Latest news with #AlanaGeneroso
eNCA
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- eNCA
Brazil breaks out in a rash over life-like doll craze
RIO DE JANEIRO - Blink and you could mistake the bundle in the stroller in Rio de Janeiro for the real thing. Their hyper-realistic dolls bear an eerie resemblance to actual infants. Some of the so-called "reborn" dolls cry, suck dummies, pee, have nails, eyelashes and veins. But what really sets them apart from traditional dolls with waxy, smooth complexion is their puckered features and blotchy skin. Demand for these replica babies, which first emerged in the United States in the early 1990s, targeting adults chiefly, has rocketed in the South American country in recent years. Made with silicone or vinyl, the price tag for these bundles of joy can run to thousands of dollars. The dolls tottered into the public debate in April when a group of collectors held a gathering in a park in Sao Paulo. Footage of the event went viral, along with a separate video of a reborn "birth," in which an influencer extracts a dishevelled doll from a fluid-filled bag passing for an amniotic sac and then clamps a make-believe umbilical cord. Social media erupted with posts either condemning the would-be mothers' behaviour as deranged or dismissing it as a harmless hobby. AFP | MAURO PIMENTEL Alana Generoso, a longtime reborn baby collector, who now owns her own doll store, insists that her customers are perfectly sound of mind. "Many children come to the story, as well as adults that lead normal lives," the 46-year-old mother of real four-year-old triplets said. Alana Babys Maternity Hospital in Campinas is designed to look like an authentic maternity ward. Before handing over a doll to its new owner, employees in white coats take it from an incubator, weigh it, place it in a stroller and present the proud "parent" with a birth certificate. "Here, you're not buying an ordinary doll, you're buying a dream," Generoso argued. "Are there cases of people looking after the dolls as if they were real babies? Yes, but they're not a majority." The debate has reverberated all the way up to Congress. Some MPs are calling for "reborn" mums to receive psychological help, but others call for people who allegedly use their "babies" to jump the queue for public services to be punished. Last week, an MP made clear which camp he was in when he brought his reborn "granddaughter" to parliament. Playing with dolls is "not a sin," Manoel Isidorio, an evangelical pastor, argued. For psychologist Viviane Cunha, collecting dolls is a hobby that is only categorised as a disorder when it causes "social, emotional or economic harm." "If for example the person skips work because 'the baby has a fever', and believes it to be true, then he or she needs professional help," she said.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Green shoes, fake babies and a mega yacht: photos of the day
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) shoots the ball past Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) and guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the second half of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP Former prime minister Justin Trudeau wears colourful training shoes ahead of King Charles delivering the speech from the throne in the Senate Photograph: Canadian Press/Shutterstock A Royal Canadian Mounted Police ceremonial guard holds a flag to his chest ahead of the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla Photograph: Canadian Press/Shutterstock Brazilian shopkeeper Alana Generoso bathes a 'reborn' baby doll at her store Alana Babys Maternity. Reborn babies are hyper-realistic dolls that have unleashed a media, social and even legislative storm. Handmade with silicone or vinyl, these dolls, which can cost thousands of dollars, show an astonishing level of detail: veins, tears, saliva. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images Kīlauea volcano erupts in Hawaii. The recent series of eruptions began on 25 May Photograph: M. Patrick/United States Geological Survey/EPA France's president Emmanuel Macron takes a selfie with students during his visit to the National University Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Young participants have their bodies and faces painted to attend the sacred Ngerebeg ritual at the Tegallalang village in Gianyar. The event takes place every six months, and is mainly aimed at driving all evil spirits out of the villages. During the ritual, the participants paint their bodies in various colours and patterns to join a procession across the village Photograph: Made Nagi/EPA Supporters of South Korean presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party ahead of a televised presidential debate for the forthcoming presidential election Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images Israelis gather to mark the 600th day of the war in front of the US embassy building in Tel Aviv. They are demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the return of 58 Israeli hostages from Gaza Photograph: Yair Palti/Anadolu/Getty Images World free-diving record holder Sahika Ercumen dives into the depths of Marmara Sea with a single breath to show marine mucilage – 'sea snot' – which has become more visible in recent years. Mucilage in the Marmara Sea is driven by a combination of rising sea surface temperatures, the discharge of untreated waste into the water, and the sea's unique semi-enclosed structure, which limits water circulation. Following a major outbreak in 2021, monitoring and cleanup efforts have continued, with experts reporting partial improvements despite periodic increases in mucilage levels Photograph: Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, inspect a guard of honour at the Chancellery in Berlin Photograph: Liesa Johannssen/Reuters A mega yacht, built by Dutch yacht builder Van Lent for former Starbucks US chief executive Howard Schultz, is piloted through Woubrugge on its way to Rotterdam. The ship, 101.5 metres (333ft) long and 13.5 metres (44ft) wide dwarfs the town around it. Photograph: Josh Walet/ANP/AFP/Getty Images Commuters stand on a nacelle suspended from the metal deck of an aerial ferry bridge to cross the Charente river in western France. The bridge was inaugurated in 1900, allowing people to cross the river without disturbing maritime navigation to and from the city's dockyard. It was used as the main crossing way over the Charente river until 1967 Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images Three spectators wearing matching hats watch Colombia's Emiliana Arango in action during her second round match against China's Qinwen Zheng at the French Open Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
