I was intending to write a post on this very subject myself and hadn’t been able to find the right words to express how I felt. Jenjoy has done it much better than I could have so I am sharing her post here.
Do you openly admit to being a doll collector? And if you do, do people look at you strangely? Do they think it’s weird, or worse creepy? When I first began collecting, I didn’t make it public knowledge. It was the early 90s and collector issue dolls were still in their infancy. I knew that […]
In Defence of Doll Collectors — Jenjoy’s All Dolled Up Page
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
Thanks for sharing the link to JenJoy’s post. Living across the world I hadn’t heard about the child abduction. It’s very depressing to hear about the media’s attitude towards doll collectors. I think this is part of a larger problem with the media and the lack of accountability (as Eddi commented on JenJoy). It’s also part of the whole social media situation. When people got news from printed newspapers and magazines there was a recourse to a libel suit. With the Internet it seems like anything can be reported and people (and groups of people) can be slandered with impunity. While everyone has a right to free speech, governments across the globe need to create laws that apply to the Internet to protect everyone’s rights.
As for sharing info about my doll collecting hobby I usually do so with a casual remark and then take my cues from the other person’s response. If they think it’s weird I don’t care, but I also don’t want to get into a discussion about it. Fortunately, most people I know are open-minded and are more likely to be under the misapprehnsion that doll collecting only involves porcelain and Barbie dolls.
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That’s more or less what I do too. I mention it casually but wait to see if the person seems interested before going into it any further. I do agree with your comments about laws being needed. It seems strange that these days there are so many things we used to think harmless that we can no longer say but you can have your character assassinated for having a harmless hobby,
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It was really unfortunate that the press decided that this man’s doll collection was something to seize upon. Thanks for reblogging it. I saw it on JenJoy’s blog as well.
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I’d been thinking about writing about it since I read the discussion on one of the Facebook pages particularly the part about the TV presenter that Jen referred to. He seems to have a history of making controversial remarks. I couldn’t find a clip of his actual remarks and was still thinking about what to write when Jen wrote her post.
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I love Jenjoys pieces, the Sindy & Tammy and clone ones are favorites. I have encountered a few people that have questioned my doll fascination, I have likened it to my fascination with personal and family history. It spans decades, it can be associated personally to each person when they recall toys they enjoyed as youths.
Just yesterday my great nephew was playing with my barrels of monkeys I had in my granny/Auntie bag with other Toy story items..he remembered them from the movies, his mom from playing with as a kid,and the Grand dad remembered them from his childhood and the Great grand dad as well.
I also keep the Barbie ,Ken and other iconic toy story toys as well. Many ages seem fascinated to see them and remember. It is that way which every collection of toys/dolls I travel with at family or church occasions.
Donating duplicate dolls to a local thrift store I make sure to identify them with tags so they can look them up. Having a variety of dolls can stir an interest in a diverse variety of people. I’m glad to enlighten anyone about the joys of collecting, and share in their joys as well. I’m usually brave enough to ask them why they might be scared or “Not get”why other people enjoy it. It’s a great community, and education , and good clean fun!
Awesome blog!
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I think that is great, especially that you try to engage with the ones who think dolls are weird or creepy. The Toy Story films are wonderful for showing the joys of the classic toys and a great antidote for things like Chucky.
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Thanks Vanda.
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