Oh, undoubtedly, and I do think it’s important to consider if your involvement with any hobby is harming those around you. “Might alienate your children” is just a specific harm in this case. I’m just trying to keep perspective on that being an individual situation instead of reacting badly to the entire phenomenon.
Oh, yeah, absolutely, 100%! I saw that thumbnail, though “oh wow, creepy doll …” and knew this was going to be so much Not My Thing.
What people expect with a Vampire Baby:
What you could end up with:
Oh my God I want a Nadja doll so much. I have been going on about it since the first episode where she showed up.
My partner got me these Funko repaints because it was the only thing he coud find.
We are policed from birth to death… on every single choice we make…
Now that’s creepy in the GOOD way!
Because women have traditionally been the caregivers in hegemonic society; men can be act like fuckin’ children from now until the end of creation, but heaven forbid that women are allowed to have fun for fun’s sake.
I fully plan on resuming my collection of Bratz once my kid goes off to college.
“Look at those idiots, reacting with horror and outrage just because they’ve been misled to believe they are witnessing some monstrous act of child abuse. What a bunch of fuckin’ rubes!”
I don’t get it.
What makes me think that their mold masters were actual babies?
No one “adopts” Leggos.
Yup. Nope.
I don’t get it either.
Pranks in general strike me as an incredibly juvenile form of humor, which would be fine if it didn’t come at the prankee’s expense. Too adjacent to bullying in my book.
No collect them and hoard them… maybe sometimes use them as weapons against people trying to break into their home…
But again, why is one thing okay, but the other is worth of derision? I’m not a big fan of dolls in general, but I don’t think these are any “weirder” than collection action figures, legos, or any other item that is meant for children.
I see nothing weird about putting together large collections of particular objects (unless it’s an expression of one’s joy in owning a vast number of Nazi torture devices). Bog bless completists! 
But when I hear a collector utter “adopt” in reference to the accumulation of dolls, then I hear a hint of a marketing pitch that targets lonely, vulnerable people. That’s where my concern lies.
Isn’t that assuming that people (women) are more likely to be vulnerable to this kind of thing, and unable to understand marketing terms? 
ALL marketing is manipulative, and most people are aware of that fact.
All people are vulnerable when it comes to their needs. I believe you already knew that.
Yet you seem less concerned with manipulative marketing aimed at toys that men are more likely to collect… ALL marketing is manipulative, and I’m unsure why you believe that toys aimed at women is somehow more pernicious or that women are more prone to being manipulated in this way? I don’t believe it is…
So why do you find THIS particular form of marketing manipulation more pernicious than others… Do you think that the women who collect these dolls (or whoever, not just women) are more prone to manipulation then people who collect other toys?
Sure… exactly the same! /s
But you don’t have an answer? Okay. that’s fine.
Have a good day.
Of ffs I “adopted” a cabbage patch doll when I was a kid. Should I sue for mental health damages?
This is getting ridiculous. Because at the end of the day people playing with toys to cope with life is really bad and scary if we take time to think of all the worst ways for that to go!
Think of all the adult guys still playing video games after all and those are addictive and vectors of naziism so let’s freak out about that too. If clutching pearls about it sparks joy then fine, but don’t expect that to change minds or shift anyone’s POV or life experiences.
But I guess you won’t consider for a second that maybe you’re a little off base? A little too paternalistic maybe about how well women can navigate their own mental health and what is healthy for them to pursue and enjoy? What are creative and social outlets that cater to their particular joys and sorrows, etc… Or will you?
The reason I care is because I am one so maybe take my POV as relevant and my passion about it as a sign of how profoundly these kinds of attitudes have impacted me instead of being so dismissive. Women are pathologized when they shouldn’t be and stigmatized for things that would otherwise be seen as geeky fun… and that harms more people than these stupid dolls ever will. Some one is asking you to listen. Will you?
Everyone needs a hobby.
I prefer to carve deities out of soft pine, then set them ablaze. YMMV.
