How do you feel about (straight) female collectors?

I'm a straight female, and often have this feeling that I'm intruding on a male hobby.

 

Dollfie Dreams are clearly designed and marketed for men after all.

 

And here I am, buying giant silicone busts for my dolly and getting her sexy outfits along with many other female collectors.

 

My bjd friends collect handsome male dolls, and I often feel left out!

 

So, how do you feel about the invasion of girls in this hobby?

 

EDIT because I've seemed to offended some people.

 

I'm not trying to say DD are only for boys, or that all collectors are boys, I'm talking about my own personal experience. The only thing I'm presenting as fact is that DD are intended for male collectors, because they are. The face that 50% of western collectors are female doesn't change that.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Guest

Nothing wrong with that really, I'm also a straight female collector too although I'm homo for cute 2d girls hahaha

 

Personally, I don't really thing there's anything wrong with us invading the hobby. It really just boils all down to your preferences and interests really.

 

If you like cute or sexy girls or prefer handsome male dolls over them, then it's totally fine, regardless if you're male or female.

 

I still wish volks would make male dolls tho :V

I'm a straight female, and often have this feeling that I'm intruding on a male hobby.

As a male I see absolutely nothing wrong with females, straight or not, being part of the DD hobby! In fact, I'm actually surprised you feel you're intruding.

 

Personaly I wouldn't have been surprised if it was the other way around. After all, the idea that boys wear blue and play with cars and girls wear pink and play with dolls is, sadly, still going strong.

Sometimes I have felt like maybe this isn't the hobby for me, because so many things seem to be targeted towards males and are much sexier than where my tastes and interests lie... But then I stop thinking about it. I like these dolls, I never really liked the resin dolls. I like the "anime" look to them, how it's 2D (or sometimes 3D) characters brought to life.

 

At times I have felt kind of weird because my unicorn/holy grail was (and still is) Sasara Kusugawa... And when I finally got her and my parents and family saw her, well they saw she is a curvy doll with a giant bust. They didn't criticize me for it in the slightest, but they did ask why her bust was so large and why I wanted this particular doll so badly. Then they realized it wasn't her bust that stole my heart, it was her face, and eventually she stole their hearts as well. (Honestly, sometimes I want to change her body, but I don't have the money for it at the moment.)

 

So I guess to answer your question directly, at times I've felt out of place, but for the most part I change the experience and everything to what suits me. Sometimes It's kind of difficult because I can't always find clothes that I like that fit them the way I want to and whatnot. But when it comes down to it... I like these dolls, I can afford to partake in this hobby, so I will keep doing it... And if anyone thinks I'm intruding on their hobby then they can get over it. I will not be discouraged because of how someone feels about females being in a hobby targeted towards males.

 

Like Aile, I wish that Volks would make an anime-styled male doll... But until then, I'm fine with my busty girls. xD!

I'm a straight female, and I feel no weirdness at all. There's this mentality with the resin community that, oh if you're straight you should like dolls of the opposite gender. But I think thats where we get some people mistaking us for pervs. They take that idea and immediately think it implies we're all sexually attracted to, and therefore doing weird things with, our dolls. Little girls most often play with gorl dolls. I remember when I was little they tried to make male dolls targeted at boys, like boy Cabbage Patch dolls, and My Buddy to be opposite Kid Sister.

 

Anyway, just because I prefer men doesn't mean I don't appreciate the curves of a woman's body. My first girl was a DDdy because I loved the way they look in a bikini.

I'm a straight female, and I feel no weirdness at all. There's this mentality with the resin community that, oh if you're straight you should like dolls of the opposite gender. But I think thats where we get some people mistaking us for pervs. They take that idea and immediately think it implies we're all sexually attracted to, and therefore doing weird things with, our dolls. Little girls most often play with gorl dolls. I remember when I was little they tried to make male dolls targeted at boys, like boy Cabbage Patch dolls, and My Buddy to be opposite Kid Sister.

 

Anyway, just because I prefer men doesn't mean I don't appreciate the curves of a woman's body. My first girl was a DDdy because I loved the way they look in a bikini.

 

My first girl was a custom head on a DDdy body. I like their curves and their shape, but I didn't realize how big her bust was until I saw her in person. I actually like the body, I just don't like the huge... headlights always showing through her clothing, if you know what I mean by that. Hahaha. xD

I'm a straight female, and I feel no weirdness at all. There's this mentality with the resin community that, oh if you're straight you should like dolls of the opposite gender. But I think thats where we get some people mistaking us for pervs. They take that idea and immediately think it implies we're all sexually attracted to, and therefore doing weird things with, our dolls. Little girls most often play with gorl dolls. I remember when I was little they tried to make male dolls targeted at boys, like boy Cabbage Patch dolls, and My Buddy to be opposite Kid Sister.

 

Anyway, just because I prefer men doesn't mean I don't appreciate the curves of a woman's body. My first girl was a DDdy because I loved the way they look in a bikini.

 

My first girl was a custom head on a DDdy body. I like their curves and their shape, but I didn't realize how big her bust was until I saw her in person. I actually like the body, I just don't like the huge... headlights always showing through her clothing, if you know what I mean by that. Hahaha. xD

Haha yeah, since my girl is an 03 head she turned out kinda shy, so she gets embarrassed about her headlights. She just dresses conservatively most of the time. Maybe at some point I'll get her a second bust to sand the nips down on, but I like to keep her normal one too, since it's fun to tease her.

Even tho this hobby is mainly targeted at guys and geared towards them, I enjoy having women in the hobby and don't see it as an intrusion at all. I think it's great that women ( straight or gay ) enjoy DD's and have fun with them.

 

I also think the hobby is different in the North American market tho. In Japan it's almost nothing but males who buy and own them but over here I'd say it's closer to 50/50. So that kinda changes things a little.

 

I enjoy talking to and meeting women in this hobby. Heck, I think I have more female friends here than male! I'm glad there are lots of women who collect DD's and I hope they continue to join this hobby.

 

 

Billy

As long as you're enjoying this hobby, I can't see it as a female invasion lol. There are women fascinated and passionate about muscle cars that even go to school for it, they're not out of place though they may be the only ladies in the class.

 

Anywho, my point is as long as you're genuinely a fan you're fine

I'm a only-half-straight female who has zero problems being in a hobby marketed toward men. I've yet to meet a single male collector who felt like I was stepping into a hobby I shouldn't either. I'm pretty sure everyone is on the same place of "like whatever you like." This isn't exactly the group that would judge one for their tastes no matter their sexuality or gender.

 

Plus, there ain't anything wrong with a woman who appreciates curves~<3 They are a magical thing, and DD are surely not lacking there.

I used to feel a little like an interloper (especially since my first girl was a DDDy), but once I started going to meetups that feeling disappeared--we have several other straight females in our local group.

 

I agree on the "headlights" issue though--doubly so since it's Agatha who's got it the worst. This next weekend, if it's not too hot or rainy, I'll probably take her apart and sand her down. I'm also considering sanding the inside of her hip socket outer vinyl like Hololo did while I'm at it, to increase hip flexibility. She could also use a knee tightening and maybe a bit of glue/nail polish in her hip joint sockets for some more grip, as she's gotten a little loose there. (Or as my mom's recently started saying as a joke, "gription." XD) I mean, while I've got sandpaper out and her taken all apart, might as well.

What the hobby is towards men??? Weird, as a straight male I find DD and BJD as a female hobby.

Doll collecting? buying pretty cute things.. well I don't know,

 

I never saw an another straight DUDE doing an unboxing video nor sharing the same hobby as mine. I tried. (aside from Danny ofc) though I have to admit myself it would be a surprise to my gym buddies and on my car forum, that I'm associated with these kind of hobby. I think the hobby consist of 70-30%, 30 on male.

This thread surprised me actually, because it's just something that never came up mentally for me at all.

 

I grew up with primarily female dolls, with only one Ken, and I viewed them in relation to their clothes. Now, I have one male doll and all the rest are female, and it's still about their clothes. Especially because they can wear outfits I couldn't because of my body type.

 

Also, just because something can be sexy, or is designed with a sexy angle, it doesn't mean it's inherently aimed at one gender orientation. Example, Alna. The sculpt is really easy to turn into a very gentle character, but her outfits really go against that. She also seems to have a large female following though.

 

Volks always talks about encouraging creativity with their owners and making a doll your own. Getting past the assumptions from the original doll is a large part of that. Enjoy yourself and don't feel guilty about buying what you like.

This is an odd turn isn't it? Usually dolls are associated with female hobbies and tastes ... especially once the ability to change their clothes rolls in. Or at least this was true before BJDs and DDs came about.

'cause still remember years ago (oh god, when did I get this old) buying a SEGA Chara doll at an anime con, and my guy friends were super-excited about getting their fav anime chara in doll-form and being able to change her armor (but then suddenly erupting into nervous embarrassed laughs once it was pointed out there we were, one girl and a bunch of guys in a room, and the girl wasn't the one playing dress-ups with dolls)

 

But then "girls intruding on male hobbies" seems to be a freakin THEME the last year or so. Where every single hobby is suddenly made to sound like something made for boys-only (from comics to freakin ponies)

 

...anyways, personally I don't really think about it.... much... Its kinda funny how majority of people met in this hobby have been guys (PS: ratio of m:f met into resins-BJD has been much more evenly distributed)

 

Hobby is a hobby ^___^ Sexuality, your gender or "is this marketed to guys so I shouldn't like it?" really shouldn't matter here!

Edited September 5, 2013 by Guest

I think that the main reason people get into the hobby of DD collecting nowadays is because of the expressiveness they offer, not because they have sexy bodies. Though many people do prefer dolls of the opposite gender, or if they're gay (which is actually my case), the same gender, there are also lots of straight men and women who like dolls of the same gender. I usually crossdress, so for me, the appeal of DDs isn't their curves and huge chests, but being able to dress them in insane fashions that I could never pull off. I don't really care about the gender of the doll as much as the overall appearance. In fact, someday I might want to get a resin boy or two from Volks; I really like some of their male sculpts.

Kayo (longtime Volks employee that was moved from the Japanese branch to the American branch) of Tenshi no Sumika has said before that women collectors are exceedingly rare in Japan, and that the most surprising difference is that the men who do collect dolls here often have romantic partners that not only approve of their doll hobby, but participate in it. The fact that collectors go in as couples to Tenshi no Sumika to pick out clothes for their Dollfie Dreams together is apparently unheard of to the Japanese collectors. She said that it's likely because there is a different kind of pride associated with DD's there-- where your doll truly IS your wife/girlfriend, and that to have an actual partner would trample on that and ruin your street cred as a true collector.

 

As a result, Kayo said, despite how popular DD's are becoming in America and how vocal those fans are about getting dude DD's, a dude DD would be very unlikely anytime soon because it would be seen as threatening to the more manic DD collectors in Japan. In the end, Volks makes more money from their Japanese diehards than the foreign ones, so it makes business sense to them to not offend the diehards and lose those customers. Speaking of which, it reminds me of the frenzy that Idolm@ster fans went into in Japan when they announced the addition of a rival boy band-- resulting in large amounts of people straight up cancelling their preorders for Idolm@ster 2.

 

There are instances where this hobby makes me uncomfortable, and that instance also occurs in the women-saturated resin BJD hobby. There's a lot of gay fetishization on that side of the fence, for instance. Also, the exotification of Asian culture is present in both hobbies. I would say that the uncomfortable moments in the DD hobby tend to be more gendered than the resin BJD moments.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Guest

As a result, Kayo said, despite how popular DD's are becoming in America, a dude DD would be very unlikely anytime soon because it would be seen as threatening to the more manic DD collectors in Japan. In the end, Volks makes more money from their Japanese diehards than the foreign ones, so it makes business sense to them to not offend the diehards and lose those customers. Speaking of which, it reminds me of the frenzy that Idolm@ster fans went into in Japan when they announced the addition of a rival boy band-- resulting in large amounts of people straight up cancelling their preorders for Idolm@ster too.

 

There are instances where this hobby makes me uncomfortable, and that instance also occurs in the women-saturated resin BJD hobby. There's a lot of gay fetishization on that side of the fence, for instance. Also, the exotification of Asian culture is present in both hobbies. I would say that the uncomfortable moments in the DD hobby tend to be more gendered than the resin BJD moments.

 

I also, completely disprove of the overfetishization of DDs in some parts of the Japanese and Western communities. The practices of some collectors disgust me, and they give the rest of us a bad name. I've found that most people I've met from this hobby see their dolls as nothing more than objects of affection, not going as far as to see them as romantic partners or sex toys. The genderized nature of this annoys me to no end, even though I somewhat fall into the stereotypical community. Both men and women can have their girls dressed sexy and not see them as objects intended purely for pleasure.

Furthermore, the prospect of ditching a fandom or hobby just because male characters are introduced is not only stupid, but plain immature. People who do this are ignoring reality, as the truth is they are not the only man in the world. On a less broad scale, there will be female and male collectors who will enjoy dolls of either gender, and the inability to accept that is intolerant.

Excuse me for getting sort of carried away there. It's been known to happen from time to time…

Straight female chiming in. One thing I've always felt bad about in the DD hobby is how male DD collectors in the US are often received. I wasn't very far into this hobby before I realized that I got away with a lot more things because I am a girl.

 

For example, I bought some sexy (miniskirt) but adorable (frills!) nurse outfits from Dollheart recently. I showed my husband, my parents and even my friends with great glee. From my friends (doll owners and not) I got "That's so you! It's medical related and it's your favorite colors!", from my mother I got "Aw.. they match! I love that lab coat" and from my husband I got "Well, it's you... but if you were a boy, people'd think you were creepy. You know that right?"

 

I stopped and thought about that for a bit and realized he's right. Since I'm a straight female, people are more likely to assume that when I pick some sexy outfit like that, sexy had nothing to do with it. I must have seen something else in the clothing that caught my eye. They're only half right. I like the outfits I linked because it's sexy (miniskirt) but also because it's cute (frilly skirt). I happen to pick my own clothing the same way. If I owned a boy doll, I'd dress him like I attempt to dress my very tolerant husband: in my favorite styles of clothing for men!

 

I can friggen guarantee that if I was a straight man (esp without a girlfriend/wife) they'd assume I'd picked those nurse outfits because I have a fetish. After all, men can't like the girly parts of those clothes so they must like the sexy parts. (Please note a heavy degree of sarcasm is contained in that last sentence.)

 

Men can like frilly, girly and sexy things and there is nothing wrong with it! There is only something wrong with it when it is accompanied by the inability to see past a woman's physical appearance and feels entitled to her simply because she's there. I think we all have met one of those meat heads before, and there are plenty of girls that act like that too! I've no doubt that somewhere there someone that fits all the seedy stereotypes we attach to boys with dolls, but I've yet to meet this person.

 

While DDs are for sure marketed towards guys (not that straight girls don't appreciate a latex bunny suit now and then), as a culture in the US, girls get away with a lot more in terms of dolls.

 

Also, has anyone else noticed that if a man has a female partner who likes the DDs suddenly everybody is super chill about how they dress? I guess people don't worry about "fetish objects" when they assume he doesn't need them because he has a "real girl". Guys really get the short end of the stick there.

 

I think Sekitan no Hashira also makes an excellent point about the "only man in the world" syndrome. It's crazy. I dunno who these people are that behave like little children (Only I can have her! *stomps foot*) but I don't think I ever want to meet them. Totally irrational behavior.

 

TL:DR: Male DD owners get the short end of the stick from judgmental people. This is because society teaches us that girls are witty-bitty cutesy obsessed consumers that ONLY like these dolls because they can be dressed up all frilly like. This same society trys to tell us that men are nothing more than raging hormonal beasts that ONLY view these dolls as sex objects. Neither sterotype is accurate nor anything but rude.

Got into this hobby after seeing Danny's Saber, and his other Musume.. And was finally able to spring for one (a little at a time) after the mortgage finally got paid off..

 

Picked up the body for the second in Volks Shinjuku store, and brought them both to Naru-2U Con later that year, thinking I was one of the few in town with a Dollfie.. (turned out there was a lady with multiples)

 

Local "Dolls of Ottawa" group showed up with their resins, and I had a great time with them..

(I've been slowly dragging them over to the DD side

The other group members like the look of them, and the fact that DD's could stand on their own, and didn't need "re-stringing" all the time..

 

I don't think the ladies are intruding at all.. In fact, a few years ago somebody on figure.fm did a survey and it seemed to come up about 50/50 split female/male.

 

I think my co-workers think I'm nuts, but that's not so much to do with the DD's, I think.. XD

My husband collects with me and I love it. I don't feel weird about loving the über sexy nature of my DDs and the way I dress them. But I do hate that outside of the online DD community, my husband doesn't feel comfortable sharing his hobby with others because of how they think about it. For that matter, neither do I because most people I know IRL disapprove.

This thread surprised me actually, because it's just something that never came up mentally for me at all.

 

I grew up with primarily female dolls, with only one Ken, and I viewed them in relation to their clothes. Now, I have one male doll and all the rest are female, and it's still about their clothes. Especially because they can wear outfits I couldn't because of my body type.

 

I was very surprised by this thread, too! I also had only one Ken (who spent most of his time being thrown under the bed because he "went off to work" and we didn't really know what he did when he was there! ) When my daughter introduced me to these dolls and this forum, I automatically assumed that everyone on here was female! Now you are saying that they are marketed for males!! This thought never even crossed my mind!!

I'm from the "Barbie" generation and if you think DD's are curvy and sexy, take a look at the original Barbie! If she was actually life size, she wouldn't be able to stand up because her boobs would be too hugely mammoth!! Nobody thought we were 'strange' as little girls when we played Barbie and nobody thought it was weird or strange when our brothers played with us when we had Barbie play dates...and nobody ever suggested that she was marketed aimed primarily at males, so why would people think DD's are targeted towards males for sexual reasons?

I admit that when I finally realized there were a lot of males on this forum it made me pause for a second but then I thought about my Barbie days and completely understood why males might like DD's. After all, look at all the cool stuff you can get! Barbie had her car...a corvette...her camper...a pink van, etc. etc. etc. DD's have motorcycles and SWORDS!! What does that have to do with being a pervert or saying that men only want DD's because they sexualize them? * sigh* Sometimes I just don't understand some people. There is nothing wrong with either males or females in this kind of hobby so nobody should feel like they don't 'fit' or are 'intruding'!!

I think I'm in a very small minority (of female straight) who is not comfortable with the sexy part of the DDs but I just ignore it... I was into resin (female) dolls but was looking for anime dolls and didn't find as beautiful ones in resin, and I much prefer vinyl too. I can't help, I'm in total love with these dolls over anything else, so well, I just stay away from NSFW and just enjoy the beautiful dolls . But I'm a little afraid of doll meets for example as I would be even more uncomfortable irl if the theme of the meet is super sexy oriented, it was easier for me with resin-collecting gals for that ^^. And yes, because of that I really feel I'm intruding because I do not really fit in but I love DDs too much to give up .

But I'm a little afraid of doll meets for example as I would be even more uncomfortable irl if the theme of the meet is super sexy oriented, it was easier for me with resin-collecting gals for that ^^..

 

I've never been to a meet where the theme was "sexy up your dolls" for either resin OR DD. If you're still concerned, think of how the public would react if people to over the top sexual dolls to a park. In general, if you're meeting in public, I feel like you have a duty to the children to keep it clean and cute. I don't even undress my dolls at a meet-up unless they have both bras and panties on (and even then, I cover them up). I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just check around and you'll see we aren't there to sexually objectify the dolls even if someone could construe a mini-skirt that way.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies ^^

 

My experience visiting Volks store in Akihabara was of feeling very uncomfortable, knowing that me just quietly being there was bothering other companies. It's nice to see that attitudes in the Western community are totally opposite to those in Japan in terms of gender stereotyping >_<

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies ^^

 

My experience visiting Volks store in Akihabara was of feeling very uncomfortable, knowing that me just quietly being there was bothering other companies. It's nice to see that attitudes in the Western community are totally opposite to those in Japan in terms of gender stereotyping >_<

sweety ill let you in on a little secret. japanese are weird. that is all. besides who careswhat other people think. if it makes you happy then go for it.