Why are so many boy dolls so girly?

Haha..I love this question because it has crossed my mind many times. I'm not a big fan of pretty boys either, so why am I attracted to DIM Ace?? I do prefer Volks or Ringdoll when it comes to males and though they are not super masculine, they are for the most part identifiably male. Where the heck are the GI Joe's of the bjd world?

Okay, I find it even more annoying when a company puts out boy sculpts which are all gloriously pretty and then the girls sculpts are totally 'fugly' (I'll let you figure the two words I put together here).

 

I have a kid delf aru male and he's mistaken for a girl. I actually like those girly sculpts. ////
Maybe they make those girlier sculpt to please fan girls and maybe since its an Asian companies who usually do this, it's to imitate male anime character who have girlier features, usually. Like those MSD's (⌒▽&#8978

 

Its from asia guys in asia are girly looking than american males. Japenese guys and anime guys are female looking.

 

Female looking? I don't think pretty boys or asian men are female looking. They take better care of their appearance, yes, but that doesn't make them look like girls. I appreciate men's beauty without having the need of comparing them with women.

I agree with @AlisonVonderland's post. The problem is not that guys look very effeminate but the girls themselves are not womanly (most of them). Some companies put more effort into the male sculpts which makes the girls look less appealing (for me, at least).

 

I completely agree with yumi~. The Asian guys I know do take better care of their appearance, one has skin that is smoother, brighter and prettier than any girl I know. They might come off looking 'feminine' to people because of their style and thin figure, but it's really the matter of fashion, not because they actually look feminine.
Some male BJD's might also look 'girly', but I don't really think it's them. It's more like the way we choose to categorize things. Since dolls are not real people, but they are man-made. A typical artist would sculpt his or her dolls so that they look as pretty as possible. The dolls ended up with very well-defined features on their faces, with the additional face-ups, they become even prettier. Their beauty is usually seen not on real boys, but rather some girls. Ultimately, male dolls who look 'feminine' are just male dolls who have very well-defined features, they aren't exactly girly, though there are always exceptions depending on how each individual view these dolls.

 

A lot of bjd males have the same heads as bjd girls. Some heads are ambiguous enough that I don't mind but with a lot of heads I think "definitely girl", even when it's on a boy body. I like pretty boys but I wish the faces were a bit more masculine.

 

lol, so people can crossdress their dolls, imo

 

I like feminine men, so I prefer my male dolls to be as such. However, I dislike the ones that look just like women, they have to at least have two major features, (face-wise) that point to male before I even consider them. I also prefer strong, muscular bodies, big masculine hands and large feet to match. All in all, I like them pretty, but masculine enough to be known as males. Uni Ark for example is pretty, and a bit feminine because of the eyes, but there's no way that anyone will mistake him as a woman...unless they think he's a witch. XD

 

I don't really ever see myself buying a male doll, but if I did, I would want a manly man! I am attracted to the manly type in real life so it makes sense that I would want that in a male doll. Maybe I would be more interested in buying a male doll if there were more manly options.

 

a lot of women like men who appear feminine and androgynous while still maintaining their masculinity. this isn't really a beauty norm in the west - the closest thing we have is being 'metrosexual' - but in the east they have a lot more culture regarding the acceptance of 'pretty boys'. the 2 non-asian examples i can think of would be celebrities Bill Kaulitz and to a lesser extent (since he's always gone for more 'andro' than 'pretty' - David Bowie)... another reason pop stars like Justin Bieber are popular is for their clean/cute look, and it's why boyband stars get less popular as they get older (they're less "cute" or "pretty") unless they completely change their public image.

anyway, because 'pretty boys' are something of a rarity in real life, and a lot of straight women desire them when a great majority of IRL pretty boys may not be heterosexual (this is a generalization/stereotype but there is a truth within it)- i think that's why they are SO popular as dolls - girls who like that kind of guy can have something that is 'close to reality' and is also attainable for them. basically they are doing the exact same thing that people who are attracted to women may be prone to doing - being able to 'have' their beauty ideal realized, even if they're in a real life relationship, they can have this 'fantasy relationship' as well (or instead of).

my preferences are complex anyway, i like and appreciate other people's femme boy dolls but i'm not sure yet if i will buy one some day.

 

that's so true. lots of male dolls are super "kawaii" and the girls look manly in comparison .___.

my guess is that since most BJD started anime-ish looking and anime characters just don't look manly. so now we have to question, why does the average anime guy have girl face? xD

 

Well they are made in Asia, and Asians like cute/young/girly things it seems. Why the male dolls seem so feminine to us westerners is probably because they are modeled after ideal Asian proportions. Broad shoulders, tall frame, small hips, thick neck, muscular or toned body...these are ideals of the west but if I (caucasian woman) would go to Japan or Korea, I would probably be taller, broader, etc...than many men. Personally I see it as a younger look rather than a girly look most of the time. (12 year old boy rather than girl or woman)

 

Somebody else probably mentioned this, but it's a long thread and I'm lazy. But anyways,

I think a lot of it has to do with perception. Most people when they think of dolls think of female dolls. Most doll collectors and children who play with dolls are females so I'm not sure if that has something to do with it. But when we were all kids dolls were 'girly'. Girls played with them and they wore doll dresses. I know that some people had boy dolls, but most of the time they were girly. Look at the toy shelves today, dolls have long hair.
So I think when people think of dolls they automatically think of girl dolls. And if you have that in your head, you're going to think the doll looks feminine, even if it's not.

 

I agree. Personally, I am drawn to dolls that look like dolls. I mean, boys are great and all, but I am a doll collector, and I am drawn to the ones who look less like the action figures of old. If that makes seance...

 

If you look at the differences between male and female face in western civilizations and such Asian countries as Japan, China and Korea we find that there is markedly more difference between the structures of a male and female face in these western races than there is in the Asian ones which seem a lot closer in structure and therefore, to western cultures, the men can seem quite androgynous or feminine. Obviously the companies who make bjds are going to be highly influenced by the facial composition and aesthetics of their own countries, leading to what we can perceive as an over abundance of feminine looking boys.

Furthermore, I'm not sure if this is really the case, but I've found that a lot of my friends who are into manga, anime, jrock, kpop etc, seem to find the look of Asian men increasingly more appealing, often in over handsome men of their own countries. A lot of my friends will go nuts for slender, beautiful Japanese men (whom I personally don't find attractive) and then look at me funny when I drool over a six foot six scandinavian with muscles galore. I definitely feel the lack of male sculpts that are from a more western point of view both handsome and highly masculine and have steered away from buying a lot of my boys because of this even though I've found bodies, like the Herculean, that make me drool, I can't find appropriate heads (and so my Eadoin, and Bruce, and other manly characters, have gone unmade). However, a lot of my bid friends really haven't seen this as an issue when I talk to them and, even though I know they are trying to be helpful, when they offer me ideas for masculine sculpts they always are way too effeminate for me.

 

Androgyny in male dolls sells well, I suppose.

But it's kinda funny you should say this, because I actually prefer more masculine female faces (Jane Morris, for example). If I ever get an SD sized doll, then I'd probably be on the look out for a masculine female face.

On MSDs though, I'm good with a good amount of femininity, there's still a massive place in my heart for that. Besides, the male dolls I'm interested in look more boyish than girly.

 

IDK,all dolls have a different personality you give them and they just have.
So it's natural if you ask me for boys to appear girly time to time.
If intentional or not.

 

I really like some of Iples males dolls because even though they are still for the most part pretty, they have more muscle and more manly faces.

I prefer sculpts that are more realistic though so this is just my taste, but tbh I'm not really into the thin pretty waif-like sculpts for either gender.

A lot of people do like that kind of sculpt though so I guess they just must sell better?

 

Asian aesthetics. Being Korean, I know I can say for a fact that girly boys are a sort of a "fad". Even in Dramas, Music Groups, and Models, you see more pretty boys than manly boys.

 

Right? Where are all the bjd males that actually looks like males? And I find even if there are manly bjd's out there, either they're the huge 60-75cm and are super manly with over exhagerated jawlines or just don't exist. Most people here hit the nail on the head with saying the reasoning behind why there's so many that aren't that manly, but I still wish there were more MALE bjd's out there, especially in the msd size.