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

I call my dolls my "little dolly children," but I treat them more as friends than children. I occasionally talk to them, I like to get them nice things, and I try to keep the atmosphere around them right to minimize yellowing (I jokingly refer to this process as "making them comfortable"). I do also carry them around sometimes, mostly because I'm looking for good photo ops and possible fellow hobby members.

 

Mostly inanimate objects. But I think of my dolls a lot differently than I think of my toaster oven, for instance. So they're certainly more than simple "things" to me.

They bring me a lot of enjoyment but I don't really feel that they're friends or children.

 

I am definitely AWARE that they are inanimate objects lol, but even still I enjoy spending time with them. I do talk to them occasionally, not like full on conversations or anything though. Someone said more like a pet relationship, and I could agree with that. I definitely don't see them as children. I guess friends could be a reasonable title also since I do like to hang out with them like friends, just watching TV or surfing the internet.

 

I view them as collectables, but they're collectables that I'm attached to, if that makes sense. I project a personality on to my doll, but I still treat her as I would my other toys. That being said, she's so utterly adorable to me that I catch myself looking over at her and smiling quite a bit. I can't say I do that with my nendoroid or other various figures...I also lightheartedly call her "my vinyl daughter," though I think that's a side effect of the company I keep.

So, I guess to me she's an inanimate object that I've given a bit of soul.

 

I also treat them as what they are too. Smartly said, "Expensive inanimate objects." haha

 

Treating dolls like living beings is on the verge of creepy for me. They are works of art, creative projects, unique expressions of the owners imagination. But they are, at the end of the day, made of hollow pieces of plastic, and not flesh and blood. (Resin is a plastic.)
A doll for me is essentially the same as a beautiful painting. You treat it with great care, you gaze into a whole other world when you look at it, in fact you might even be moved to tears. But you know the painting is essentially just a canvas with some paint on, brought into existence by the hands of it's painter.

 

They are inanimate objects, but special ones. More valuable than my appliances and other types of art and figures/statues, but way less than my cats (who I view as my children).
When I first got into the hobby, my mother tried several times to refer to them as her resin grandchildren. I had to say "Mom, the dolls are not my children. You do not have grand-dolls, you have grand-kittens."

Honestly if something where to happen to me, aside from my first doll, I would not be hurt if they were sold off (after a few friends get first choice for free ). My husband got a doll to go with my first one and he plans on keeping them together should that happen.

 

My daughter treats her first BJD she recently got for Christmas like her own child. It is actually very cute to watch. She washes her hands very well and wears white cotton gloves. Then gently handles her making sure not to touch her wig too much or stress her joints. When she lays her down in her BJD bed she got at IKEA, I can almost see her as a mother laying her baby down for a nap. It surprises me how precious she treats her doll.

 

So how do you treat your dolls? Does it bother you that people don't treat their dolls with love?

I definitely don't treat my dolls like people--I'm actually probably one of those people who seems not to "treat my dolls with love." I dye my expensive dolls colors, I cut into them with knives. I swap their heads and leave them disassembled and undignified. But I think that without doing all of those things, I would perhaps appear to "treat my dolls with love," but fail to enjoy them.

When I cut off my doll's junk, carve some cheekbones, stud the doll with quartz, build some breast tissue, I am enjoying my doll. When I dye my expensive doll a color and perhaps ruin the resale value, I am enjoying my doll.

I guess I can't help but think that how I interact with my doll shouldn't really matter to other people (it's really not that interesting, I promise), and it's also not really the point. I kinda figure everyone else is ignoring/not noticing everyone else's pursuits and hobbies for the most part--humans are pretty self-absorbed critters.

(It actually sort of horrifies me how much time a person would have to spend--in addition to the important shit like sleeping and eating--in order to impose themselves on someone else's creative endeavors. Like, imagine if it were your job, to rank how "pure" everyone's pursuit of the doll hobby was--that would be a lot of work! I almost wish I had that kind of free time--although I would spend it hacking into some wool fabric I received for the holidays.)

I got into the hobby to have fun. I am having fun. But I am also learning and growing as a person. I'm learning new skills that I wouldn't have otherwise, I'm perfecting aspects of sewing, I'm trying new things--like writing.

As a result, I guess my dolls could best be described as an ongoing art project, a canvass for my creative pursuits. I wouldn't be involved with this hobby if it had to be any other way.

 

I definitely love all of my dolls like one of my many beloved possessions.

Because I love my dolls, I care for them to make sure they last a long time in the most pristine condition I can keep them.

I also love taking pictures of my dolls, and sometimes giving them a faceup or body blush when I have time.

There is a certain appeal to thinking about the type of person they would be if they were real and crafting a universe around them.

My dolls are my muses, they are my canvas, and they serve as a distraction from the hectic world.

 

Inanimate objects...or I should say collections. I don't think the fact that they are inanimate has anything to do with how much you love them or what. You can still treasure something even though they are cold and silent.

 

I usually treat them like inanimate objects, but with personalities? I'll dress them in their styles but I don't talk to them. It's certainly not wrong to treat them like friends or children!

 

I'm on the side of "aware they're inanimate objects but treat them like weird, small people anyway," to an extent. I'm fine leaving Aelic sitting on my desk all day because I know he's just a doll, but I'll say hi to him if I walk in, or complain to him if my computer is being weird and he's sitting next to me. (In my defense, I'd be complaining out loud anyway, 'cause I tend to talk to myself a lot.) Like a lot of people, I'll "yell" at him when he's being floppy or annoying, but of course I don't expect a response or anything. It's like having a small friend that doesn't talk back or annoy me. And I feel particularly attached to my dolls because they're my characters, so they mean a lot to me.

 

It might vary a little once I have more dolls, but I feel like my current doll's mother most of the time. My boyfriend called me her mom at some point and I was like, "Oh, I don't know about that." But, in truth, I feel pretty maternal about her. Maybe it's because she is my first and I'm so worried about damaging her. And though I recognize that she's an object, I'm that type of person that has always been sensitive about the "feelings" of my toys and dolls. So if I realize it's been a few days since I've gotten her out of her box, I feel bad and take her out to "spend time with her" (pretty much just let her sit next to my computer while I do homework/change her clothes/ect).

 

I see them as beautiful pieces of art

 

I have my own kids, so I don't see my dolls as my children. I would say I'm kind of middle of the road. I may talk to them on occasion, but I also talk to my pet fish, and computer as well. I enjoy seeing them as pieces of art, with how I dress them and do their faceups. I also give them their own space in my bedroom and take care of them like an expensive collectible. I keep the dust off, and make sure their space isn't near the sun.

 

I may say something to my dolls every once in a while when dressing them up. Something like, "Oh aren't you such a pretty little doll." Outside of that, I treat them like an inanimate object. For now they stay in their boxes and are just items.

 

Friends maybe...Personally I think treating them as children is weird because some of them seem older than me lol...

 

I'm one of the crazy few who treat them as friends.