Dolls of All Sizes

As anyone who does me the kindness of reading this blog somewhat regularly knows, I am curious about Muslim clothing styles in differing countries and about the differences between dolls created for Muslim girls and Barbie, Fashion Royalty, Mixis, and other name brands. I found a very welcoming webssite, to all buyers of 11.5 dolls. It is
muslimtoysanddolls.com

I can't afford to buy this month, needing decent shoes shot the budget. But with help from a friend I have added a few to my favorites, so can buy later. They have free shipping within the U.S. and their prices are reasonable. According to my friend, some of the dolls do and others do not have regular faces. But there are enough that Do to interest me.

There are Muslim peoples all over the world. This site has lots more colors of clothing than I expected, (beginning to learn already) but the look of the dolls themselves, according to my friend, seems to be Middle Eastern, rather than outfits which might be worn in India, Pakistan, Chetchnya, Nigeria, Somolia, Egypt, Mali, Hong Kong, the Philipines, etc. I remember the Razanne dolls sold by Noorart.com and they had both variations in skin color and outfits, though they all wore the same kind of hijab. (Haven't read this word in Braille, hope I'm spelling it correctly.)

I have looked at 18 inch dolls, curious (always!) to see what they look like. Made what I consider may be a serious mistake in ordering one, though. It is a BFC., Inc. (Best Friends Club, Inc.) doll. Instead of being made of softer vinyl this doll, advertised as all vinyl feels like Hard Plastic. If anyone were to accidentally step on her I believe she would break. Also, her figure is not that of an eight or ten year old, as the Madame Alexander or Toys'r-Us dolls say they are. She looks in shape like a Skipper, if not a model-like Barbie. I don't want an overgrown Barbie made of Harder plastic than Barbie. She is made somewhat like an action figure. Her hands, lower arms, and feet twirl around in a 360 degree circle. She has hinged knees and elbows, somewhat like a Disney Mulan doll, (though the lower arm spins) and her head turns, with some stiffness. She has three ball and socket type joints,one just under the bust, and at each hip joint. Her arms also spin 360 at the shoulder, and her head can nod a bit. Part action figure, part fashion doll, of hard plastic, and she has a "tramp stamp" if she's not careful when she sits down.

There was an Amazing amount of heavy plastic holding her in her box! Since I have no way to give "feedbback" on the product itself, via Amazon's full site, I'm inflicting it on you, lucky people. Sorry. This doll Does have a very accurate human looking face and human shaped feet. She has no touchable eye lashes, but they are probably painted on. Like her action figure sisters And the Toys'r-us doll, she can stand up by herself. I don't know what to do with this doll.

There is something adult doll collectors may not need to keep in mind, unless they choose to dress like their dolls. It is not fair, just, or right. A woman or a man should be able to dress as they choose, (without violating indecent exposure laws) Without fear of sexual asault. But the fact Is, according to many police officers interviewed on the subject, that provocatively dressed women are more likely to be raped.
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This is something I Cannot forget when giving little girls dolls. I'm not aware of research showing that girls of 3 to 7 or 3 to 12 years, for that matter, who play with provocatively dressed dolls are more likely to dress as their toys do. I wish someone had the courage to Do such research so I could Know whether this matters or not. But Until I know, I Cannot in good Conscience give away dolls which show body parts covered by a bathing suit. A bra and panties cover certain areas, or, in my opinion, Should. So at Least this much should be covered by toys I give to girls. Actually, I think beauty doesn't Have to be shown by lots of skin. I have no personal desire to encourage girls to be covered from head to foot. Curiosity doesn't mean Should to me. But I insist on a happy middle ground in the dolls I give away or sell. So, what to do with This doll whose "dress" doesn't prevent her, (what will blogger let me get away with here?) butt, (play it safe) from showing when she sits down? Make her a skirt? Send her back if I can? Maybe a shiny satin skirt in one of the colors of her "top" for this B cup Best Friend. Ok, the doll wouldn't be so bad with a skirt, she just was Not what I was expecting. I Don't like the vinyl chosen for making her but her face, hair, and feet are all pretty good. Opinions? (Other that I am old?)
Adults can do what they like, so long as it doesn't involve the abuse of chilren. But when it comes to kids, yah, I am old enough to feel a sense of responsibility for what I teach and model for them. One of the Better traits of getting older.