Breaking the news to your family?

I feel really embarrassed about any hobby I do or anxious about others knowing about them. I'm quite the quiet individual. Not much of my family knows about my dolls, but the ones that do are quite accepting and don't put me down for it. Made me feel silly for being so embarrassed about it. I thought I would never tell my friends, BUT LO' AND BEHOLD, they apparently too are getting into the hobby! Like what? I felt shame all this time for no reason? BJDs seem to be becoming more popular.
It's okay to feel embarrassed, but I would not say getting another doll is embarrassing.

 

Considering my grandma on my mom's side (and some of my great aunts as well) collected ceramic dolls, and I had a couple family members who were borderline hoarder collectors(one aunt and uncle used to actively collect beanie babies and antiques, while another great aunt, uncle and cousin practically filled their house to the brim with collectibles)—collecting art dolls was not really that big of a deal for me. My dad gets that they're a creative outlet, and my mom finds them absolutely fascinating (even customized and finished an SD elf boy just for her).

As for my sister....I haven't openly brought them up with her, but she's aware of my Pullip/Taeyang collection. Also, since it is a creative outlet for me, it probably wouldn't be strange or unnerving to her.

I guess I got the lucky hand in life's card deck when it comes to my family and bjds

 

Same, actually my parents they kinda of expecting it. Since i always like dolls a bit too much, much more than the other girls/friends of mine.

 

I first joined the hobby when I was fresh out of high school and was still living at home with my parents. My parents are the kind of people that have a tendency to judge you if you are buying something that's "frivolous." Not wanting to receive their judgement over how expensive the dolls can be, I lied about how much I was paying for them. Looking back, I was being pretty silly. The money I spent was my own that I earned at a job, and I didn't fall behind on bills or other expenses, so it wasn't like I was doing anything wrong. I no longer live at home, but to this day, my parents don't know the true cost of my dolls. But, I definitely think my mom appreciates them more now that we live apart.

 

I will admit... I consider myself to be a pretty average, normal guy. I'm in my late 20's at this point. The biggest thing that I think people would think is weird about me is that I own a doll. Because of this thought and the standards I feel society has on men in this regards to things like this, I am NOT open about this hobby with people. My wife knows, and her reaction to it is... "supportive" of what makes me happy, but at the same time leaves me feeling a little bit more embarrassed and self conscious of the hobby. The doll stays in the basement where our nerd room is (with all of our other nerdy, anime stuff) and my wife gets weird when the doll is out. For instance, if I had my doll sitting on the couch to watch TV or a movie with us, my wife would give me a weird look and say something along the lines of "whhhhhhhhy is she here?" Because of this and how it makes me feel, I get conflicted with being open about it with others that I am most certainly not as close to as I am with my wife. I am not blind to the situation. I know that this does not mean everyone would act this way or shame me for it. It most certainly doesn't help though.