Reborn Babies: Pandering to a Mental Disorder
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Some people are not content with normal dolls. Some people want dolls that are as close to the real thing as possible without actually being a real baby. To be more precise, they would probably prefer a real baby but settle for a realistic looking doll as the next best thing. The dolls in question are called reborn baby dolls, and the people who make them are artists. A toy maker is an artist too, but we call him a toymaker. Likewise, a doll maker is a specific kind of toymaker and, thusly, also an artist. But, the people who make reborn baby dolls are not toy makers. They are, simply, artists. They don’t make toys and they don’t make toy dolls. They create works of art and sell them to people, people who seem to treasure them beyond the normal happiness a toy gives to a person. Â
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The BBC did a report on the dolls and the people who buy them. The dolls themselves are borderline interesting, but the people who buy them, although they would deny it, have emotional problems. They take their dolls for pram walks and hold them just as if they were real babies. Some of them even have dedicated cribs and rooms for their baby dolls. They check up on them in the night, they schedule time to be with them.  In short, their devotion is completely abnormal.  I may sound like I’m mocking these people, but I’m not. Whatever happened to them in their past, to make them latch so strongly onto a lifeless object, must have been serious. But, whatever they want to believe, it is not healthy.  Â
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Watch this video and you’ll see what I’m talking about:Â Â Â
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The Artists:Â Â Â
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I’m not going to deny that the people who come up with ever more fascinating strains of marijuana are great botanists. But, however great their skill is, I have to disagree with their decision to misappropriate a skill that could have otherwise been put to better use. Yes, yes, marijuana is a medicine. Still, with all the other herbal and plant based remedies that need investigating, marijuana cultivation seems a bit self serving.  About the reborn baby artists: Skillful? Yes. Exploiting a market? Absolutely! They know there is a market for these dolls just like the marijuana grower knows he is never going to be put out of business by market forces (although the DEA might be a different matter). To be completely honest, I don’t blame the marijuana grower and I don’t blame the doll maker. It’s the people who use the product who determine the direction of a free market. Nevertheless, and even though I believe it would be my right, I would not grow marijuana, and I would not make reborn baby dolls, and it’s for one reason that I would abstain; I do not want to be the facilitator of a destructive behavior. That is a personal, libertarian choice of mine. The ultimate responsibility for the unhealthy behavior lies squarely on the shoulders of the people buying the dolls, and the drugs. The drug user needs intervention, and the needy doll ladies need intervention.   Â
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What do you Think? Â Â Â
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Are reborn baby dolls an unhealthy escape from reality in the same way marijuana temporarily causes people to forget their problems? Or, is marijuana legitimately a medicine in the same way these dolls legitimately help their owners cope with deep mental stresses? Or are the two not comparable? It has been established that certain mental illnesses are just as real as any physical pain. Marijuana does not actually cure any disease; it simply relieves pain. Reborn baby dolls do not heal mental wounds; they just relieve pain. Is that a good enough reason for needy people to lean on them? Or is the escape more damaging than the ailment?Â
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you’re prolly not old enough to remember the ‘cabbage patch’ kids early entre into the market…adults did the same thing with them. I’m not sure its not just the uniqueness of the things…not necessarily some deep seeded emotional issues. At any rate, they’re toys, dolls, what ever.. i wouldn’t make too much of it.
While these “reborns” are peculiar, you should check out what Real Dolls are. With a baby, there are only certain things you can do, which are not as interactive.
I’m 36. I remember cabbage patch kids very well. I don’t think that’s the same thing. The cabbage patch, and later the Beanie Baby, phenomena was a matter of people simply collecting and treasuring unique items. This, it seems, goes well beyond that. I don’t recall anybody ever taking a cabbage patch doll for a walk or waking up in the middle of the night to check on them. Toy fads come and go, and yes, people are a little nutty about them too, but I just think this is very different. If you get some time you should watch some of the other youtube videos on the reborn babies. I was amazed at how seriously people take them. I never would have thought that a piece of plastic could hold so much meaning for people.
Dennis: You should have warned me before I googled that!
That’s wrong!
Dude, that freaked me out a little. As do the people who have the unusual affinity towards these dolls.
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I’ve seen these before! And I immediately was disturbed at how some people were treating them. I don’t think it’s a cure for the real problems these people have. And yet….if it helps them cope and are used as a tool while a person undergoes intervention, that makes sense. Though I think MJ is a different story. My friend smoked it once in a while during the worst of her cancer, and it really helped her stay calm and focused and she made it through finally after battling it for 4 years. Wait~ that was tool during intervention too! Aw man I guess it is the same thing. But I think alot of these doll ladies aren’t getting any other help. And that is freaky to me.
OK that is just creepy. These people should just get little yappy dogs and dress them up. Yikes!
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Abnormal, certainly. But normal is nothing to brag about these days either! I’m not sure they need intervention, unless the real intent is to make everyone else more comfortable around them.
We could make a long list of truly destructive and antisocial behaviors that one does not exhibit, when they are too busy taking care of a fake baby.
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Chris: That’s certainly true. Normal is relative I suppose.
PJ: Oh, the people who dress their dogs in costumes. yeah! That’s bad too.
Mitzi: HAHA! I thought the same thing. My mind immediately made the drug comparison, and I said to myself “no, it’s not the same thing” but then I decided it actually was! Too funny
David: The first time I saw these things I thought they were pretty strange. Then I saw the people who buy them and I decided tat the people who want such realistic dolls are stranger even than the dolls themselves
Hola soy Mayte Sapena, artesana de reborn, pueden ver mis reborn en
reborneltallerdemayte (dot) com
Es verdad que es un arte
Over the past few months, reborn baby dolls have become more and more popular. However, most people do not even know what a reborn baby is. Reborn babies are doll replicas of a real baby. The doll is most likely made from vinyl and often times the creator of the doll will add items such as glass or beads to get the baby a realistic feel.
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The fact is that dolls have been around and being collected and cherished by women and girls for time eternal. What has changed though is that technology and artistic styles have advanced to such a degree that they are far more lifelike today.
Some people sublimate their desire to have children by having pets. Others might have a real doll or a reborn baby. While perhaps odd, they’re not hurting anyone. This is America, so people should have the freedom to do as they please so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
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Dennis: I agree. Even though it’s, as far as I’m concerned, a sign of a disturbed mind, it is nevertheless a person’s right to do it as long as it’s not hurting anybody else — which newborn babies don’t do.
Sorry, not comparable, & while I won’t state that marijuana cures disease — disease is created by more than 1 cause, therefore must be “cured” by more than 1 cause — marijuana DOES do more than just alleviate pain, and yes, there is scientific evidence to support that.
It actually focuses the mind for many, believe it or not. It truly can help your eyesight. The seeds contain essential proteins not found in modern diet. It restores the sensation of hunger for some who do not get that normal belly growl, and increases the appetite so that a sick person will seek enough proper nutrition.
I appreciate your openness & attempt to compare in order to bring the discussion to the table, but nope, there’s no comparison, and the illusion that THC is a destructive influence is exactly what needs to be confronted. As long as casual discussion leads to the idiotic stereotypes that Hollywood feeds us, then there is no room for true knowledge or research in the discussion, and all progress comes to a halt.
The -only- thing destructive about marijuana use is the fact that 80% of inmates are there on a marijuana charge. Furthermore, when they are released, thanks to their prison record, they are left with even more narrow options than before and are further cornered into a life of crime. So, our prisons are crowded to the point that release child molesters and rapists in our community — people who are proven beyond help of rehabilitation, and people creating a direct threat to you and yours.
Jen: Wow! I can see Marijuana is a hot topic with you. I should mention though that I completely agree with you about the pernicious effects of our drug laws. Being a libertarian I am not in favor of our war on drugs and I too believe it’s a giant waste of time to be locking up users or dealers (unless some other crime took place that harmed someone else).
I don’t really want to get into an in depth discussion about how I think my comparison does have some relevance because i can see you’re really passionate about the drug thing, and it would probably be a pointless argument. However, I would like to thank you for taking the time to discuss it. I get what you’re saying, and disagree in part with all the benefits some say marijuana has. I in no way think it’s a miracle drug. Rather, I think it’s just a drug that people take to feel better. Anyway, thanks for coming by!
OWh gives a fuck. You guys are dillusional.I think reborns are great. They may not cure but neither does meds.they just cover it up
If a doll makes someone feel better. Then why not let them be….you are a bunch of selfish people that think of nobody but yourselves.. I would rather have my fears covered up with something that makes me feel goood then something that makes me feel bad. If you don’tlike them you don’t have to. But keep your oppinion to yourself thank you very much
I don’t think that EVERYONE that has one of these dolls has a mental disorder. I guess it could be just like any other collection, but instead of collecting bottle caps, stamps, or baseball cards…they collect reborns.
It definitely fills a gap for some people, whether they be lonely widows, empty-nesters, or people who don’t feel needed by their children anymore. I don’t see a problem with these people having reborns and treating them like real babies. Women have a need to nurture. It’s an instinct. Simple as that.
Libbie: That’s fair enough. I suppose some people might just innocently collect them like I might collect bottle caps. I accept that. However, the people who treat them like real babies and try to nurture them as if they were real — I still think there’s a mental problem there.
I love reborns. And actually make them, have sold a few on Ebay and made them for friends and relatives. It is an art form, not a mental disorder. We practice our work to get it as good as possible. People have bought newborn babies from toy makers forever, and just because these are more real looking, with better skin color,rooted hair, etc is no reason to put them down. I do agree that some of the collectors do go to far, and maybe there is a reason. Possibly the lose of a child etc, but if it makes them feel better and dosent hurt anyone, then what is the problem.
First of all, I am NOT a toy maker, I am an artist that SCULPTS these babies that are turned into reborn dolls. And second, they are NOT made of plastic. They are made of very soft silicone/vinyl. Third…..these are collector dolls and yes some women do take their baby dolls places with them. Maybe it is a kind of theropy that they need that nothing or noone else can give them. Maybe it’s just the fact that they are so amazed by the art they want to show it off…Maybe it’s the fact that they are filling a void in their life with them….Nobody frowns on men collecting model cars, butterflies, baseball cards or what have you….Consider this a collective piece of art and if people want to carry them around so be it…they are NOT hurting anyone!!
They don’t have any more mental problems than a grown man who thinks he is almighty and his opinion is all there is, so you have to agree with him and it’s his job to judge others.
Do you think grown men that have an entire model train collection set up in their garage and “play” with their trains have mental problems? They put on their little engineers cap and striped overalls and go out and play with their trains, what is the difference? They are pretending to run a railroad. Those men buy accessories for their little train towns, changing it for different seasons and holidays. What is the difference? Nether one is hurting anybody by their collections. So why knock what someone collects?
Reborn dolls have a healing and calming aspect about them. Have you even seen one placed in the arms of an Alzheimer’s patient? I have seen an Alzheimer’s patient that had been crying for days, suddenly stop crying and smile when a reborn was placed in her arms. She didn’t get nutty, she became calm and stayed calm long after the doll was removed from her arms.
Those that treat them like real babies and treat them like they were real are very few and far between.
Melody: I don’t think you read the article. I said you people are artists. No dispute there. Who cares what they’re made out of?
Gina: You’re funny. You guys are taking this so seriously. When did I say you have to agree with me? Sorry, that’s just a stupid statement. I see you don’t agree with me. Fine, have at it. Is that therapeutic for you
And regarding the guys who have the little train sets. It all depends on how seriously they take it. Is it just a pastime or does it consume their lives? Reborn babies can be a pastime or they can be an unhealthy obsession. No difference. Wonder why you think I’d be more favorable to a typical male unhealthy obsession than a female one? That’s a little assumptive.
K Maier: Yes! I completely agree it’s an art form. I said that quite clearly in fact. I did not say the artists had a mental disorder. I don’t have a problem with people buying these things just for the sake of collecting them and treating them like what they really are. I have a problem with people who use them as substitutes for real babies. That’s not healthy in my opinion. Reality is a healthy place to be.
I’m not sure why you really care about this topic. What is it that makes you so uncomfortable? It’s interesting that you have nothing better to do with you time than this!
I’ve seen all sorts of behavior from all types of people…the key is to realize it’s not for you, me or anyone else to judge. You will never understand a person’s “peculiar to you” behavior, because you are not that person. Just as I don’t understand your need to bring this up….interesting!
“PJ: Oh, the people who dress their dogs in costumes. yeah! That’s bad too”…why would you make that comment? I guess you are judge and jury! I think it’s funny and the pets sure don’t seem to mind. It appears they enjoy the attention!
“The first time I saw these things I thought they were pretty strange. Then I saw the people who buy them and I decided tat the people who want such realistic dolls are stranger even than the dolls themselves”…I wonder who thinks you are strange…just a thought!
A.Brown: People write their opinions on blogs. That’s what blogs are. You don’t have to agree, obviously, but it’s downright dumb to suggest people should keep their mouths shut if they express an opinion that’s different than yours. Have you ever heard of debate? I speak and write opinions because I think they’re thought provoking and interesting. I don’t need a better reason. I care about this topic because I find it interesting; I find the people who collect the dolls interesting and I find the people who make them interesting. A side effect of that interest is my opinion. Again, people do not need a better reason than that to express themselves. The “key” that you don’t understand is that it absolutely IS the purview of human beings to judge each other. We do it all day long. My opinion, in itself, is a judgement of everything around me, just like your judgement of PJ and I is nothing more than your opinion. Keep in mind, that by your statements, you are judging us. But, you can do that, right? We just aren’t allowed to because you disagree? That makes no sense.