What would Freud say?

Probably that I'm unhappy with my own body and thus I get a bjd because they're perfect. Essentially that I'm too ____ in my mind to be beautiful to others and thus I can live vicariously through the doll. I don't necessarily believe that but I'd imagine that's what would be said about it :'D Either that or my committment issues. I love bjd because I don't have to maintain a relationship with them. I can put them on a shelf and leave them and they will never begin to hate me because they're not human-if I ignore a person they will inevitably hate me. Therefore, because I hate to commit to relationships I seek out inanimate objects that I won't have to commit to instead of worrying about human relationships Though I have a boyfriend and a large-ish group of friends.

 

Freud would say we have penis envy haha.

 

Polar opposite myself and I have all guys and have little to no interest in the girl dolls. I mean honestly the boobs get in the way! MY boobs get in my way .... and in my soup now and then too
I don't particularily wish I had a penis, but some days I could KILL to be male and never be called sweetheart by a total stranger in a store again!

Anyways, my dolls are small people i can talk to, go places with hang out with and never have to worry about them suddenly turning on me. I figure if I stay in this hobby long enough, I'll have forsworn real people entirely... and REALLY be a candidate for this thread!

 

I was thinking more along the lines of how a doll would satisfy someone who likes lolicon porn (animated porn of children for those unfamiliar with the term). Neither depict actual real children, but both would be used for some appeal of a child's body but probably wouldn't fully satisfy the interest.

 

haha I've never thought about the phycology behind dolls xD

For me personally, I think it's something along the lines of I wish I could be that beautiful and have the perfect body/skin and be able to have whatever hair/eye colour I want whenever I want xD And I'm just attracted to pretty things :'D

I do also like to sew, but not human sized things just cause it's too big

I basically buy them cause I like to look at/lay with them and make them stuff =3 it's all for the fun of them ^^

 

I'm reeeeally not into Freud. everything he theorized and thought about psychology had to do with sex and bowel movements. XP
through all the talks I've had with my psychologist we've never really talked about dolls.
considering what everyone's said so far I can say this about myself: I've always loved dolls. I'm a people person and love human (and animal) interaction. however, I was always the freak. always made fun of by my peers. I had few friends in school. I grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who didn't believe I had ADD (which I do) and accused me of being lazy. (zomg Mommy issues)
I suppose dolls make up for the lack of human attention I had. I've always had a doll to care for and to comfort me. I suffered from depression and anxiety as I young teen and was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at age 18.
despite all the help I've been given and all the things I've worked through. all the feelings I've come to finally understand I'm still the freak. but now I have other freaks to chill with and talk to. and I will always have dolls.

sorry for babling my life story. XD

 

All my dolls are/were gay (I had a pair of lesbians too) and are young, none of them will ever grow up and I don't particularly want mature dolls. All of my boys are or were totally emasculated and all of my girls were fairly tomboyish. Freud would have a field day with my doll tendencies.

 

I know you're not really literally asking for Freud's answer, but given the tendency for girls to buy boy dolls ... totally penis envy.

And general psychologists might just say it's a reverting to childhood/comfort issue, or a refusal to grow up/rejection of adulthood. And based on some of the stuff people say on here, it could go deeper than that ... making up for an inability to make real friends, making up for a lack of social skills, trust issues with real people, etc.

 

I think maternal instincts (or paternal as the case may be) do come into play a bit for myself too...I absolutely love babies and so I love the Yo sized BJD's. I like them to look like little kids and be looked after by the bigger ones.

I can't say I personally have boy dolls because of "penis envy", I cannot really take that whole concept seriously at all and it's very outdated :P I don't desire to have a penis nor do I feel it particuarly represents power hehe. I have boys dolls because of the same reason I have girl dolls: I find them to be attractive and like dressing them and giving them personalities.

This is a fun topic though

 

There has to be something with most of my dolls being boys and how I grew up. The whole emotionally uninvolved no matter what you do to my plastic bum thing. A good part of them are celebrities but their characterizations are closer to a character they played in a movie or TV show than the real person. My girls aren't as developed in the character department but I do have one with a big wrack.

It's defenately a comfort thing for me. Many factors lead to a lonely childhood with only my dolls as consistant playmates. People you buy can't hurt you, leave you, or be driven away by your smother and grandsmother.

 

Psychology of ABJD collecting!
Surprised no one's started this topic before.
As far as the depth psychology schools go, I think the Adlerians would probably pathologize ABJD collecting as a symptom of inferiority complex, since they tend to succumb to the same value set as Freudians with regard to distaste for all things associated with childhood, and dolls seem inevitably associated with childhood, weakness, and insignificance in the minds of such people. Our reasons for indulging in this activity would be dismissed as private logic and the activity itself would be seen as wasting time and resources and shirking our social responsibilities.

I think you could easily see Jungian shadow work in a lot of the dark fantasies some people use their dolls to act out. And Jung would probably see ABJD as another example of the way the collective unconscious continuously and naturally expresses itself with archetypical images. Overall, I think it would be viewed as a healthy creative outlet by Jung.

I think Freud would be dismissive, as others have said, too patriarchical and misogynist to find in ABJD collecting anything other than a confirmation of his pathologized view of humanity.

Going outside of depth psychology, the nice thing about cognitive behavioral psychology is that it doesn't concern itself so much with judgments about meaning as much as with practical attempts to correct behavior that is felt to be disruptive by the subject, so ABJD collecting would only be viewed in terms of whether it caused someone distress, just like any other sort of collecting behavior.

Evolutionary behaviorists would probably come up with explanations about our instinctual need to nurture or dominate others being adapted toward these human-shaped objects and about our need to assert ourselves in a social pecking order with other collectors.

Existentialist psychology would rightly see that we often use dolls to create meaning in our lives .

Positive psychology would probably note how many affirming and enhancing qualities ABJD collecting can bring into our lives by broadening and building our experiences, especially of beauty and creativity.

Fun topic!

 

Well I think I was sixteen when I caught what they call "Baby Fever" a common psychological phenomenon among teenage girls. Suddenly there was something very appealing about having a baby of my own. Someone to take care of and love unconditionally. Something that relied on me. I had pets but none of my pets are very cuddly, much to my dismay . But dolls don't have a choice do they ? I knew that I should not have a baby. I had already decided I wasn't even going to get married til 26 (when I believe I will have matured enough ), let alone have a baby! So I looked into dolls. That's why I like small child dolls the best. I think it's a healthy way to keep the baby fever under control, at least healthier than going and getting pregnant.

 

awesome! This is sooo soo good

 

I don't think it takes great psychological insight to have discerned this about myself, but I believe I've always liked dolls because I lived on a farm until I was seven and my only friends were either dolls and stuffed toys or imaginary people. I'm still basically a loner, even though I grew up, married and had a child and have real friends. I somehow never lost my desire for a secret, imaginary world. On the whole, for me, dolls are cheaper and have been more satisfying than therapy.

 

I honestly think there are several reasons as to why people might have dolls. However, I am going with the anthropological explanation since collecting and obtaining objects of various forms has been going on for tens of thousand (and arguably more) years. Humans in various societies and cultures since and arguably before our species evolved into its modern day biological form, has collected objects they find "interesting" and "beautiful." Beads, statues, and countless other items that have no utilitarian use aside from aesthetic purposes have been collected. These doll in a sense are aesthetic pieces that we recreate constantly to suit our aesthetic needs. Regardless of whether some here consider themselves a "doll collector" or not, I think that the basic need of obtaining non-utilitarian goods is almost universal and is found in cultures ranging from hunting and gathering societies to post-industrialized societies.

Psychologist can argue one theory after another as to why people collect and frankly not one theory will fit with all of the various cases of collecting that are documented in every society around the world. I understand the need to explain the almost universal need to collect, however I think that answer will lay outside of the current boundaries of psychological explanation which I feel rest far to much on modern day western societal experiences.

 

That's a fascinating way to see it, NabeeRain. From an anthropological point of view, is it possible that collecting (anything from pretty beads and seashells to BJDs) is a way of displaying capital wealth and connisseurism to the rest of society/community, therefore increasing chances of being elevated to a higher social position and/or included into a selective community (such as DoA)? Or maybe there is some psycho-economical element to collecting (e.g. more of a set sold together costs more than seperating the set and selling each bit individually)?

I also agree with you that although a Freudian view offers one argument, it does not explain some things. No single theory explains everything. That's why psychologists in the workforce mostly take on eclectic/integrated approaches when treating clients.

 

He'd say: Sometimes a doll is just a doll (but only about his own of course!)
Ok, seriously though. From my own perspective I think dolls are a reflection of the lack of control I have over others. I see people as frighteningly unpredictable potentially hazardous beings, whereas my dolls always do exactly what I want them to and with no high impact head games attached.

 

It's a possibility. I know the Native Americans used to do just that with copper, before they used it as a form of currency. They used to collect and trade copper, then make it into necklaces, bracelets and more to show how wealthy they were to be blessed with having such a big collection of the material, about 40 years after that the man with the most copper in a village was viewed as we view millionaires in these modern times. Now imagine that with resin. *Has a friend who made a puki puki faceplate into a necklace* Yes, I do think they can be relatively close comparisons.

And I know some European cultures used to be the same way with pottery and other clay items, from vases to instruments. Clay and the like is very easy to relate to resin dolls. It started as just collecting items of these colors, types and shapes, then before they knew it they were using the same materials to make tiles and then decorating their homes with it.

The same with colored glass, once just a colorful, amazing item to collect. Which over the years as been used in many, many other ways. Such as for windows.

 

Rikka_Mika and kuroichou I think you are both right on!
What is even more interesting is that in societies and cultures that do not have any monetary system, such items are collected for purely ornamental and decorative purposes and do at times indicate status. However, even in hunting and gathering societies that have an almost (though not purely) egalitarian society, such objects are still enjoyed (although on a much smaller scale due to non-sedentary lifestyle). So, while some of us may collect our dolls for the reasons we discussed above, there may be an ever deeper human drive for collecting such objects. This is what I think modern day psychologists are trying to get at, but I feel that most of the theories fall short when they are applied in a universal setting, though I do think they are brilliant and deducing some of the motivating cultural factors driving modern day western societies. ^_^

 

Oh, they have. There are dozens of topics all over the board having to do with one aspect or another of this, just not necessarily using these particular terms.

It's still an interesting thing to think about, regardless. The problem with talking about psychologists by name, of course, is that the average Joe only remembers the name Freud, and so we get into all of the issues swirling around him (the sick pup -- at least he's always good for a joke!). I have a sieve for a brain, so while I retain concepts I immediately forget names of important people or their schools of thought. Loved reading your discussion of them, because you did it so intelligently!

I still go back to: I like 'em. But I suppose all of the rest fits. Hey, I collected sparkly rocks when I was a kid. I also never grew up. I live in a place where I'm ... how to say... OUT of place. So yes, this gives me lots of friendly little faces to look at and play with. Um, what else... yes, I have depression. NO, I'm not exercising my maternal instincts; I have living, breathing, EATING, GROWING children for that . Never especially wanted to be male aside from being utterly incensed that when I was young there were things girls just didn't DO, and it made me angry. I guess I fit most of the pathology.

And it's still fun to ponder what it is about these things that is so fascinating to us. I don't know that anyone will have "the answer," ever.