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

Mar 28, 2011

    1. Interesting question. I was kind of thinking about this last night...

      My dolls, well my doll as I only have one complete, is a representation of a character I've had for ten years. That character is (as lame and disturbing as it may sound) as much a part of me as any of my actual real friends. I know everything about him as though he were a physical person, and have wondered for quite some time if he is not a ghost haunting me, y'know? -.-
      I think of him as that ghost. He's not always there in that shell, but when he is, I 'feel' him, and I interact with him a lot more than some other times. He comes and goes, and when he's not 'there,' he's just an inanimate object, a beautiful work of many separate arts. There are those times though, like recently, where I've been compelled to (this happened last night AND I FELT INSANE WHEN I DID IT because I know he's a doll and he can't hear me or enjoy it) sing to him, because I know that character likes Jason Robert Brown. I felt like a mental patient. I really did. But somehow I really felt as though he heard me. I was kinda freaked out.

      Take it as you will, hallucinations or overactive imagination, whatever. Tantalus is very strange to me, but I wouldn't have him any other way.
       
    2. Inanimate objects. My dolls make beautiful decorations. I project my ideals onto them via creating characters for them. It's a creative outlet for different parts of myself. Yet, I don't treat them like live beings, much less children.
       
    3. I have a tendency to talk to inanimate objects, though not as much lately as i used to when i was younger, and usually only with humanoid/animal-like objects or objects capable of some sort of intelligence like a computer or oddly enough a book. So I treat my dolls similarly to a computer, where I may converse with them but overall don't expect an answer and that they are really expensive and must be treated with care so as to not break or cause damage to them. I do however bond strongly to my posessions so i do treat them a little more lovingly than some other people might.

      I can't see them as children anymore than a table from Ikea is a child, unless the doll's character is based off of a living child in some form or another though. If anything they're more like a pet. But that's just me personally.
       
    4. personally i do not have a Doll YET but any 'dolls' i have had before have always been like children to me and i expect nothing less with the one im about to get. i never really plan to have kids (or at least not any time soon) and they are just as expensive to me. but my lovely girl will go everywhere and be in all my moments of life just like any family member. so yeah a child for me!
       
    5. I don't know how I see my doll. Yet, I don't think she's only a usual inanimate object .. but she's something magical to my eyes.
      She's not a simply doll, absolutely.. neither an inanimate object like a pen, or a computer..
      okay, she's not alive, but in my personal world, she's near to be alive.. she's alive in her being a doll (that sounds crazy I know..it's just me XD) ..well, a very special doll!
      So I talk to her, but also only in my mind.. maybe imaginating an answer and debating too XD
      (This is me in my daily life.. I 've my *personal* world..where there're no precise or rational laws allowed to... that's up to my mood, my imagination.. eheh.. But I like this aspect of myself.. I think it's a gift and not something to be afraid or feel ashamed of. Not so many people nowadays have the gift of a creative , yet crazy XD imagination, unluckily..)

      In addition, if I saw these dolls like normal dolls (like barbie and so on) I would probably never think to spend a lot f money in them XD
      I see a piece of art in them and also a way to keep alive my imagination, my fantastical world..
      They give to my daily life a bit of magic! I just Love it! ^^
       
    6. Heheh...I don't have a doll yet but it might sound crazy...

      I do something called mind talk, in which I just talk to some object or perhaps a doll or stuffie in my head and it always replies back in my head and we basically have a silent conversation ._.
       
    7. I don't know what I'd consider my doll, but I can't think of her as just an inanimate object. It's silly, but a part of me expects her to just up and start moving every time I have her with me. I know she won't, but I feel like I wouldn't really be surprised if she did. I don't consider her a child or a friend though, just a doll. She's my doll and I'm her human. XD So maybe more like a pet than anything else lol
       
    8. Having two "soft resin" kids of my very own I'm all too aware of the differences between children and dolls. One of these things does not need diaper duty, okay? ~_^

      I talk to them on occasion, mostly when they are being "stubborn" about getting an arm into an outfit or suddenly getting the wonky eye disease or utterly refusing to stand. Just like I yell at the TV.

      In my deepest heart of hearts they are "friends" to me; but I'm fully aware that they are resin beings; chunks of expensive plastic. It's more along the lines of "these are embodiments of ideas I've had and times I've enjoyed." And most of the time they just sit around and look purdy. The fact that I'm very attached to some of them doesn't mean I would treat a VERY adult-looking male doll as a child. Um, no.

      Now then, cats -- I've seen several people mention talking to cats in the same sentence as talking to the TV. Of *course* I talk to the cats, they're part of our family and have very distinct personalities. Each has a distinctive method of communication (and I swear the littlest one argues with us; I've never known a cat to behave that way before). Thankfully, there are four adults and near-adults in the household, so if it's the crazy talking, it's not simply personal crazy. TV = inanimate object. Cat = live, often VERY "animate," fuzzy being. Doll? inanimate but highly valued chunk o' stuff.
       
    9. While I do consider my own cat much closer to a child or a friend than any inanimate object, I don't think that's a universal... or even majority... view among people in general. You might be surprised how many people react poorly to the idea of talking to animals beyond giving a dog basic commands. I've gotten quite a bit of snide commentary for talking to Sara from more "rational" types.

      I can only imagine what those "aggressively sane adults" would have to say about doll owners talking to their resin minions and treating them as if they were alive. :lol:
       
    10. That depends on the person, I think. I'm sure there are people who have replaced flesh and blood friends with dolls, but they can also be a bridge to make new friends. I know I have had a more full social life since I got into BJD and became more active in the community. I was practically a hermit before that.

      If I had to define my relationship with my dolls, I'd call them "acquaintances" or "roommates," or maybe even "pets." They share my space, I spend time maintaining them, but they aren't central to my existence. I direct comments at them, if no one else is around and I just need to voice a thought, but I don't have full-on conversations with them. (I talk to my cat the same way.)

      That's a really interesting point. Where is the line between doll and character? Are there details that are "true" for the character that are not true for the doll? Does that separation affect how you relate to the doll? Would you feel more connected if the doll and character were the same? [general "you," not "you" personally] (This is juicy enough to be its own debate topic, really).

      My dolls also represent made up characters but the dolls are the only representations of those characters. I feel that the two are indistinguishable. I think, at this point, the character could exist without the presence of the doll, but they wouldn't mean as much.

      Even though I don't think of my dolls in the same way as a living person, when speaking about them I still like to refer to them by their individual names. When I was a little kid, all of my favorite toys had names - even my stuffed Littlefoot the Dinosaur ("The Land Before Time") wasn't named Littlefoot. Naming and using those names is, in my mind, another form of personalization. This isn't just a doll, this is the specific doll that I happen to own. I'm so used to speaking and thinking of them that way that I actually feel a little awkward when I have to switch from saying "Vesper this..." to "My doll that..." But I do it because there are only a hand full of real people who would know what I'm talking about.
       
    11. I treat my dolls like dolls. I dress them, fuss over them, leave them posed in little groups, admire them, repeat. I do have a tendency to say goodbye to them when I leave the house and greet them when I come home, which I also do with the cats. I don't think any of them are paying attention but I do it anyway. The dolls are certainly better behaved than the cats when left alone all day. >_<
       
    12. Inanimate objects. They're kinda like "3D-drawings" of characters from different stories. So I can better imagine what those characters look like. I WILL sometimes talk to them, like "leaving now - take care of the flat while I'm away, boys" but I also will talk to my computer, now and then (like "don't you DARE crashing on me again!"). I will say "this is Luken" or "this is Celaran", but probably only cos it's shorter than "this is the doll that's supposed to look like Luken". I'll also say stuff like "Luken doesn't like this or that" - again cos it's shorter than "the character this doll looks like doesn't like this or that".

      Although the dolls look like the characters they represent, I don't in any way feel like THEY are a certain character. I don't really connect the character traits with the dolls. Dolls and characters are two separate things, really. The dolls just LOOK like Luken, Celaran, etc. who "live" inside my mind and in the stories I've written about them, so far. Have they helped me getting to know the characters better? Sure. Cos they make it easier to give the characters a face and maybe also a voice. It's so much easier, for me, to write about someone I can "see" in my mind instead of some kind of faceless, voiceless phantom.
       
    13. i would like to add to my earlier post that i do see my dolls as having the ability to have souls rest inside them and take residence, so i do keep my dolls very happy for that, however they do not come before bills, food, travel and so on in my daily life, if something is too much then they dont get it and they have to wait, just like me. as much as i would love to spoil them i dont have the money, nor will i for a very long time i expect.
       
    14. I mostly call my dolls as my daughters or my sons, but I never think they're a replacement of a real daughter or son for sure. I still have my mind, that they're a doll, not a real human being. Sometimes I talk to them, I brush their wigs, change their shoes, I even randomly ask them, "Which outfits you want to wear today ?" and just laugh after that. It's because I give each of them a character, and treating them like that will ensure me to continue their story. :)
       
    15. Oh, not surprised at all; I'm all too familiar with it. Usually this view comes from the same people who are (well, were, since the kids are nearly grown now) so impressed that we talked to our children, and theirs, as though they were real people.

      O_o I would look at these folks and say "of COURSE they are real people; just because they have less-developed vocabularies and bodies doesn't mean they are idiots or have no opinions of their own..." I would often find myself having much more interesting conversations, albeit at a much simpler vocabulary level, with the kids than with their parents! ;)

      Heck, I've had my cats say more interesting things than some of those folks! (yes, exaggeration).

      But sadly, never the dolls. I'm just as glad they don't talk to me. They'd probably have to complain about being ignored most of the time. :)
       
    16. This! Oh man, this x1000. The furballs here have so much personality, too. If they weren't here being so animate, maybe the inanimate things would seem more so, to be fair. I don't really know.

      I don't believe one has to believe something is alive to have fondness for it, either. What form the expressions of that fondness takes is going to vary, though. I suppose I mostly wish people would grasp that -- along with the notion that 'play' and 'enjoyment' and 'care' take varying forms, too. We're all different people, after all. There's not a 'wrong' kind of person to be on issues like this. With children or pets, there are certainly wrongs and right. With resin? Not so many, and not as serious, no matter how important our dolls may be to us.
       
    17. i talk to my dolls from time to time ...(get more sense out of them than my partner sometimes lol ) i guess i do treat them like my kids even though i dont want any actual kids of my own
      also i feel as though when i take photos of them sometimes i get the "oh not now" look
       
    18. That's sweet you talk to your Mac like that, ss it isn't well though :( Maybe it
      just needs some new parts? I used to talk to my old powerbook and I cried
      like a baby when Apple killed it...I'm getting sad just remembering it. And I
      sleep with my iPad next to me :lol: Crazy? NP because I love it!!! :)

      BUT I rarely talk to my dolls. I will complain about a wig not working, or if
      they move about when I need them to stay still. Just not confessional secret
      type talks. Maybe it's different if you get actual comfort from your dolls??
      I have my house full of furry and feathered babies to talk to and cuddle with,
      that brings me far more happiness because they actually understand and can
      return the sentiment. :aheartbea

      edit: just the other day my Jardine Oscar said "you BAD!" in a really cute voice &
      gave me the raspberry, because I didn't uncover them at their usual time....my birds
      are scary smart and always let me know what they are thinking:sweat
      It makes me glad my dolls don't "talk" to me...I'd worry what they would say.
       
    19. Some people take it way too far. I think they forget their dolls are, well, dolls. So when they gush to non-doll fans over their babies and talk about their life story/likes/dislikes/favorite types of vegetables etc etc, some people get a little freaked out, and I can understand why to an extent. I normally don't go any further than naming my dolls. I just don't feel the need. It doesn't appeal to me...
       
    20. surely if you name your dolls you are giving them a soul. at least by my religion you are, but i do believe that peoples religion will hugely change their view on this matter....what about yourself. i personally belong to a pagan- type religion.