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Teddies & Dolls

The Soft Guardians

Japan_September 2024

These soft toys are deeply intimate objects, often linked to childhood, evoking comfort, protection, and innocence.

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Among all avatar objects chosen by participants, teddies and dolls emerged as the most popular. This may be partially attributed to the example provided in the trial video diary—which featured a teddy bear—likely influencing participants’ choices. However, the strong emotional resonance of teddies cannot be overlooked. These soft toys are deeply intimate objects, often linked to childhood, evoking comfort, protection, and innocence. They embody a sense of being cared for, or of caring for someone else, and in many cases, symbolize family, love, and emotional safety—elements that become especially significant in the context of migration and uncertainty.

While many participants used the kind of classic teddy bears commonly found in the USA or Europe, some teddies and dolls were culturally specific, clearly marked by Asian aesthetics, styles, or symbols. These culturally rooted toys act not just as emotional companions, but also as bridges between past and present, origin and destination—holding personal and cultural meaning within their soft frames.

Whether Western or Asian in design, these avatars serve as emotional anchors, offering participants a way to express vulnerability, nostalgia, and longing without directly showing themselves—a tender stand-in for the self during moments of reflection.

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“I crochet these stuffed marine animals, just so, you know, I have something to remember my childhood with, especially something to remember my home country”

Belgium _ Participant 6, March 2024

“The object that can represent my feeling at this moment would be these marine organisms that I crochet. So, I am a very big fan of nature, especially marine organisms, and it’s a way to kind of remember what I really love and what I grew up with. I crochet these stuffed marine animals, just so you know, I have something to remember my childhood with, especially something to remember my home country where I can always see all these organisms in the ocean.

It’s also kind of reminds me about my grandmother who taught me how to crochet, and so it feels a bit like I’m still with her and that I’m still at home just by doing crochet as a hobby. And also seeing the final product, which are animals that I really care about and animals that I really love, just makes me feel more at home, I think. It reminds me of home, it helps me a lot with my loneliness living alone here in Belgium.”