BUT
I do think a little debate around why people do weird things, so that we can better understand and appreciate their unique qualities, is healthy.
That's why I took photos of a woman who thought her doll was a real baby.
I didn't say they were good photos.
It's hard to be discreet in a queue at the Post Office. I didn't want anyone to think that I was taking pictures in order to ridicule her. What they don't capture, and I apologise for this, is how she kept bouncing the thing up and down and shushing it.
When she got to the counter, she set the doll down.
And the guy at the counter was like MOTHERFRICKIN CHRIST, SHE THINKS IT'S ALIVE. And his eyes went massive and he couldn't speak.
And I was all 'POST THE BABY, POST THE BABY!'
But she didn't, which was the first of several disappointments for me that day.
NOW, as stipulated, I'm talking about this so that we can learn to embrace difference. So I did some research.
And to my horror (I mean, wonderfully open mind) I found an article from 2012 about a shop in Birmingham that sells lifelike dolls, called 'reborn babies'. That's right ladies and gents, another reason not to go to Birmingham.
How are they reborn? I can only imagine that there are dead babies inside the plastic, now reborn as dolls.
'For those who crave absolute realism, Suzanne can even add an electronic device that mimics a heartbeat or make the chest rise and fall to simulate breathing.'
This blog is writing itself!
“I like to make sure my customers are in baby heaven from the minute they step through the door, so the shop always smells of baby powder,” she says.
Some of it's actually quite sad, and involves a lot of trauma.
I FEEL LIKE A BIT OF A DICK.
I think we've all grown through this experience (it's also too much work for me to start again with this blog).
Just remember team, a reborn doll's for life, not just for Christmas.
