[Commlist] Call for Papers: 'Dolls, Dolls, Dolls'

Call for Papers: Fashion, Style & Popular Culture

Special Issue: ‘Dolls, Dolls, Dolls’

View the full call here>>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/fashion-style-popular-culture#call-for-papers 
<https://www.intellectbooks.com/fashion-style-popular-culture#call-for-papers>

Guest Editor: Frank New, Massey University, New Zealand

Existing since the dawn of time, dolls are among the oldest man-made 
objects. The oldest known doll – called the Paddle doll – was invented 
in Egypt around 2030–1802 BCE during the late Predynastic period. Fast 
forward to the 1940s and the production of plastic dolls began. In the 
1950s, the German doll Bild Lilli was born, the predecessor to Barbie 
launching in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair. The spectrum of dolls is 
vast from early dolls made of clay, to baby dolls to action figures to 
Voodoo dolls to sex dolls to fashion dolls, and so forth. This Special 
Issue aims to serve as a comprehensive wealth of scholarship around the 
world of dolls.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  *

    Paddle Dolls – Exploring the purpose of paddle dolls in Ancient Egypt.

  *

    Clay Dolls – Looking at socio-cultural history of a region. For
    example, clay dolls from Krishnanagar, India, were meant to capture
    and recreate everyday life, work, mood and characters.

  *

    Bisque/Porcelain Dolls – Exploring the differences between the two
    types, the variations in value, factors that influence value, bisque
    dolls (adult fashion dolls, baby dolls, character dolls),
    China/glass dolls.

  *

    Ceremonial Dolls – Topics to explore: the role which ceremonial
    dolls play, the various uses of ceremonial dolls in different
    cultures, symbolism, rituals, etc.

  *

    Voodoo Dolls – Examining the origins, duality and cultural diversity
    of voodoo dolls.

  *

    Paper Dolls – Looking at paper dolls as artefacts that illustrated
    the social expectations for women at particular moments in time, how
    paper dolls communicated wealth, paper dolls in pop culture, etc.

  *

    Puppets – Exploring how puppets are used in such areas such as music
    therapy, early language development, education and children with
    disabilities. The origins of puppetry, the impact of television on
    puppetry, the contemporary use of puppets in art and activism, the
    world of Jim Henson.

  *

    Fashion Dolls – (Barbie, Sindy, Disney, Bratz, Monster High)
    Exploring how fashion dolls have shaped pop culture, association of
    body image to Barbie, fandom and participatory culture, dolls and
    consumer culture, notices of alternative lifestyles, such as punk.

  *

    Sex Dolls – Examining sex and fantasy, the ‘realness’, ancient
    origins of sex dolls, brothel dolls, ’Teddy Babes’, etc.

  *

    Queer Dolls – Mattel releases Earring Magic Ken, dubbed ‘Queer Ken’,
    how it gained an homoerotic consumer base overnight, and Mattel
    pulled it from the shelves, the Billy Doll, etc.

  *

    Action Figures – ‘Dolls for boys’, GI Joe and its cultural impact,
    how the 1980s shifted to include action figures geared towards
    girls, the homoerotism of action figures through body sculpt and
    clothing.

  *

    Historical Dolls – For example, Leo Moss, African-American doll
    maker from Macron, Georgia. American Girl dolls, the nostalgia and
    legacy

  *

    Fashion, Dolls, Art – Dolls as a fashion accessory, dolls as
    mannequins (The House of Viktor & Rolfat the Barbican, exhibition
    outfits displayed on lifesize porcelain dolls, Barbie as a lifesize
    mannequin, Rootstein), modern doll artists/photographers (doll
    dioramas, celebrity dolls), the connection between dolls and
    fashion, horror dolls (Living Dead dolls, Elvira doll).

Deadline for submissions: 1 December 2025

Papers will not be considered unless they follow Intellect house style 
guidelines.

Papers should be approximately 5000–7500 words in length, and must 
include a title, keywords, full names of authors (with indication of 
corresponding author), affiliation, contact details and a short 
biography of around 150 words for each contributing author.

Papers are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed as they arrive. 
All papers are double-blind peer reviewed for acceptance into the journal.

Please send abstracts to Frank New, Massey University: 
(FrankNew /at/ FrankieNew.com)

For questions regarding submissions or enquiries regarding the journal 
please contact Joseph Hancock: (joseph.hancockii /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(joseph.hancockii /at/ gmail.com)>

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