Why are so many boy dolls so girly?

It is very much a cultural thing. If you visit Japan, Korea, and even China, they value softer features over square jaws and muscles. I don't like to classify things as 'feminine' or 'masculine' just because certain features or clothes are more often seen on one gender, anyways.
As many people have said, look at any asian musician(and not just j/k-rock). Many of them are very soft-featured and 'feminine'. Also, while I don't see why people are so peeved with anime, I'm sure a lot of doll makers take their influence from that, too.
Maybe when we start getting more american doll makers we'll see some more masculine BJDs, but even within the western community a lot of collectors prefer softer male features.

 

I would love to see more masculine sculpts. I wonder if age has anything to do with "girly" vs masculine preferences. Perhaps younger doll owners are more involved with the youth culture of Japan and modern Japanese music, fashion, etc, and therefore might prefer to have a doll that reflects that culture. Just a thought.

 

Somehow we seem to be skipping over that a face-up can really make a difference in how feminine or masculine these androgynous moulds look. I also agree a good part beyond the aesthetic appeal of it is customization. This hobby would be boring if the sculpts were too specialized in my opinion.
I like the sculpts as they are and don't like the overly masculine boy dolls. Honestly I've yet to see many men in real life who look remotely like the iplehouse dolls - they're just as much an unrealistic aesthetic taste as the 'girly dolls' are. Sure more variety would be nice for those who want more muscle men and the in betweens but we're not that bad off really. Modding and customizing can certainly make a difference and we worry too much that people look and assume girl.

 

My Dollzone Yuu gets mistaken for a Girl very often. I think it's because a lot of people doesn't know that there are dolls who are male, or even having those gender specific marks. Most people don't believe me when I say that he's a boy... but i really hate those guys who are saying "That is defenitly a Girl!" and don't even listen to ehat i got to say. I know better than the others that he is a guy, why are they even trying? xD

 

Another aspect of this is that faceups, even natural ones, are kind of bound to make people think of makeup. Even fairly subdued eyelashes look more defined on a doll, and the lips and cheeks have some colour to make the doll look more alive. This probably triggers an impression of "feminine" in many people.

 

I don't want to sound biased but,

I think it's an Asian aesthetic since I see a lot of Asian male celebrities, etc have a feminine face etc and since most bjd creators and sculptors are from Asia it makes sense to me also in anime and manga men tend to look feminine which I think is another contributing factor.

 

I have all BOYS and they often get mistaken as girls even as I always said "Unoa Lusis BOY" or "BBB Espree BOY". It kinda annoys me cause I have already spelled it out and people still dont get it, lols! But my boys' face-ups/clothes/styles are pretty girly so I dont really blame people for mistaking them as girls!

 

I think it's either due to cultural aesthetics or direction for androgynous features. My current collection consists entirely of boys and I haven't had a problem with other people recognizing their genders aside from my NaNuRi and Wi. It doesn't bother me so much, since I can see how such an easy mistake could be made (their faceups are feminine). I'm inclined to believe that perhaps there aren't many masculine sculpts because it's just not traditional for dolls to be made that way. It's only now that companies have taken surveys and/or observed marketing patterns that this sort of thing is emerging, and with a huge spike at that.

 

my LUTS-Yder also got mistaken as a girl EVERYTIME... i think its a LUTS thing... their sculptures tend to be more feminine... and maybe girl-like boys are more pretty!!?!

 

I like feminine boys, I have a few dolls I'd like that are, but I have more guy dolls that I want that are supposed to look like guys. Sure I don't want them to look like freaking body builders, but cheeks that aren't extremely rounded, eyes that aren't huge and childlike, and a chin that has a bit of strength to it would help. My characters aren't anime boys, so it makes it a little difficult. Really only in MSD size though, SDs I've found plenty of more masculine molds, I just don't know if I want such a big doll yet ^^;

It's an asian thing though, I'm sure. They like their pretty girly boys, but I like my characters to look like guys.

 

I would just like to add that it is not only that male beauty differs aesthetically between east and west. Let's not forget that it differs physically. A male Asian differs from a male Caucasian. Asians have rounder features and smaller bodies. Caucasians have a more square jaw and bigger noses. We just look different.
So some of these dolls are not feminine at all. They have male features more typical of an Asian male and that does not make them girly. It just makes them look more Asian.
Of course there are still characters and dolls that might still be considered feminine or made that way.
But I think a lot of it has to do with the ethnic differences.

 

I personally love the dolls that look like they can be both a girl and a boy. Not only is it a cultural preference in say Korea, Japan and China but studies have shown that people find androgynous faces to be more attractive, best of both worlds!

Also, when a company makes their sculpt as such I think it's so that one can easily just change the body and modify it to be a girl or boy depending on preference.

 

I'm just curious and maybe someone out there on the internet can give me an idea...

...but why is that many of the styles that I find on Mint On Card (amongst other sites) are very...."effeminate" we'll call them? Last I checked, men wear pants more often than not, and many of these styles seem to emphasize the dress or extreme short shorts rather than actual full leg coverings. Am I the only one who has questions about this?

 

There are plenty of places that sell full length pants for dolls, both male and female. It just takes a bit of searching.

 

I got my Apollo a great pair of jean/cargo pants (full-length) that look anything BUT feminine. But I get what you mean. It does take a bit of searching. A lot of places have pants for boy dolls, but sometimes, all they have are super-skinny jeans and that isn't my doll's character's style. Originally, I had wanted to get him a pair of regular jeans, but I settled on the cargo pants because they weren't skinny, didn't look strange, and were still in stock. I couldn't get a good idea as to what they looked like, but I was pleasantly surprised when they looked like some simple - yet still awesome - jeans

 

I know that many j-rockers are feminine looking but I can tell there guys (unlike my mom who sais thing like "oh I want a haircut like that girl") but these dolls also have girly features like small mouths, small/pointy noses and big eyes even some of the girlie japanese popstars (see Bou) look guy ish with out makeup. Why cant they atlest make a boy who looks like a boyish girl?

 

I've always thought some of the best looking men out there would make beautiful women. I think lots of male models in the fashion world are androgynous. I also think that long hair on a guy is incredibly sexy. (I was a metalhead back in the 80's so I love that long, sexy rocker hair.)

 

I'm a little glad that there aren't many manly dolls, not because I don't like them, but because I don't have money for dolls and they're the only ones I'd consider. xD While I still think the girly-er guy dolls are still pretty, they're just not my preference. But at the same time, my taste is very specific because when I say I like the manly dolls, I also don't like the really chiseled ones. I prefer the way Asian men looks and not many are as chiseled and angular like Bishonen House's dolls but more delicately handsome instead. I think what I mean is that I like the more pretty boys and realistic molds that also can't be mistaken for girls. xD That makes it very hard for me to find dolls I would buy. ^^;

 

I've wondered that myself. This point has probably been regurgitated a hundred times, but to me, though, BJDs appear to have stemmed from anime origins (long necks and limbs, wide faces, large eyes, small mouths, and tall noses), and it's not uncommon at all to see effeminate, or at least androgynous looking males in anime (or at least in the ones I've seen). or maybe it's a marketing ploy devised by doll companies because it increases customization, which is a principle that seems long-upheld by BJD companies. But I seldom see masculine-looking females on the doll market in general (and even "seldom" is a bit of an understatement).

 

I definitely wish male dolls looked more masculine at certain sizes. It seems like MNF and smaller are very girly, while EID size are waaaaaay manly. There's hardly any happy in between stages. Particularly when the bodies can be so devastatingly yummy (lovely chiseled muscles, pretty round tight butt..), I feel it makes the girly face look extremely out of place. One can hope that maybe someday the market will come out with more "realistic, western" guys, but the apparent lack of interest in a majority of the community will probably keep them from ever being hugely mainstream.

My own take on the question, why? Probably started with cultural influences from where the dolls are made. Classically, masculinity seems to be expressed in behavior and manner, rather than pure looks. Go look at Kabuki theater, or old tapestries from China or Korea. Then pop culture today in Asia leans towards the effeminate. From those roots, ongoing demand for pretty guys keeps companies making them.