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when a doll looks very much like a child is that good or bad?

Jul 11, 2015

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    1. some dolls are so beautifully done, they look like real human children, i cannot decide if that is good or bad. i have mixed emotions about that. cannot sort them out .
       
      #1 Gmgali, Jul 11, 2015
    2. Hm, are you talking about dolls that look child-like *and* sexy? Or dolls that merely resemble babies and children?
       
      #2 eugenio-ruspoli, Jul 11, 2015
    3. not sexy. just too human. almost like real child.
       
      #3 Gmgali, Jul 11, 2015
    4. I think as an art piece they are fantastic and for people with child characters they want to shell obviously they're great. It does worry me when people sexualise childlike dolls but that goes for people sexualising children in general, it's not specifically a doll issue, sadly.
      Can I ask what exactly you feel could be bad about them? Like, do you mean if they anatomically correct or do you just mean that you find it creepy that they look like miniature actual children?
       
      #4 Neut, Jul 11, 2015
    5. it is a mixed bag of weird emotions that i have about too human look. for example, i would never want to have a doll that would look like my children or a child of anybody who i know. that would bother me tremendously.
       
      #5 Gmgali, Jul 11, 2015
    6. It's great that you know yourself well enough to avoid the kinds of dolls that would bother you! But isn't this really a matter of personal taste and preference. rather than a moral question of "good" or "bad"?
       
      #6 Cynthia in FlintHills, Jul 11, 2015
    7. of course i did not mean moral. i was wondering what other people think about "too human" look. definitely did not question morality.
       
      #7 Gmgali, Jul 11, 2015
    8. Are there any dolls in particular that you thought looked very realistic? For me, I find most of them stylized enough that they don't look like real children. The eyes especially tend to be too large for that.
       
      #8 Yukamina, Jul 11, 2015
    9. #9 orinoco_flow, Jul 11, 2015
    10. #10 Gmgali, Jul 11, 2015
    11. ditto the Uncanny Valley, OP.

      Are you bothered by all fictional depictions of childhood sexuality or only by adult voyeuristic gaze into children's sexuality? There should be a space, artistically and academically, for discussing adults' own feelings about their own sexuality or childhood curiosities and experiences...right? If this is expressed with fictional characters or with memoir, I don't see why it should raise any hackles?
       
      #11 eugenio-ruspoli, Jul 11, 2015
    12. Ah, I get it! Yeah I can see why that could weird some people out. I think though that maybe some children would enjoy it if a parent was a doll collector and they got a doll that looked like them. Just a matter of personal taste I guess!

      I'll admit that as someone who is asexual I don't feel this is something I can really comment on. I didn't experience sexuality as a child so I don't really have any idea of how it should or should not be portrayed. It does bother me but, again, I'm very aware that may be due to a personal lack of knowledge in that area. I don't really see how using a doll for this is at all beneficial though? Writing a memoir I get, but actively sexualising the child form separate from ones self does bring up red flags for me.
      Anyway, I don't think that's the discussion the OP wanted to have here and I apologise for misunderstanding and bringing it up.
       
      #12 Neut, Jul 11, 2015
    13. ok, one little note and I'll cede the ground, as well.

      You mentioned red flags and I assume you feel that sexy child-like dolls and depictions of childhood sexuality is either the result of a pedophilic imagination or are intended to arouse these feelings in the viewer. But it could simply be age play, and the doll is simply a prop/avatar in a solo or collaborative work of RP. Lest anyone thinks I believe all sexy childlike dolls are erotic props I want to stress that this *isn't* the case. But I do think the boundary between kinky interests and other hobbies are more blurred online than in real life, and that's what we're seeing sometimes.

      What's more, I think it's wrong to assume *all* dolls with childlike features to be depictions of children. It could simply be the artist trying to harness our cute aggression for some purpose. Chibi-fied adult characters are not suddenly children, right?
       
      #13 eugenio-ruspoli, Jul 11, 2015
    14. Personally, I like all of my dolls to look realistic. I'm really not into the chibi/anime whatever you want to call it look at all. I'm more bothered by dolls that have really strange proportions (like the extreme exaggerated pear shapes, extra joints in places people don't, etc) than by the really realistic ones. This is also why I don't often find child dolls that I like, because I'm bothered by the fact that the nose and mouth are usually much smaller than the eyes.
       
      #14 CloakedSchemer, Jul 12, 2015
    15. Realistic dolls weird me out in general, but I'm not going to single out the child ones. If we can have dolls that are aliens, mystical creatures, dinosaurs, birds, cats, dogs insert-kind-I-haven't-mentioned-yet-here and not bat an eyelash I'm not gonna get worked up about a realistic child doll. Not my boat they're trying to float.
       
      #15 Temishi, Jul 12, 2015
    16. I prefer not to have any of my dolls look completely realistic, adults or children. I like to keep some sense of them being dolls, I keep them all at an appearance level what I call "medium realism". I understand that for some collectors, achieving as much realism as possible is the ultimate goal, it just isn't how I enjoy my hobby. I've always collected dolls, and if my crew completely lost their dollishness I think I wouldn't be as attached to them.
       
      #16 idrisfynn, Jul 12, 2015
    17. I have see BJDs that they look like real children, but i don't really like it because i prefer to have a Bjd to look like a doll children then real children dolls i don't know why but they creeping me out...
      Also i have see those newborn babies, i really don't like them either for the same reason. Also they look more like a dead baby and that's why those dolls are creeping me out!
      So for me the real children like dolls is a bad thing.
       
      #17 Arcania, Jul 12, 2015
    18. I am glad people are sharing their opinion on this topic . at times I felt some beautiful dolls maybe too beautiful and too realistic for me, especially when they look like children.. Pushes me away..
       
      #18 Gmgali, Jul 12, 2015
    19. Realisim doesn't bother me nor do children or childlike dolls. I love kids; I teach 3 and 4 year olds. :) It can be a deterrent if the doll looks or might end up looking like a child I know but it usually is just a "Hey, this doll kinda looks like So-and-so. How neat!"
       
      #19 silverholly, Jul 12, 2015
    20. I love the look of realistic dolls, but I don't want any in my collection. I just think its neat how close to realism people can get.
       
      #20 brightberry, Jul 13, 2015
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