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

I guess I treat my doll like a friend, even though I technically view her as an extension of my mind. I had imaginary friends when I was little, so having a doll to talk to isn't too far-fetched for me. It ocassionally helps to ramble to her; sometimes I end up helping myself make decent decisions when talking to her. Sure, it may be a "one-sided" conversation, but to me, it vaguely feels more than one-sided. Sometimes, small aspects of my mind I don't expect come up and helps me with things.

 

haha.

I'm actually the person that always says my dolls are my children. I don't really dress them for bed every night, but I do always make sure they look nice. I do talk to them sometimes. Actually, my Impldoll Aaron is kind of one of my closer "friends," for lack of a better world. I talk to him a lot when I'm sad, or stressed, in a fight with my girlfriend or family, etc etc. I mean, I know he's not going to say anything back but sometimes...I guess I just always feel like he's listening somehow. ^.^;

Does it bother me when people treat their dolls as inanimate objects?
No.
What bothers me is when people toss them around like they're rag dolls, though. When they're tossing them around and not being careful. I had a friend that used to just carry her doll everywhere by the arm and she once smashed it into a wall because she was running with it and not watching where she was going. She wondered why it broke. x_x;

 

I don't treat them like children or friends, since I'd feel a bit odd doing that as they are inanimate. I do treat them with extra care, though (i.e. I'll take one with me when traveling, I'll have one sit by me if I feel like it, etc.). At the end of the day, they're still dolls - although very special ones.

 

I treat my dolls like inanimate objects 90% of the time. I like them, but I don't always have time to do anything with them. I change their outfits somewhere between once a week and once a month unless I'm on a sewing rampage.

But I tend to personify them when talking about them to people who are in the hobby. I'm more likely to just say "the doll/my doll" rather than call them by name around my parents and people who don't really care which one is Saif.

I don't really care how other people treat their dolls... though sometimes damage makes me go But eh... IT CAN BE REBUILT! If all those great modders have shown me anything.

 

I treat my doll like a child or a friend. I talk to her a lot, I am always messing with her clothes and her hair. I bring her with me wherever I go around my house. She watches movies with me, and sits on my lap when I play Left 4 Dead and other computer games. I even find myself petting her face or head tenderly sometimes... xD I always handle her with great care. Not just the kind of care that is like "cautious," but more loving care. My doll, Manami, is very special to me, and not just because of how much she cost.

 

I am fully aware that Chae-ri is nothing more than a hunk of plastic shaped like a rather idealized (if abnormally large-headed) female. She doesn't think, she doesn't feel, and she certainly isn't alive. That having been said, I enjoy projecting a personality onto her, imagine her expressing likes and dislikes, and make up things she says in my head. I take her to work with me where I can admire her at my desk and think up snarky comments for her to make about the occasional less-than-intellgient customer. I pretend she calls me "Mama" and I write tiny notes I imagine coming from her. At home she sits beside me on the arm of my chair, and sometimes I hold her and admire her, petting her hair. At night she sleeps on a yo (a Korean futon) beside my pillow. I love making things for her and buying her the occasional wig or special outfit. It gives me pleasure and it's not causing anyone any harm, so I see nothing wrong with it.

Oh, and her first birthday (May 7) is coming up. I need to do something special for her.

 

This. Exactly! I love my dolls as art pieces, but when in a BJD-friendly enviroment I find it easier to talk about them personified, and I give them character and personality. I just don't feel compelled to talk to them all the time and "be their mama"...or even take them out sometimes^^

 

none of the above, really. he seems alive to me but i don't think of him as a friend or anything... more like an effigy of a character that exists elsewhere. dunno if that makes sense.

 

I suppose I treat her like I treat any other doll. I grew up with porcelain dolls and, even though I never expected them to reply, I'd chatter away while I doted on them and that hasn't changed. I'll talk to her and get frustrated with her if she doesn't do what I'm trying to get her to do, but I don't feel guilty for not playing with her for weeks if I'm busy.

 

I take Theodore out places and I kind of consider him a friend/child like I do my dog--she's not exactly my child either but enough of one that she's my mom's "grandchild" and so is my doll. My conversations with him are in my head mainly, but I hope to change that as I adjust to him more. I'm crazy about my dog and I feel the same way about Theo.

 

Considering that they are inanimate objects, I treat them like they are.
My dolls sit on display just like a trophy or a painting. They're there to look pretty, and I can use them for photography or sewing when I feel like it. Just as I use flowers or a mannequin. Although they sort of resemble human beings, I don't think its right or sane to treat them like I would a human being.

 

And when they do answer, I either take the initiative to see a doctor or take a long, well needed nap. c:

I treat my dolls as such, dolls. Granted because they are my characters "brought to life" sometimes I remark on how they're being snooty on a particular day or acting up when they don't cooperate during a photo shoot. And I do fuss over them a lot but I don't sit and talk to them in a darkened room and expect them to answer back. I also don't cuddle and sleep with them either (resin seems very uncomfortable to "cuddle" with...) but when I'm not using them they sit on my shelf, in a designated spot c:

 

My dolls are my babies It's not like I don't know that they can't respond or anything like that, it's just I love them so much, taking care of them, making them look nice, I don't know... I guess I just feel since they can look so human they can be treated the same

 

I had to think about this question for quite some time. Honestly, i do agree that it is over simplifying things to just classify bjds as inanimate objects. They are special to me. I think there is a certain charm and allure about them since i was in control of everything that had to do with my doll Sophie. I chose her eyes, her hair, i specifically sew outfits that compliment her look, and overall, she is a reflection of me or the qualities of myself that i am most proud of. Given that i rarely talk to my doll or thought it was strange to even give her a name, she seems to come to life every time i pose or stare at her. I think it's easy to become a little more sentimental with a doll you personally created and looks so real, than a cellphone or expensive bag. I spend a lot of time with Sophie and do a lot of things for her, so for me, she was able to transcend the boundaries of being just a doll, and more of a quiet companion. That being said, i don't enjoy playing with her as much as being with my friends or spending time with my boyfriend, but she is precious to me. I think it's okay to have a soft spot for dolls in the same sense that children love build-a-bears, but i would never put her before any living being. Children know stuffed animals aren't alive, but still treat them like they are. Just like i know Sophie isn't, but treating her as such does not mean I'm crazy or believe they are more important than anything else.

 

I don't treat my doll like a child or a friend. Usually when I talk to him, it's to make fun of him. But I do talk to him, the same as I talk to most of my inanimate objects. I talk to my laundry, and I talk to my computer even more than my doll. I don't expect any of these things to talk back. It's a habit I got into when I was younger; I read a lot, and since characters in books often talk to themselves or their possessions, I came to do it myself. That being said, of all my material possessions, he's one of the most likely to be grabbed in a fire, so he's certainly not on the same level as my rug. I enjoy him because he brings beauty into my life. When I look at him, I'm reminded of the friend who helped me buy him, and the fact that my life is luxurious enough that I could afford to buy an expensive piece of art. I don't see anything wrong with the people who do treat their dolls like children any more than I see something wrong with someone who refers to their boat by name and gender. I think that one of the ways humans demonstrate the importance of inanimate objects to them is to elevate them in language and opinion by assigning human qualities to them. Human survival in the past has relied greatly on tools and creations. It's no surprise that even now, we can bond strongly with things we know aren't alive, because it's served us so well to in the past. I wouldn't choose my doll over my dog if I could only save one, but between my doll and my rug, well, which one has made my life better? The doll. Though I guess it isn't a fair comparison because the rug in question is the bane of my existence.

 

Considering the fact I call my girls my daughters, I treat them like my children. I primarly do this because many others do and it bugs a certain friend of mine :P. I don't adjust the way they sit or their hair every 5 minutes though. They are still inanimate objects but I like to pretend that they aren't. So I would randomly say something to them or pat their heads and adjust the way they sit so they can watch tv with me.

 

Well, I'd say inanimate object but somehow I do believe that they carry... not souls, but more like auras around them, so I still give them more attention then ordinary objects and all.

 

Hmmm, I think it is also oversimplifying things to say anyone truly treats their doll like a child- just because you talk at it, take it places, dress it up or watch TV with it, does not really mean you treat the doll like a child. Children are much more involved than that! And, the love you have for a child far surpasses any love even imagineable before you have them in how different it is.

I think some people just treat the dolls as something very special, not comparable to friend or child, but for those who go beyond than 'inanimate object to paint and make clothes for', just very special.

 

I don't bother about how other people treat their dolls. At first I do care, but that was when I had just gotten into the hobby.

I treat my dolls in all 3 forms? Kids when I fuss over their clothes, wigs and stuffs. Friends when I need to rant/rave/talk-to-something-anything. Inanimate objects when I wanna take photos of them or just can't be bothered with them at all. That's how I go about it now. During the first few months of being into the hobby, I treat them as though they're my kids and can respond to me. Lol I'm that crazy.

 

I treat them like pets... Why that would you'll ask me. Then they aren't like childrens or friends, because they dont aswer me, but I talk to them, like to my rats.