to agree to a hypothetical scenario that is NOT realistic. This is where I am deeply offended. I am a member of the reality-based community, thank you.

 

Thank you very much for explaining.

Now that I look back on those three examples, I now see that the later two were a bit unecessary and unrealistic. Thank you for pointing out the problem with them. I still, however, stand by the first example I listed, which was that the logic "It is my X and so I have unlimited freedom to do with it whatever I want" does in fact support character theft, which is where I untimately reject that train of logic because it is not specific enough to my interests. But if we want to continue debating about this we will probably only get lost in the realm of intellectual property, and we would probably de-rail from the topic moreso then we already have xD

But for the sake of debate, I do have to say that I can see someone throwing their doll through a glass window. After years of being an art major, I have seen things far more extreme done then this for the sake of artistic expression. The name Guillermo Vargas comes to mind.

Perhaps only a child who hasn't fully developed communication skills is the only reality-based example of someone who would beat another person over the head with a doll ^^;...but the other two examples are very possible.

Please try not to be so frustrated with me-- I'm really not very fond of these personal attacks on my intelligence and they aren't necessary at all in a debate setting.

While the third example I agreed is very unrealistic, the first example is realistic and the second one is possible in theory. If you really don't think that someone would do something like in the second example (even with a specified motivation such as artistic expression), or that doll character theft just doesn't exist (which is, ironically, denying the very reality you are trying to stand up for), then I guess there isn't anything left to say.

 

Really not sure what the above back-and-forth has to do with the topic at hand?

 

Almost nothing, I think. It's most likely my fault I became a bit anal over something I probably shouldn't have addressed.

 

I think s0yuz and [ cari ] 's little arguement has nothing to do with what this topic is all about.

I dont want this thread to be closed by the mods :/

 

Then perhaps instead of mentioning what has already been said and adding onto the already off-topicness, you could do the honor of leading us back on track? (It's a bit strange to make an off-topic post about how the other posts are off-topic, if you get me).

Anyway, I feel like I said everything that I wanted to say on page 18-19. What I posted on those pages seems to have made the most sense, anyhow.

I do have to agree with Rikka_Mika on the previous page about how people try things on/with their dolls that they can't pull off on themselves, and that the lack of variation in doll clothing provided by popular distributors is likely also a factor at play here.

 

This. I agree that there's a lot of wish-fulfillment going on in the hobby. I can fully understand that so when I see yet another loli, pseudo-punk/emo (I was a punk myself for years, lol, I've yet to see a doll dressed 'real' punk), or in very anime style fantasy gear, I just pass by. People can vicariously enjoy something they themselves cannot or wold not do. I think that to a certain degree all of us do that. How many of us would put on a dress like the fer and walk around? I find the level this is often taken to amusing, but not an annoyance. I'd have to make myself annoyed at something so trivial and that's just ridiculous.

With all that said, I always appreciate a well put-together outfit, but I rarely see that in the trendy categories because they are just that, trends. I am enjoying the recent surge in fruits/decora fashion because there are a few people who do it extremely well. ^^ I'd love to see more kinderwhore girls, regular guys, good period clothing, really fashionable types (as in what you'd see in a magazine or on a runway), etc... So, I'm doing that with my own dolls, I have a girl who wears just about anything that looks good on her, one who's extremely classy and girly, another who follows kinderwhore/riot grrrl styles, a guy who dresses like a college student. The rest doesn't matter because they aren't my dolls. ^^

 

I just have to say that I completely agree with this sentiment--the whole idea of these dolls is that we get to do whatever we want with them and make them our own. If someone wants a cross dressing boy, then they should do that--who cares how many are already out there if the owner is having fun with their doll. Same goes for any style or trend. And if an owner loves a particular style and wants to see more, then they should seriously consider doing it with one of their dolls.

There's so much dissection of people's possible motives, but sometimes (most of the time I would think) it really does come down to people just doing what they're interested in--some just overlap more with more owners than others.