The “reborn community” has been trying to understand why such an intense backlash has emerged against a type of collecting that has existed in Brazil since at least the early 2000s.
It’s called scapegoating. I guess transphobia wasn’t enough for Brazil.
“Adult men can collect action figures or play video games without raising eyebrows. But adult women are not allowed the luxury of entertainment,” she said.
That’s absolutely not true. Gamers were looked down upon before videos games reached mainstream acceptance. Even now some people, especially the older generation, are still prejudiced against gamers. Collecting action figures is still niche and will definitely draw some ire. Hell, even adults collecting plushies is a problem for some.
“I know artists who have been crying all day because they can’t bear to open their social media and be insulted on every video and photo they post. And to me, this reaction boils down to hate – people just want something to hate,” she said.
Exactly.
Collecting action figures is still niche and will definitely draw some ire. Hell, even adults collecting plushies is a problem for some.
Another classic example is adults who enjoy model trains. “Weird” is about the best you can hope for if people are feeling particularly generous and accepting. Our society loves to judge adults who indulge in any form of fantasy and have not let their inner child die. Personally I think the world would be a much better place if more or even most adults kept in touch with their inner child. I’d rather have joy than hate. But some people are just awful, and a lot of other people who I don’t think are necessarily awful themselves have this herd mentality that compels them to follow these awful people and try to mimic their awful views to fit in with what they perceive to be the herd, somehow without ever triggering any empathy or even having any thought enter their head about the feelings of the people they are mocking, bullying or victimizing. Even I do it sometimes. I try very hard not to, but I know I have.
I’m 28, gonna be 29 this year. My brother is 34 and gonna be 35. I just got back from visiting him across the country and my last day we spent at the Lego store getting a couple sets and messing with the build-a-minifig kiosk.
We did other stuff too, but that was the main reason for going out.
Two things:
The controversy reached a disturbing peak on 6 June, when a man slapped a four-month-old baby on the head, claiming he had mistaken the infant for one of the dolls. He is out on bail, and the baby is reportedly doing well.
And:
The wave of controversy appears to have been ridden by politicians on the right: according to the news website UOL, all bills presented in May concerning reborn dolls were proposed by rightwing and far-right lawmakers.
“If a topic is trending, these politicians will propose laws about it even if they make no sense,” said Kalil, who also coordinates a research group about the Brazilian far right.
She highlights the timing: the country’s leading far-right figure, former president Jair Bolsonaro, is now on trial for an attempted coup and, after a prior ruling by the electoral court, is already barred from standing in next year’s elections.
“So there is also an element of grabbing attention and pushing an agenda, especially when the right wing camp is in crisis over Bolsonaro’s trial and no one knows who will emerge as their new leader,” she said.
Hmm… 🤔
