Reporter Writing About Adult Toy (Muppet Toy?) Collectors

[Redsonga]

I do wonder who these "experts" are. Are men in white coats gonna take my 12 inch Beaker away?

*buries herself in hiding under her mountain of MLP, Care Bears, dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids*

I hope not..if they do I am really in trouble

 

[wwfpooh]

*buries herself in hiding under her mountain of MLP, Care Bears, dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids*

I hope not..if they do I am really in trouble

*points to the Pooh cast on his bed* Ditto. One's collection or hobby shouldn't be frowned upon or taken away.

 

[Drtooth]

"...sales of all kinds of adult-oriented play stuff...are doing well. Why is this? What does this tell us about ourselves? Are "boomers" in a delayed childhood? I would like to talk to adults who still "play with dolls" as well as experts who have given some thought as to the meaning of it all."

I believe a writer should know how to make the best use of words and meaning and the Christian Science Monitor is well known enough to have top writers. It is the statement above that leads me to believe this particular writer has a slant. I don't agree with it and won't be participating, but I find it encouraging that others are reaching out. It is apparent that she knows very little about the subject. I hope that by meeting some extraordinary collectors she changes her stereotypical perspective so succinctly described in her own words.

I do wonder who these "experts" are. Are men in white coats gonna take my 12 inch Beaker away?

That's the ticket, man! The other posts you've just said at the beginning are exactly how I feel too.... people have been doing this for YEARS... and now it seems someone wants to paint anyone like that in a negative life. Treating us like we're in some sort of Arrested Developement, when people are praising Super Fans at ball games that dress with giant cheeses on their heads, and then go destroy the town when their team wins.

We're spending our money on stuff we enjoy... and unless it gets too severe, we're not hurting anyone. We're no blowing the money on smoking, then blowing it in someone's face. We're not gambling... we just enjoy things with a different, more mature view.

 

[frogboy4]

That's the ticket, man! The other posts you've just said at the beginning are exactly how I feel too.... people have been doing this for YEARS... and now it seems someone wants to paint anyone like that in a negative life. Treating us like we're in some sort of Arrested Developement, when people are praising Super Fans at ball games that dress with giant cheeses on their heads, and then go destroy the town when their team wins.

We're spending our money on stuff we enjoy... and unless it gets too severe, we're not hurting anyone. We're no blowing the money on smoking, then blowing it in someone's face. We're not gambling... we just enjoy things with a different, more mature view.

Yeah, and some of us make a portion of our livelihood in the creative industry of action figures and collectibles. I just finished branding a fledgling company and designed their first package this morning. Their pitch is praising, "Visionary Thinkers that changed the way we view humanity." That's what I signed up for! It's very Zen and it is very Jim.

I'll post something about it when it hits the market. The funny thing is reading this woman's perspective while actually working on the promotion of a line of vinyl sculptures that are far from being children’s' toys. To each their own. I enjoy owning and designing this beautiful art form. It brings joy into people's lives.

 

[wwfpooh]

Indeed. Bringing joy to others is always a good way to start things off. XD

 

[Yva Minstrel]

Perhaps speaking out about this is not for everyone, but my point to doing that is to tell them that not all people who collect toys are some psychological mess. If they see that normal educated people collect things that are a bit obscure, then perhaps they will leave those old stereotypes behind. That's my goal in taking part.

Hopefully I'm not totally throwing myself to the wolves.

The thing is, if no one says anything to support the collectors, then what essentially will happen? The reporters and other people will continue to misconstrue things and make assumptions about us that are completely inaccurate. We will continue to get mad at being misrepresented because no one is stepping out and showing them that their stereotyping is wrong.

Perhaps my being well over 3000 kilometers from North Anerica helps in that regard. If people over there think I'm crazy, then I won't really care. Of course, like I said in my earlier posting, nothing I wrote in response to her questions could give the guys in white lab coats the amunition to come and try to cart me off to the psycho ward. In fact, I read through the responses thoroughly before sending them and my husband said that what I had to say sounded very logical and mature and not the least bit obsessive.

The way I see it; if this particular reporter remains biased after reading the responses she gets, then perhaps she's not as objective as the publication, which she works for, professes to be. In some ways, I did intentionally sound rather like I was intellectualizing the whole thing. But, I'm also a writer by trade and I have had a limited amount of newspaper experience.

So I guess one could say that I went into this with a great many things in mind. Now the ball is in her court, either she could use what I supplied, or not. It's now going to be up to her how she interprets my words.

 

[wwfpooh]

So I guess one could say that I went into this with a great many things in mind. Now the ball is in her court, either she could use what I supplied, or not. It's now going to be up to her how she interprets my words.

Indeed. The message was sent & now, it is up to the receiver to interpret the message in some way and relay it back to the person who sent it. XD

 

[Redsonga]

Yeah, and some of us make a portion of our livelihood in the creative industry of action figures and collectibles. I just finished branding a fledgling company and designed their first package this morning. Their pitch is praising, "Visionary Thinkers that changed the way we view humanity." That's what I signed up for! It's very Zen and it is very Jim.

I'll post something about it when it hits the market. The funny thing is reading this woman's perspective while actually working on the promotion of a line of vinyl sculptures that are far from being children’s' toys. To each their own. I enjoy owning and designing this beautiful art form. It brings joy into people's lives.

Well, all that said, collecting 'children's toys' should not be seen as somehow a lesser form of toy collecting. Just because they are cheaper and could be played with (and sometimes are) does not lessen how nice they are IMHO. I am a very laid back collector next to some, I always let my friends babies play with my collections if they are away from pens, markers, things to cut with and dirt .

And as far as being obsessive goes..I don't nessarly think of that as a bad thing ether. Everyone has something they are obsessive about, even if they don't admit it...Wanting the new iphone before anyone else is obsessive, watching tv can be obsessive, typing on the internet, etc...Why should being obsessive about toys, something that makes me happy, make me crazy?

But then, if I had not found out about this so late (and my spelling was better) I would have focused on why I enjoy toys more than trying to say 'I like toys but I'm a normal person' because all and all I am not your normal everyday person and proud of it and if she is going to write her story with a bias no matter what I say I might as well just say the truth . But even this truth does not make me 40+ and still living at home with my ponies thank goodness IMHO :3

 

[wwfpooh]

Everyone has something they are obsessive about, even if they don't admit it...Wanting the new iphone before anyone else is obsessive, watching tv can be obsessive, typing on the internet, etc...Why should being obsessive about toys, something that makes me happy, make me crazy?

Agreed. The words "insane", "crazy", "obsessive", and various other synonyms get thrown around too much and mislabel people that are merely different from the norm. Why that is could be because society likes to label people and likes to categorize them, just as it does anything else.

and if she is going to write her story with a bias no matter what I say I might as well just say the truth

Indeed. Be proud of who you are. For instance, a lot of the ships I ship could be considered taboo because they're inter-species relations, but yet, despite this taboo image, many of said inter-species relations are canon via the works in which they're presented (that is...DC Comics puts Superman & Lois Lane and Starfire & Robin--aliens and humans--together, just as they put a loveable changeling and an empathic quarter-demoness--Beast Boy & Raven--together; Henson couples a frog and a pig--Kermit & Miss Piggy--as well as a weirdo alien whatever and a hen--Gonzo & Camilla--together; Dic/Archie puts Sonic [a "way past cool" hedgehog] with Sally [a headstrong ground squirrel] and Bunnie [a bunny with robotic cybernetics] with Antoine [a coyote that's a ruddy coward, despite being a royal guard]; Nick pairs off a ghost boy and a gothic vegan--Danny & Sam--and even accidentally puts an egomaniacal alien with turret syndrome and a human with psychotically demonic tendencies--Zim & Gaz--together; Tim Burton puts a certain "ghost with the most" and a "strange and unsual" Poe-esque teen--Beetlejuice & Lydia--together; ecetera).

But even this truth does not make me 40+ and still living at home with my ponies thank goodness IMHO

Agreed. Just because collectors give off a certain stereotypical image to the general public, that doesn't mean that said image is true.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah, and some of us make a portion of our livelihood in the creative industry of action figures and collectibles. I just finished branding a fledgling company and designed their first package this morning. Their pitch is praising, "Visionary Thinkers that changed the way we view humanity." That's what I signed up for! It's very Zen and it is very Jim.

Speaking as a cartoonist on the verge of tossing his pencils forever into the abyss, and taking a good long look at what to do next, I have this to say...

No one wants "Visionary," They want their greedy little self centered cynicism. They want Gordon Ramsy yelling at people. They want Simon Cowell yelling at people... they what some fake elitist schmuck on TV yelling at some other schmuck. It's become extremely sad, infuriating (why I've been very angry sounding on this board lately) , and completely disillusioning. They want to call us "Freaks" for collecting things, and appreciating things where people don't get hurt or humilliated, and name calling and schadenfreude isn't a major part of it.

And it's not just the other "Socially adjusted" adults too. Have you seen kids lately? It's like that having a childhood AS A KID is considered taboo. Childhood was once about cartoons and super heroes... now it's about playing age inappropriate X-box games, and going on Facebook and making fun of people who are overweight or mentally disabled. Kids that make Beavis and Butthead depressed for the future of the country.

And this movement of misery and pain is spreading. At least we have an artistic community that believes in magic... or at the very least artistic vision and people's hopes and dreams... rather than seeing them crushed on national TV. So they collect toys and have a second childhood. Way kids are these days, we might as well, since they're not using it. And that's all I have to say about that.