I would have been shocked by this story if I hadn’t already been exposed to such freakish behavior in the past. About a year ago I was house sitting and snooping through there collection of saved Tivo programs ( hoping to find a taped Love Boat, Threes Company or something as riveting) . I don’t remember the title of program but I remember it was a British show , show casing women who had spent thousands of dollars on “realistic” baby dolls that they treated as their own offspring, taking them grocery shopping. The show had a more deviant last half where men had relationship with real life size dolls and demanding the respect from friends and family as if their mound of plastic and whatever else was a consensual part of the relationship. So this article was less of a punch to the gut at the same time causing me some gay shame. Is there a name for being afraid of the word doll? ( besides crazy)
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Gay Couple Raises Doll as Son
For 20 years, a gay couple from New York has cared for their son Digby without having to worry he’ll grow out of his clothes or one day venture out into the world on his own.
Mark Kirby and A.J. Sapolnick bought Digby, a doll they found in a Paris flea market, 20 years ago, and the three have been inseparable since. Kirby and Sapolnick take their son everywhere, from Central Park to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“Our intention was to create a family,” Kirby said to The Daily. “And Digby was going to be part of our family.”
Though the couple acknowledge their family is unconventional, they don’t treat him like a doll — they don’t even like the word.
“He’s never been in a suitcase, Sapolnick says. “Because it wasn’t out intention to have a toy.”
Accidental Bear 