I Find This Creepy

[Lilllabettt]

[url="http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reborn-babies-real-fake-babies"]"Reborning"[/url]

I realize it could just be an innocuous play baby doll you buy for the little girl in your life.

But something tells me this "reborning" thing, popular among grown women, is a twisted by-product of the collective guilt of our abortionistic society.

It seems ... unhealthy... on so many levels.

[IcePrincessKRS]

The thing that weirds me out most is the hair... it doesn't look like real baby hair.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
totally creepy.

[KnightofChrist]

This one is beautiful...

[img]http://www.trendhunter.com/images/phpthumbnails/21287_1_468.jpeg[/img]

[prose]

I think they are beautiful. I am pretty sure that these dolls have been around for a loooooooong time. I remember seeing realistic dolls like this when I was a child. They were for collectors.

[CatherineM]

I saw one at a toy show (I like yoyos), and it freaked me out. I thought someone had left their baby accidentally on this display table. I kept waiting for it to breathe.

[Lilllabettt]

to me they look like dead babies.

i've been doing some more research: "reborning" is a hobby that involves an "adoptive parent" (almost always adult women) taking care of these "real life dolls" as if they were actual babies ... dressing them, shampooing their hair, babytalking to them ... all without the sacrificial love that comes with actual motherhood. One article quotes a "reborner:"

"It's like having a real baby, but it doesn't have the same hassle. You don't have to get up in the middle of the night, you don't have to fix their bottles, you don't have to change their diapers."

Like I said, the doll itself could be just an innocent thing, a cool gift for a little girl or something interesting to collect. (although I wouldn't do this. to me they look like dead babies.)

But I think "reborning" as a hobby is a sickness.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' post='1625477' date='Aug 12 2008, 04:51 PM']But I think "reborning" as a hobby is a sickness.[/quote]
I agree.

I saw the same kind of hobby featured on 20/20 with monkeys. It was primarily women who did this... they babied them, took them everywhere... weird.

[homeschoolmom]

From Wikipedia:

[quote]The technique of reborning a play doll typically involves the following processes:

The doll is taken apart and factory paint is removed.
A purple color wash is applied to the inside of each vinyl part to give the appearance of realistic baby skin under tones.
The exterior is painted using various techniques to add to the appearance of translucent skin tones, with effects such as veins, blotching, and "milk-spots" to resemble the skin of a newborn baby.
Hair and eyelashes, usually fine mohair or human hair, are applied using rooting tools and felting needles strand by strand, which can take up to 30+ hours per head.
The original vinyl body is replaced with a soft stuffed and weighted body.
A magnet may be attached inside the mouth for attaching a magnetic pacifier. Additional enhancements may include a magnetically attached "umbilical cord", a battery powered heartbeat simulator, breathing simulator, and heat packs.
Once completed, the reborn doll is no longer suitable as a child's play doll.[/quote]

[StColette]

They're creepy I really don't like dolls.

[IcePrincessKRS]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' post='1625477' date='Aug 12 2008, 05:51 PM']"It's like having a real baby, but it doesn't have the same hassle. You don't have to get up in the middle of the night, you don't have to fix their bottles, you don't have to change their diapers."

Like I said, the doll itself could be just an innocent thing, a cool gift for a little girl or something interesting to collect. (although I wouldn't do this. to me they look like dead babies.)

But I think "reborning" as a hobby is a sickness.[/quote]

That's creepy.

[Lilllabettt]

The British did a documentary called "my fake baby": there's [url="http://www.channel4.com/video/my-fake-baby/series-1/episode-1/living-doll_p_1.html"]this clip[/url] . It shows these British women taking fake babies out for walks, changing their diapers, and using the dolls as substitutes for lost children.

[geetarplayer]

It's totally dehumanizing.

[Ash Wednesday]

That makes me really sad. It reminds me of the warm, cuddly, sweet-talking dolls I read about that were selling well among elderly Japanese people because their families don't take as much interest in visiting or taking care of them anymore.

[pan!c139]

I think they're pretty because they look like real babies but it's too creepy to be carrying one around. People totally think they are real. I had a babydoll once when I was little and someone thought it was real...it's...weird...