I too have been an avid doll collector since I was 11, but I'm not limited to Disney dolls only (then again, I'm gay so it kind of comes with the territory
).
Now to answer your questions:
1. I personally don't think it's weird for a guy or any grown-up person to own a doll or an action figure or whatever, whether it is for display or play. I have (and always had) a general interest in toys, so I just assume other people do too. However, I'm pretty sure some people will find it strange and make snide comments or rude remarks, so be prepared to be called the f-word or worse. Sadly, we live in a heteronormative society where anything out of the ordinary gender roles is discouraged and ridiculed. My childhood friend's older brother used to mock me constantly about playing with Barbies even though I also loved playing with Lego and Transformers. Even now my place is packed with variations of these three types of toys. I also had some problems with my family accepting it at first, but they eventually came to terms with it. Now they just worry about me spending money
.
I've never had big problems with salespeople either. They were never terribly nosy, but I admit to using the 'it's for my little sister/cousin' excuse several times. Nowadays I do most of my toy-shopping online so the chances of coming across an intrusive seller are very slim.
And speaking from experience, playing with dolls is not a definite -- or any -- sign of a boy being gay. All of my male friends who occasionally played with dolls grew up to be straight as arrows. Likewise, there are plenty of gay men who never had any interest in dolls or other 'girls' toys when they were kids.
2. Definitely! I'm OCD when it comes to collections so yes, if you get Aladdin Jasmine is a must, too.
3. I'd get both princes and princesses I liked.
Hope I helped!
thedisneyspirit wrote:The only thing I wonder is, do collectors play with their toys, or are they just ornaments? XD
It depends. Most collectors keep their toys in boxes/on cards because once they’re removed from one, they lose some of their value. My Disney dolls are out of their boxes but they are strictly for collection/display purpose. Other Barbies, I've played with: assigned them a character, dressed them up, had them play out a scene -- the usual stuff. I even had the whole storyline mapped out!
It was your typical soap opera drivel: love triangles and bed-hoppings, secret affairs and illegitimate children, deaths and comings back from the dead, kidnappings, amnesias, good/evil twins (it's hard not to use this cliché when most Barbies look the same)... I have that in writing somewhere; maybe I should update it one time. These days they're stored away and I pull them once in a blue moon to give them a combing, change their clothes, have them pose and take some pics. Now I feel like Jessie's owner in TS2
.
Btw, some of my Disney dolls can be seen
here and
here.
