Silicone Babies

[Lif]

Well...if I ever lost my child as an infant I do not think I would want any kind of substitute (how can there every be ANY kind)...sertanly not a plastic one. I feel it would degrade the memory of the child I lost. I do understand the loss and need of something to hold on to but I think that doing it would keep your dealing with that loss to a minimum. Maybe I am wrong but I do not see anything good coming from using a doll as a substitude...
Luckely I don't need to find out..

[Kirahfaye]

While it might be something that creeps me out, I try not to judge or question what someone considers important to them. I remember the reaction most people gave me when told I owned an umbrella cockatoo parrot. To each their own, as they say.

[Trethowan]

Well...if I ever lost my child as an infant I do not think I would want any kind of substitute (how can there every be ANY kind)...certainly not a plastic one. I feel it would degrade the memory of the child I lost. I do understand the loss and need of something to hold on to but I think that doing it would keep your dealing with that loss to a minimum. Maybe I am wrong but I do not see anything good coming from using a doll as a substitute...
Luckily I don't need to find out..

I agree, I think it would degrade the memory. Holding a fake baby just seems like it would be worse in every way cause it's like holding a dead baby and if one has lost a child.... I don't follow how that could be healthy in any way. It seems as if it would holding the person suffering from loss in a mental stasis. The fake plastic baby isn't going to grow up. How long do we wallow in our pain and despair? With a fake baby you can wallow for years. And following that logic, do we get silicone grandparents when we lose them? I don't think it's a healthy way of dealing with loss. People usually get a dog, cat, parrot, or something ALIVE to nurture. Something that loves back. Or stares lazily at you while demanding food. ha. But something that moves of it's own accord. Not a corpse-like creepy fake baby. Pseudo-baby. Can't cope with reality baby. I just think there are healthier crutches out there than this.

If folks really just love babies, and baby dolls, and just like collecting them as dolls then that's completely different. One of my friends collects dog figurines in the same way, and I have 30-something resin and vinyl dolls in my office so it's not like I don't understand that angle.

There's a strong difference between collecting a representation of something you like (dogs, dolls/characters, Breyer horses, etc) versus clinging to a representation of loss and pain.

[knittnkitten]

there was a british doc I watched.. and the fake baby thing can almost be selfish. the baby doesn't need to be fed or changed, the baby never cries, the baby never needs anything, but once you're finished with the holding and cuddling, you can put them away.

[yarwel]

No. Just No. It's all... floppy, yuck.

[happyknot]

I admit after she picked it up I couldn't watch the rest. It looked so real, it was so uncanny and disturbing - the veining made the baby look like it had been left in the snow. It was very well painted and the silicone skin and general movement of the doll made it look like a dead infant.

I don't personally understand the appeal but I wouldn't judge anyone for being in to them.

As art pieces they are incredible.

[OkamiKodomo]

Intellectually I completely understand.

Emotionally it completely creeps me out.

I think this sums it up for me, as well. Although I do agree with the points made about there being an unhealthy aspect to it, I think that so long as the person needing the substitute as a coping method eventually moves beyond their grief, then it's perfectly acceptable, but should probably be coupled with some therapy as well.

As a collector's item, and a grown-up toy, that you can play dress-up with or what have you, then that's an appeal too. Compared to BJD though, I just don't see the creative outlet in them. Sure, not everyone paints their own dolls, which is how face-up artists make money, but it's been my impression that the majority of people active in the hobby personify their dolls, either as game/movie/show characters, or original characters from RPs or books. Baby personalities aren't as developed as young children or adult individuals so how much of a characterization could you give them.

[Siead]

i admit i'm not a fan of reborn dolls. while i can understand they are still dolls, i've also heard the stories about people talking to/ treating them like actual children. heck i saw once on one of those random internet threads that a women left a reborn in her car in a carseat in the heat and had her window smashed open as someone attempted to rescue what looked like a dying baby. with BJD at least you can tell they are dolls, even the most "realistic" ones have the scale issue but they are, in the end, a body for a character. BJD owners seem to mind less about re-homing their characters into new bodies.

from the psychology standpoint, i'm sure most people view bjd and reborn collectors as similar, and in ways they are (creativity, "companionship", etc). everything looks crazy if you're not the person into it.

BUT! the first thing i thought seeing the OP video.... TRIPOD!!!! lol. /geek

edit: found the article http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... -DOLL.html

[DollyKim]

Aha! If it's a baby it doesn't have a personality so they can control it! The doll can be the perfect baby they might have felt they didn't have. I don't feel the same in the case of an infertile woman who can't have one or someone who is using one to help grieve.

Our dolls require work for the characters, you put spiritual energy in to a ball joint to make it what you want and they can reject your efforts. The babies will do what ever you tell them. Xavier hates cutesy Halloween, the baby doll has pink jammies with a girly ghost wearing a bow in her hair.

[kenaiqueen]

While it might be something that creeps me out, I try not to judge or question what someone considers important to them. I remember the reaction most people gave me when told I owned an umbrella cockatoo parrot. To each their own, as they say.

I think this about where I am with those too. I personally don't care for baby dolls of any kind, altho I do have a couple of Disney toddler Princesses in my collection.

I remember my mom stopping to chat with a lady resident at my dad's nursing home some years back. The lady had a baby doll she carried all the time and my mom always took time to ask her how her doll was that day and more importantly, listened to her. It was pretty sweet.