Treat dolls like children, friend, or simply just as an inanimate object?

I think of dolls as inanimated objects, but perhaps reflection of who I was in the past and who I am now. It may be fun to develop background and stories for my doll(s).

 

My dolls are ever-evolving art projects. I'm always wanting to add more. Make more clothes, take more pictures, etc. They definitely have personalities, but generally don't talk. I think they all have a little bit of me in them, which makes them special.

 

It's hard to know exactly where I fall on this. The dolls themselves, I recognize as objects. However, they do represent characters of mine that I've spent lots of time on and my characters are probably the closest thing I'll ever have to children, since I did after all bring them into being. Therefore, some of the feeling I have for the characters is transferred onto the dolls. But if I find a sculpt that works better for the character, I don't usually have a problem letting the previous incarnation go. The character itself is what's precious to me, as fond of the "shells" as I am.

 

I treat them like expensive intimate objects. I'm very careful with them and try not to fidget with them too much so I don't break them or make them gross with the oils on my hands. I like to look at them and maybe stand them up if they are able for a second or two. I ever "talk" to them it's mostly cursing when I mess up a face up, one takes a nosedive or they won't hold a pose to save their life. I do talk about them with my husband a bit - like my plans for them. I mostly go by sculpt name when I speak about them rather than a name I made up.

 

My doll is inanimate objects that I invest creative energy into. Now given that he has his own character, I can easily imagine him as that character, and treat them like that character. But it is all imagination, and part of how I immerse myself in my imagination.

I do talk to him though. But I talk to inanimate objects all the time XD I just don't expect, nor do I look for an answer from them.

 

Thinking of them as my children has always been kind of weird to me, but that might be because most of my doll's characters are pretty close to my own age (in appearance or otherwise).

Friends, again I don't know... while I love my dolls like tiny little people, that seems slightly socially unhealthy. And they probably wouldn't want to be friends with me anyway (I'm the jerk who created them... They'd probably like to kill me).


I guess I just think of them as room-mates. xD The kind that don't pay any rent.

 

I'm a little strange with my doll. I know she's an inatimate object and she'll sit for weeks without me touching her, but when I'm changing her or taking photos I'll talk to her like she's a good friend. I apologize to her if I spend too long changing her or if I bend her limbs funny to serve whatever purpose. Sometimes when I come home I spend a while looking at her and ask how her day was. In my head, I think of her as a roommate. I once joked to my SO that since his doll convinced me to finally buy my own, he's like her dad. He always refers to her as his daughter now, even though he's never seen her in person, which I think is silly but cute. I'm a very isolated person and I've always been this way with my stuffed animals, so it feels pretty normal to me. She's of a very realistic sculpt so I often see my own emotions in her face. She just looks so sad all the time, so I like to buy her things and play with her to make her happy, because it makes me happy to do nice things for her.

 

Dolls are replicate humanoids, even if they are inanimate. I think it's pretty normal to treat dolls as though they have feelings or personalities, as long as you still remember that they are just a doll. I think a lot of people put their own emotions into the dolls.

Mine are more of models so they are just pretty tools in my eyes, but I talk to my dog and some people think that's crazy.

 

I've tried the whole 'talking to your dolls as if they understand' you aspect, and 9 times out of 10 I feel stupid doing it. So I supposed I'm on the more inanimate object size--I occasionally say small, dumb things to them as I'm going about my business, but I usually talk to myself when I'm alone anyways so I guess that hasn't really changed much. xD I still care for my girl deeply, and think of her character as existing in and of herself--while I leave her untouched, I still think of her as kind of a being that is THERE, just doing her own thing. It's very hard to explain. But rather than talk to my dolls, I find that I like to just sit and look at them for random amounts of time, it gives the same calming, relaxing effect that I'm sure others get from actually speaking to their dolls. Just less sound on my part

 

Apparently I treat Mitsuko like a child. I constantly fix her hair and clothes, talk to her and imagine what her response would be, call her by cute nicknames, ask her what she thinks of a new outfit, apologize when I mess with her too much, watch anime with her, pat or kiss the top of her head when I walk past her, and lightly tap her nose with my finger like my mom does to me. I love my little princess and make sure she knows it!

 

I treat them like friends because I'm always a lone and I rarely talk to people so I just play with my dolls. I buy them clothes and wigs and etc (beds, rooms, food)

 

Even if I don't express affection towards my doll, I treat him as a friend.

 

The range I treat my dolls sit either at object or companion. If they're on queue to be worked on I generally don't like touching them much and only when they're done (have a soul) I would handle them more. Even though sometimes they sit there for awhile without me doing anything, I like to keep them near each other so it feels like they have company all the time even when I don't give them the attention. But when I do, I usually sit them on my lap while I do things.

 

I guess I treat my dolls more like inanimate objects?
But that doesn't mean I don't show them loooovvvveee.
I mean, using them as models, giving them a story/character, buying things for them, fixing them up to be perfect.
I think those are all ways of showing them love. Sure I could probably give my girls some more attention.
But that's on my own part of lacking inspiration. Doesn't mean I don't love them.

 

Haha well, I affectionately refer to them as my creepy resin babies whenever they're mentioned in conversation, but generally they're just inanimate objects to me. I don't take them out and hold them every day. On a normal day they're tucked away in their display case, but I have been known to talk to them on occasion when I'm either feeling extra down or extra proud of them. I do love and appreciate them, but they're not people (which is probably why I like them so much).

 

They are neither.
I do not treat them as living beings or friends that’s for sure. I love them. And I don’t feel stupid talking to them. I even sometimes think they answer. But that’s just me perhaps; I can talk to my shoes, to a tree in a street, to myself. It never feels stupid, if I have something to say.
But they are still objects to me. Objects, who possess their own energy.

 

They're not objects... more like friends/companions to me? Sounds weird, I guess. But they're such a big part of my and my family's lives, that we just sort of naturally include them in things and treat them like we would anyone else in the house. We do that with our cats too though, so maybe we're all just weird people? lol ^^;

I apologize if I flip one of them wrong while changing outfits and things like that. Often I'll ask their opinions and I can tell what they think about things, a lot like how when I write my stories, I know how certain characters would feel about things. Like, for instance, I feel like our dolls hate it when I go to make them new clothes, since I never work with patterns and am constantly having to try things on and check the fit. Like, "Just how many times are we going to do this? Omy... too tight!" lol I should do a photostory of that the next time I go to make someone something. It's kind of funny, when you think about it??

 

It is hard to say for me. I think it is a combination of all of them. I talk to my dolls sometimes, so when I do I either treat them as a friend and sometimes as children. When I do not talk to them, it is kind of obvious that I treat them as inanimate objects. Overall, i do not think it matters all that much, I love them no matter what!

 

I don't treat dolls like children or friends. Not openly, anyway.

 

Sometimes I think I've definitely replied to some of these threads only to realize I haven't... so here's my response to this topic. First things first I 'understand' that dolls are just dolls, but in addition they are the amalgamation of my vision of a character, the sculpted "shell" that is the doll, as well as the creative efforts I've put into them. So although they are "simply inanimate objects" as far as everyone is concerned they are much more to me. I definitely think of them as "part of the family" in the sense that they are mine and I treat them all individually different and each is important to me in their own manner (which is also one of the reasons I find it so very hard to sell and thin my collection). I do consider them friends of shorts too, friends that will be there for me and keep my mind occupied when I'm sad or feeling down for whatever reason, friends that I can rant to (aloud or just in my head) when I don't really want to vent to my human friends and that can even provide company on a lonely rainy evening spent inside playing video games, watching movies or reading a book. Of course it's "all in our head" because that's where their character was born, but from then on out imagination has quite the way of letting things shape themselves and self-evolve that I feel content sitting by and just watching it happen through the work I put in them.

TLDR; I love my little resin friends, and although to some people they'll never amount to anything more than their sculpted shell, they mean a whole lot more to me and that's alright.