Wednesday, August 27, 2008

dolls - bjd or not

I'm not through on the subj. o"dolls. When I was a girl, dolls never had anatomically correct features. They had faces - inscrutable or not dependent on their age. Mostly, my dolls died in the course of play from scarlet fever or consumption _"TB or not TB-that is the conjestion- cansumption be done about it - of cough, of cough, but it will take a lung lung time" (in my living memory relatives died of it). A beautiful ceremony was held - the funerary arts were given full play - flocked flowers - lace overlayments - extended boo hooing from the various other doll participants. Never, never, never did a doll suffer from menstrual cramps (years in the future for little we). And as to hickeys - the lord save us. In my day, the profundity of the doll reflected life and death as percieved by a prepubescent. We knew not of male anatomy - nor of its role in our destiny. We were informed in life by Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks and the fate of legendary and ill fated young lovlies who sucumbed to the Grim Reaper within the family circle. Men were fathers, uncles and brothers - all fortunately for us - kindly, funny, quirky and brave. They appeared in our play as benign or annoying as their roles were called on to be - but never leacherous, cruel (xcept in the role of pirate or knave) or sadistic. We knew ought of the condition of depravity so depicted in the modern BJD - Alas, apparently we have gone the way of the flour sack and the green stamp. It is sad to see today's doll, yearning for a man who dresses her in a dog collar, imposes a tattoo and a love bite and insists on a nipple ring -and she- replete with large luminous teary eyes (in purple, aqua, sky blue, velvet brown, mysterious black) and hair of raven,- spiky, shagged or shingled - or henna, silver or champagne blonde or winter white. Jesus, I was in printmaking at a major university and saw that doll in the flesh, semester after semester. Would that she had succumbed to consumption - at least there would be the echo of our lady of the camelias - Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. Ah for a good case of consumption.

1 comment:

Margaret Dyer said...

Wow. I just spent an hour on the Enchanted Dolls site. Never seen anything like it. Totally inspiring.