Why do you like feminine male BJDs?

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I loved reading through this thread! I agree with what most have said ^^

I like the mystery surrounding a person's gender and that applies to dolls too, so that it doesn't define who they are. Every time I introduce my doll to someone, I leave out his gender and yes he looks quite feminine but that's one reason I fell in love with him and had to buy him!
Also, I think feminine men appear more graceful, sweet and elegant which translates to dolls too (this is one thing I love about them) though it doesn't limit them!
Maybe my love for this stemmed from manga/anime like several of the others in this thread, I'm not entirely sure why

 

I only have one SD boy and one YoSD boy atm, but both of them can be considered "feminine" if we go by stereotypes.
The thing is, I find those stereotypes and gender roles being restrictive and suffocating, to put it mildly.
Gender is a spectrum, and a certain gender expression shouldn't be limited to a certain gender.

 

I think androgynous guys look like magic guys. It is not ordinary look, it is interesting. Doll is material for fantasy and androgynous beauty is part of tale. Real people androgynous is piece of tale too for me.

 

I love androgynous dolls! I'm a nonbinary trans guy, so shelling a doll that looks feminine but is still male would help a lot with my dysphoria. I'm actually planning an FTM mod for one doll.

 

I'm a girly guy myself, so I prefer guy dolls I have to not be way more manly then me. I know it comes from insecurities, so I guess I like this aspect in the hobby because it helps me feel less insecure. That being said I like the androgynous look in girls quite often too. So some of it is that I like the way the lines are becoming more blurred, anything that opens a door to my existence being valid I guess.

I think what is seen as "normal" is great and should continue to be celebrated, but I do like it when that idea of what is normal is challenged in any form, because a lot of people just can't ever fit the mold, and their way of being needs to be celebrated as well.

 

Three of my six adult guys are feminine looking. I dress Conri in what are clearly boys' clothes to keep him from looking like a girl. Looking androgynous suits him as he's based on an anime character, and is uncertain of who he is in his current character. The other two are more genderflexable? Ethan, who was made by Soom, has a very flamboyant pair of pajama pants no one else would ever want to borrow. He'd also be quite happy to wear a skirt and go topless. Rick, also made by Soom, is less flamboyant, but has a similar attitude of "If you have a problem with my hair or my clothes, that's your problem."

That might be a more specific answer than asked for, but I guess sometimes I use gender conventions for my dolls, and sometimes I use my dolls to laugh at them. If women wear pantsuits why can't men have long hair?

 

ive always loved creating male characters who break the "masculine" male stereotype which is generally more accepted in reality, but i can't exactly say.... why? not that that bothers me, i like breaking the norm in terms of gender identity and sexuality with my own creations.
i have plans for a few "feminine" or androgynous male dolls because these things are close and personal to my heart, and i wish it was accepted as equally as everything else in society.
phew that answer got a bit political, haha! but that's how i feel in relation to this topic :- )

 

Ooh interesting thread!
I think I'll have to agree with what some have said here and that I like the whole androgynous look.
Its nothing to do with gender or any deep meaning, just like that I can put him in boyish clothes and he'll look good and I can put him in more feminine clothes and he'll look good!

 

There are plenty of personal reasons I could name for this. But it really comes down to some simple things:

I don't hold anyone to a standard. This is especially true for people who identify as males and females. "Masculine" and "feminine" have no value to me the way it has in societies throughout history. I'm not going to expect those things from anyone, because I don't think it's necessary, fair, or even that good. I don't care about guys being "manly" or girls being "girly" because that's honestly hardly even realistic. Most of the masculinity and femininity that people give off can often be seen as the result of living their childhood or their entire lives while being conditioned by their environment, whether that's a good or a bad thing (And if someone finds that hard to believe, then think of it this way: even in anatomical muscle illustrations, the female body is illustrated as a normal person who is slim but doesn't really work out, whereas the male body is illustrated very muscular even though that body is only really achieved by working out. It's as if it's not just an expectation, but an assumption of what really is or should be).

...With all of that out of the way, my dolls may be perceived as masculine, feminine, or anywhere on the spectrum, but it's just a result of who they are, and not a result of conforming to unrealistic/outdated/obsolete standards and expectations. So choosing a "feminine" sculpt for someone who identifies as "male"... I don't even think about whether or not it's "feminine" because that's not important to me, and I don't hold any weight to such values.
And specifically in the context of dolls, I'm trying to stay in the 40-50cm range, so it's hard to find mature sculpts. If I chose a really mature "masculine" sculpt, it would also hypothetically make my other dolls look like child heads on adult bodies, and I would prefer for them not to be perceived as such.

 

I've had a few conversations with friends and seen comments online about "if you're going to style your boy doll like a girl, why not just get a girl doll?", but since I don't have any male dolls or OCs of this type myself, I can only respond with general observations about common types of people I see drawn to the doll hobby, gender perceptions and presentation, cultural differences, and so on. So I'd like to bump this thread and hear from more people who can offer their own first-hand insights as to why they choose to style their male dolls in feminine style.

In particular, I'd love to hear from those of you who choose to make a male doll not just androgynous or not-overly-masculine, but distinctly feminine. What inspires you to create this kind of doll/character? Is it a "why not?" or a "because I can" type of thing for you, or is there something about this kind of sex-and-gender interaction that has a more specific meaning or resonance or appeal for you?

 

I'm just really into androgyny/gender nonconformity in general!

Vince is pretty androgynous-- in large part because his childlike sculpt means that with a change of wig and outfit, he can go from one perceived gender to another very easily, and that's something I knew I wanted in my first doll. I wanted the flexibility of doing masculine or feminine things. Vince as a character is always male even if he models a dress-- it's just about what's cute with him.

With Pete, he's a very femme guy, and it's less about me being able to keep things flexible and more about his set aesthetic, which is more androgynous (but his favorite color is pink, which tips him further into femme territory.

I do have plans for future guy dolls who are not so feminine, but... on the whole, I really like that androgynous touch. I think gender roles are blah and I think softness and prettiness are good things. Even a more masc-styled guy can have pretty features, or a brawny manly-man can like floral prints and pastels... it's all good stuff to play around with.

 

I'd honestly never thought of my avatar doll (a Resinsoul Ming) as having a feminine appearance, but the first time I took him out in a public space, 99% of the comments were "oh, what a pretty girl!"...which was a bit confusing to me. He does have long hair, which in my cultural area tends to mean "female" or else "biker"...but he also has antlers, which both in nature and symbolically are almost always masculine. I guess long hair overshadows antlers when it comes to masculine/feminine symbols...

Another thing that might contribute is that nearly all dolls made over here are female. Ergo, someone sees a doll and automatically assumes it's a girl because most Barbies, American Girl dolls, baby dolls, etc. are.

Eh. I'm not particularly bothered by it, but it was definitely eye-opening to have my perceptions of my doll be completely different than that of nearly all passersby who saw him.

 

I generally like variety in my crew in general. I also favor androgyny and breaking gender stereotypes. I do have some general pretty boys who veer a little more feminine in their demeanor---in the fact that they pay attention to their looks, attire, and the like. I also have girls who skew more masculine--one who dresses more professionally and authoritative in an attempt to be taken seriously and also be intimidating, while the other is just a tomboy by nature and doesn't take gender roles seriously. I've also got one that generally defies gender roles, and doesn't identify as either. And one boy of mine is intentionally feminine; it's become a crutch to him in-story in fact. He's a tough, take no criticisms without fighting back sort of fellow who just happened to be born with rather feminine looks. He's had to fight to prove himself so much since he was a youth that he's become rather proficient with his fighting skills, and can best some of the manliest opponents in a brawl.

They also identify with a variety of orientations, from gay, bi, pan, and transgender to--of course--hetero.

For me, I hate labels, especially when it relates to gender roles. For my crew I wanted to create some diversity and gender-breaking characters who are not completely defined by their gender. It's important to me that gender expression be fluid and varied. And I think that's beautiful .

 

Even when I'm trying to make an obvious boy doll, oftentimes he ends up looking androgynous no matter what. This may be because I collect MSD and smaller, and their kiddish sculpts are just naturally lacking the secondary sex characteristics that come with puberty.

Also, I tend toward gothy styles and they're just naturally sort of androgynous.

I feel like my dolls always end up on the feminine side of androgynous, and I'm ok with that but I don't feel like it's intentional. It just sort of happens!

 

Like others who have responded to this thread earlier, I am androgynous IRL myself and grew up watching anime and playing Japanese video games.
I always felt attracted to the more feminine (prettier, to me) looking forms of animation, and particularly the video game aesthetics of Japanese developed video games.
I never felt that I got that from Western media, and even now I still prefer anime and J-video games (rarely in fact play Western develop games). I think most of my dolls are
a good mixture of feminine, androgynous and masculine men. I prefer my grown adult (realistic-ish) males to be a bit more masculine, but I don't mind other male dolls being feminine
or androgynous. I do prefer to have male dolls that have feminine facial features rather than mannerisms, as I myself don't portray those IRL, despite being a female. I also prefer
to have male dolls on well defined muscled bodies without being body builders, rather than feminine ones because I don't like the proportions (I don't like the bobble-headed-look of
narrow shoulders). I used to dress my only mini-sized boy doll in dresses, because I thought it was cute but I didn't do it for long. I myself only wore dresses as a child when I was forced in
them. I've never worn make up, nail-polish, done my hair in up dos, any of that "feminine" thing so I kind of avoid doing it with any of my dolls as well. It makes me feel uncomfortable for the most part.
Some of my dolls are vampire characters, which I associate with eternal beauty and androgyny. I have forced other of my male dolls to wear feminine clothes even when their characters don't call
for it, simply because I know I wouldn't wear them myself but I still enjoy the look of girly things on others. I have mostly male dolls and one girl (which was my first bjd).