Dolls, a serious question

[G-Lexington]

You ain't gay because you played with dolls.
You may have played with dolls because you're gay, but even that's an open question.

I never had dolls, or even "action figures" as a kid. Dunno - just wasn't interested. I was a Lego freak. I actually have action figures now, but they're just decoration for the top of my monitor.

Lex

 

[justsimon]

I didn't play with dolls, except to switch Ken's head w/ Barbie's at my friend's house. My brother had a doll when he was about 3 and he carried it everywhere. He's straight.

 

[theatreboi]

my best friend and i used to play with our ninja turtle action figures all the time as well as our New Kids On The Block ones. Those were cool. we'd also destroy my sister's and his sisters' barbies. We only wanted to play with boy dolls.

 

[Ninja108]

I played with ninja turtles, gi joes, and power ranger figurines.

 

[pacz]

I had trolls. I remember at Christmas time, they would take the train to visit Baby Jesus in the manger.

 

[LarsVenice]

When I was very little, I would ask for dolls, but they would not be given to me, but fortunately I had a sister who is 1-1/2 years older. By the time I was four, I had learned that if I asked for a doll and something else for Christmas, I would get the something else and not a doll. Therefore when I was four, I said I wanted a doll for Christmas and nothing else, and so they were forced to give me a doll. However, it was not the kind of doll I wanted. It was almost as big as I was (I have pictures) and had plastic hair (i.e., molded) which could not be combed or styled. I wanted a girl doll with long hair so that I could give her a wash and set, like I saw my mother get at the beauty parlor (as they were called in Texas). So the next year, I got my sister to ask for the doll that I wanted, and I asked for what she wanted (a train set), and we switched presents after Christmas. I got my sister to get me a baby doll that had a bottle and would wet its diapers so that they had to be changed. I also made couture outfits for the dolls, much to the dismay of my parents. I wasn't allowed to use the sewing machine, and so I had to sew everything by hand, which was very time consuming. I also had to cut up old shirts (which my mother was going to give to charity) because they would not buy fabric for me. My sister used to dress me up in her clothes also, and so I was doing drag when I was four. My father would take pictures of me to embarrass me, but I loved the pictures and collected them. When he found out I was collecting the photos, he stopped taking them.

When I was five and local farmers would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, "A hairdresser." They were usually too stunned by that answer to reply, but the women would usually say, "Well, we always need more of those," which has always been my opinion as well.

I also used to collect Chinese paper parasols from visits to the Sunken Gardens in San Antonio. I had a pink silk one that I carried to church, but when I was eight, I was forbidden to carry parasols any more, which made me very sad.

It took me a while to find my masculine side - and it really didn't happen until I came out and found out that there were guys who were much more feminine than I was. This allowed me to feel and become more masculine.

 

[kevbo]

I played with action figures, but they might has well have been dolls. Just not so "domestic." Although the pink and yellow Rangers always did anything the other action figures asked them to do... haha

 

[theatreboi]

i forgot about all of my trolls and my sister's She-ra! castle playset which i LOVED to play with. I also played with her Popples.

 

[1st love ron]

No dolls, but we weren't allowed to have (toy) guns.

 

[RicanDAB]

The Six Million Dollar Man and Pulsar are the only "dolls" I recall having and ever playing with. My female neighbor upstairs did have many Barbie dolls and I used to tie the hair in knots just to bother her.

 

[smile86]

My older brother never played with dolls, so i didn't get any, and i don't have a sister. But there are pictures of me and my best friend playing with action man dolls at nursery, and then i remember he got some for his birthday and we used to play with them after school sometimes. They mainly used to destroy each other and fight with guns and we got so excited when his nan bought him a toy tank thingy to put action man in! but then they got chucked out in favour of dinosaurs. i remember i was into some pretty 'girly' stuff when i was young but i didn't have a sister so none of those toys were floating around, and i think i was at an age when i knew these things were 'girls things' so i never asked for them.

my mum always talks about the time i came home from school when i was 7 and a couple of girls in my class had painted my nails. i remember thinking it was really cool, but then my brother was really mean about it. but my mum thought it was cute and she used to paint my nails clear so they were shiny, and cut them nicely. i grew out of that pretty quickly, but i love my mum for it!

 

[lyconthrope]

no I dont think it has any affect what so ever, toys are toys and children are far to young to attach any connotations or even gender specify toys, parents and psychologists do that, you are who you are the day you are born.

oh and I had GI joes and action men when I was a kid

 

[NedNickerson]

 

[pacz]

One of my sister's Barbies had a removable head. It wouldn't stay on. I sometimes would take the Barbie car, and sit the Barbie in the driver's seat with the head on, then push the car hard so that it would run into the wall and the head would fly off. Many years later I would realize I had invented the first Jayne Mansfield Barbie.

​

 

[Riverrick]

No, not since my mother threw out my Bugs Bunny doll when I was 5 because he was dirty and ragged.

 

[gabriel1]

I mostly played with my Tonka trucks, jeeps, etc., but once in a while I would play with my sisters Barbie & Ken, Barbie was always a slut and Ken was never interested except in the other KEN that my sister had.

 

[LarsVenice]

Couldn´t your parents accept you the way you where?

No, my father thought that he could mold me into an image of him, which was the last thing I wanted to become. It's an outdated concept but was common in Texas when I was growing up. For me, Texas was a very scary place because there were so many butch women, especially at rodeos. I would cry constantly whenever my father dragged me to a rodeo, and so I only had to go to two or three of them. The women there acted just like men, and that scared me because they were so much more masculine than I was. They dressed like men too, and I don't think they were lesbians - that was just the culture of Texas. I left the state as soon as I was able.

Toys don't make the child - the child knows what toys he wants to play with. I also had some toy tractors and toy cars, which I kept in pristine condition - until my younger brother came along and destroyed them.

 

[FirePhoenix]

When I was really young I told my mom I wanted to be a daddy so my mom bought me a baby doll that looked like a newborn. I cared for that thing like a real baby, had baby blankets, feed him before I ate, changed him, even made a bed for him. My dad and grandmother hated it though.

When I played with my action figures I always loved to build them things (even houses) out of legos and carboard etc.

I still have them in boxes.

 

[theatreboi]

wow. i can't believe that "Free to Be..." is on youtube. I shoulda figured though...everything else is.

 

[MRMATTX2]

Anyone remember Big Jim? This was one of my favorite toys, probably about 35 years ago. Gotta love E-Bay, can't believe I found this stuff there
I was into the manly looking men even then, lol
although...I don't remember any clothes like these....I think someone got clever