Hrrrng those ball joints.

Seriously. Why does that make so much of a difference!?

It's a tactile illusion. With joints, seams, and other visible signs of a crafted figurine, it enhances the understanding that the character has become an object. Even if he/she/it can move on their own, and express themselves freely, they are still plainly and obviously "fake" people. The more obvious it is, the more one is forced to think about it, and do as they will with the thoughts. Sometimes it's fun to write a character who tries to see past the visible appearance and focus on the person within. Sometimes it's fun to indulge in the objectification wholeheartedly.

Yeah, that sounds about right! Despite maintaining the overall appearance of a human, there's more than enough artificial elements here to blur the gap between the two; I guess a full rubber-lovedoll change would represent one extreme end of that spectrum, loudly broadcasting itself as an artificial object with only the most basic and gaudy resemblance to a human form. Which has an appeal of its own, hammering in the fact that the original person is "demoted" to the existence of a toy designed for use by the "real" people.

Post-dolled-Rowena here is much closer to the human-ish side of things though, enough to mistake for a normal person at a glance before really taking in the details; and therefore it's easier to trigger the "this thing you're looking at is a human" part of our brain's recognition centers, and empathize with her despite the artificial elements. Probably the same reason we might feel inclined to treat a baby doll carefully, despite logically knowing that it's an inanimate object.

Brains are so weird/fun.

i love doll tf soo much. just such an appealing prospect!

Looks awesome! :D

Enchanted dress?