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

i think that the reason "homosexual pictures" are taken is because not many people have both girl and boy dolls, they generally just like one gender; at least from what ive seen.
and its too exspensive to buy a gender that you dont really want.

 

I really liked both of your posts They really sum up what I think some people are missing. There are times and places for serious discussions of social issues, but it's nice to have a chance to get away from all of the crap that flies around out in the real world. Just because someone's doll characters are lighthearted doesn't mean that the person doesn't care about problems facing real people or are making fun of someone. Not all doll owners want to tackle serious issues with their dolls.

This is a personal thing for me, but I discovered that having characters that were too tied into political/social issues had a drawback -- every time I would look at them that's what I'd think about, and sometimes I don't want to think about it. Everybody needs a break, a chance to escape for a little bit. I find it easier to have characters that either don't have that kind of baggage attached, or if they are related to some kind of real world problem, it's in a more symbolic sort of way. That of course, is just me, but dolls are play time and a source of stress relief. Too much realism, and that starts to get lost. Now someone else might do the exact opposite with their dolls, and if it works for them, that's great! But they have to realize that not everybody plays the same way.

 

In terms of doll ownership, I don't have any issue with this at all. I just don't look at gallery threads or whatnot that have dolls done in a theme I don't care for.

I've got a fair amount of stereotypical stuff going on in my collection -- same sex couples, a kitsune, pretty boys, girls who like cute frilly stuff -- but I don't mind having similar tastes to other enthusiasts.

The only time I do the "oh, brother" eyeroll is at companies. I don't actually want constant, radical change in what they produce, but some specific themes really have been done to death (*coughAliceinWonderlandcoughcough*). On a purely selfish level, I want them to produce dolls that knock my socks off, and tired themes or "homage" dolls feel like wasted opportunities to me. However, they obviously please a lot of other customers, or they wouldn't sell them.

 

And just to add. Not everyone's characters live in our world. For all we know these people's characters could live in a version of earth where homosexuality is the norm or at least commonplace enough that no one cares, so there would be no struggle. Their real world problems could be wholly different from ours. So why should these characters reflect our reality when they don't live in it.

 

O__O You just described my story! This is exactly how I have built it up. A homoerotic Sci Fi set in an alternate universe where aliens has a base on one of Jupiter's moons Ganymede. The norm among these aliens are being gay.
Star gates, sword fights and hot gay/lesbian sex. Oh, yeah!


Taco, thank you very much! ^^

 

I really love this, because it sums it up perfectly and I'm actually the polar opposite. My characters and stories, and therefore the bjds attached to them are how I make sense of the real world and deal with issues. It doesn't have to be something I personally am dealing with, it can just be something I heard about. Exploring the issue seeing the various sides to it and making realistic sense of it, is my play time, and I like doing that with my dolls. I don't get stressed when I see them and make a connection with an issue, it gets me thinking, but that's me. Other people want and need to do it differently.
It's only when the two sides start pointing fingers and accusing the other side of doing it wrong that we have problems.

 

It is almost 30 pages of debate and I'm def not going to read them all. However, I am worried about something.

The bad side about things done to death is that there are fewer and fewer really creative things in the community. The dolls I like the most are the very unique ones: that look really interesting and can tell a story -a different story. And when I mean "unique" I don't mean it has to have 6 pair of arms, a pair of beetle wings, 5 eyes and being yellow. You know something is "unique" when it pops out and shines by itself (you can tell what it is when you see it). The real "jewels" seem to get lost in a sea of stereotypes, clichés and trends. What I really like about this hobby is how creative it can turn each one of us. But when I see a beaten to death topic over and over again I just roll eyes and hit Backspace and try again.

I know people usually say "but they're my dolls, and my money, and I do whatever I want with them; their stories are very important and mean a lot to me -and also I'm into this and this is my lifestyle." Well, that's cool. I'm just talking in general terms, how the community is "suffering" or lacking something.

This is all my honest opinion. My dolls are not awesomely unique though; wished I had the imagination for that, but I do my best.

 

Everybody's doll story is different. Therefore it's unfair to say what being overdone and whats not. Let the dolls be as they should.

 

Every story is built out of the same blocks, it's how they're arranged that matters. Maybe there are a lot of feminine Els in frilly dresses, and maybe 90% of them are purely a visual expression, something the owner thinks is beautiful. But that doesn't mean that there can't be yet another that does something truly interesting with the same basic conceit.

=^__^=
Anneko

 

Aaaw! I miss the feminie Els! I hardly ever see them anymore!

 

I am finding it amusing that this thread has run for four years and we can still debate the same trends =) -- even steampunk! I guess all I have to say is - and it may have already been said - that I personally don't care one bit about being innovative, or "interesting", or worry whether what I want for my boys/girls has already been "done to death". It's not an issue at all to me whether someone else is impressed by my trendiness. What's important here is whether what my kids wear expresses their personalities and their place in my world. It's cool when people try new techniques and put their dolls in the latest styles, or when they consider their dolls a way to express their own visual/artistic ideas and creativity, but no one has to 'play dollies' that way unless they want to. At least, not to my way of thinking.

 

*shrug* I see dolls as fantasy made real. They can be anything you want them to be and do anything you want them to do. There are no restraints as they are imagination in tangible form and that is what makes them so precious to me. I'm sure others feel the same way, which is why we see "trends" in the doll hobby. I don't see trends as negative, but rather I see that there are thousands of people out there each living in their own realm of fantasy and it's beautiful, regardless of who else has done it before.

 

agreed it is amusing this is still be discussed life has changed though as the years go by people are becoming more acceptive of homosexuality (at least I hope they are)...And very true its not important what others think of my dolls and whether they may be trendy or not, which I don't think they are..but you never know what someone elses thoughts are..lol. And that is the best point right there as long as my doll is expressed as the character I have created for it then it shouldn't matter if its "overdone" or not, if my doll is gay or straight...they are my characters that I have created stories for and happen to come from other worlds and dimensions.

Sure we see all kinds of trends in the world that come in go but honestly there is a world out there with mixed orientations of sexuality, ethniticities, etc so yea how can homesexuality be overdone, its life..lol..not all may agree with it but that is what that channel button is for if you don't like it don't view, watch, look at it.

I agree with someones point a few post up about companies overdoing certain looks/styles, etc it is always nice to see something different, unique or innovative. And yep I'm drawn to peoples dolls that I see and they tell me a story about who they are just by that photo, the way they are styled, etc not by orientation because that won't make me change my mind about how beautiful,etc I think the doll is.

 

I don't care at all if my dolls have the same style like everyone else's dolls or if I buy pretty popular sculpts. I never see any other dolls but mine in person and that's why make them look the way I want most for them. I never cared about trends in any way and that also goes for dolls.

 

Sometimes you click on thread where the person's dolls are so cliched, overdone, the story itself is poorly thought out, the characters are shallow and one dimentional, etc...and you have to tell yourself: "this person isn't a professional writer and they're not even going for quality writing. They're doing it to entertain themselves," hit the back button and move on with your life.

 

This, so much.

 

I don't really care if my dolls fall into the category of being "done to death". While I'd hope that my characters will be well-developed and that world I made for them interesting, at the end of the day, I am in this for my own enjoyment. Sure, it's a bonus if I make photo stories and people end up enjoying them, but I don't need that to be happy in this hobby.

If my dolls end up being over-done cliches to some people, fine. There is a back button and they know how to use it. Won't keep me from happily playing with my expensive toys.

 

Let the kids tell their stories in whatever way they see fit. Don't like it? Turn off the computer and go make your own story. And then see how you like having 500 people rolling their eyes at it because your character and plots have also been done before.

Yes, they have. Everything has been done before. It just hasn't been done by YOU before, and that is the important bit.

I have that same exact thought every time I go to see a major motion picture, and pay $12 to be stuck there with no Back button! "I'm stuck inside yet another culturally-illiterate middle-aged man's fantasy, aren't I?"

Seriously, when you look at the pathetic stories/characters Hollywood & TV are flicking at us like so much dry snot, it's enough to make a person RUN to an amateur doll-photostory.

 

So beautifully put and I feel exactly the same way.

 

Ain't that the truth.

Personally I don't think any photostory could be a mind-numbingly over-done as most of the films made in the last....several years. At least the dolls themselves are nice to look at...