Forty-nine-year-old Linda is married with no children of her own. Now, she says she feels like a mother because she has Reborns \u2014 dolls made to look and feel like the real thing. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a crazy habit, like, you know, drinking, or some sort of, something that\u2019s going to hurt you. It\u2019s like a hobby.and it doesn\u2019t really hurt anybody,\u201d Linda said. <\/p>\n
These women are paying big bucks for this hobby, from $100 to a few thousand dollars. For Reborn owner Lachelle Moore, the fake babies fill a void. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s so wonderful about Reborns is that, um, they\u2019re forever babies,\u201d said Moore, who has grown children and grandchildren. \u201cThere\u2019s no college tuition, no dirty diapers\u2026 just the good part of motherhood,\u201d she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now this *could* be an infertile couple medicating their pain. But there\u2019s no mention of that and one gets the strong impression that not what this pathetic subculture is about. Rather, it looks like, well, typical Generation Narcissus stuff. No kids cuz that gets in the way of the \u201clifestyle\u201d. Endless adolescence. Self-justification about how my selfishness \u201cdoesn\u2019t hurt anybody\u201d. Opelent outlays of cash on self-gratification. Consumerism (\u201cJust the good part of motherhood\u201d).<\/p>\n
And then the chin-pulling from the man in the lab coat: \u201cPsychologists say there could be a problem if and when these women stop interacting socially with others in their life.\u201d <\/p>\n
My generation: perfecting narcissism to an art form.<\/p>\n