Do you hide your hobby from certain people?

I don’t hide my hobbies, so a lot of people know I have dolls, sew and do other crafty stuff. People are generally accepting, but I’ve always been a bit weird. I think people are more concerned that I’m not trying to make money from my hobbies.

 

Oh, definitely. I used to a lot more, but now I don't hide it, I just don't actively talk about it. I'm a non-binary trans man, and before I knew I was non-binary, I had really (sometimes toxic, I'll admit) fragile masculinity, and I felt like I had something to "uphold." It didn't help that some of my friends called my pictures of them creepy, but to be fair, a picture with the phone flash on of an eyeless, half done face in a dim room? Yeah, it was a little creepy. Now most of my friends casually joke when I bring it up, but most of them keep their mouths shut instead of being negative. I think the whole friend group has grown up a little bit, because we've, well, literally grown up over the past few years.

 

My family and close friends know and are supportive even though they themselves wouldn’t get them. In the past, I’ve had things I like that others have found as odd, which makes me hesitant to share my hobbies. I really enjoy them and that’s what matters most to me, so I don’t feel like I need to tell others.

 

I've never really tried to hide my doll hobby from anyone. Then again, I don't try to hide much of anything. I am definitely a "this is who I am/what I do" kind of woman. Some people think I'm weird. Hell, I am weird. But my friends love me for it anyway.

My doll is such a huge part of my life that trying to keep her a secret would be like trying to keep my dress size hidden. Ain't gonna happen, cap'n.

 

I don't think I really hide my hobby from anyone, but it's not something I really ever think to bring up in conversation that often. I brought up my hobby to my mom and friends when I commissioned an artist to do face ups for two of my dolls, and they reacted pretty positively. I mean, they weren't like super excited or anything. More of just mild interest, which I'll take.

 

For me I rarely tell anyone about the hobby. For some reason in my life its easier to tell someone I collect Barbies (Which I do as well as BJDs), then tell someone I collect BJDs. I have found that people glance over or otherwise don't care about the Barbies (which I have a lot of), but for some reason dolls on a bigger, (and more expensive), scale freak people out and cause them to say negative things. My doll collector brain doesn't understand why people think and say the things they do.

 

I am older. My children were exposed to movies that made out that dolls were evil (was one "Chuckie" ? - but there were others) and this seems to have ruined an entire generation about the care and nurturing that dolls establish in young and old. Well - whatever. I have NOT mentioned this new hobby to my kids - I know what their reactions would be!

 

I get a lot of grief about how much money goes into the hobby and how much I make Also, some people look at me like I'm a nutcase and it really bothers me.

 

Yeeaaaah that guy didn't last much longer on that forum. My co-mods agreed with me when the guy eventually threatened to break into my house and destroy my dolls "as a favor" my co-mod gave him a "discussion" in the DM's about not acting like a jerk because of someone's hobby. Made it clear if he didn't like my hobby he didn't have to comment on it since I went out of my way to keep it from being easily viewed. I even used spoiler tags for doll pics and put plenty of warning up.

 

Good that that's solved, at least. I will never understand people like that --sure, you might think someone's interests are the polar opposite of yours, but where do people even find the energy to actively deride someone for liking something?
Lukcily you have a whole forum here with people that will only understand and encourage this hobby

Personally I don't really hide my doll, but it depends on the person whether I will talk about it openly. I spam my two best friends (both completely uninterested in dolls as a whole and not crafty types either) with pictures, and they humour me and give me compliments and serious feedback.
But my significant other, with whom I'm currently in a long-distance relationship (academia, y'all ._.), will just have to find out about the resin addition to the household when he gets back. I won't put the doll away, but I won't send him pictures or blabber about it either. Our shared world is one rooted in our field of work and in 'high culture'; it doesn't really include crafting. I'm sure he'll be ok with it, but it probably won't lead to any shared enthusiasm so I don't bother.
(I won't tell my mother either, but she and I hsve very different ideas about what one should spend money on. None of my hobbies seem to make the mark.)

 

I have been thinking about this topic ever since I first saw the thread a few days ago. Tbh I've had some hardships in this hobby but I really enjoy it and I love participating but for some reason when it comes time to show my dolls/talk about them I get so bottles up and anxious. It's one of the reasons why I never made an Doll account to post photos. I'm proud of my dolls but I think I'm just fearful for what people will say about them LOL so my friends don't know, only my mother and me really!

I hope one day I can change that though!

 

No, because pretty much everyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty unconventional, and this applies to my hobbies as well. I actually tell most people, especially when I get excited about something, just because I can't keep thoughts to myself. Most people are creeped out and fascinated all at once. I've never been negatively judged except by people who are generally deemed unpleasant by most other people.

One thing that I have been frequently asked by my mom, who is primarily the one I talk to about this even though she knows nothing about the hobby, is if I tell people how much these dolls cost and I have to tell her I absolutely do NOT tell anyone what they cost. Beyond it being nobody's business, it's just kinda tacky to announce how much money you have to throw around.

 

No, everybody knows about my hobby
My family are really supportive of it and always take an interest

I've had the occasional "HOW MUCH?! " comments though haha
My mother and mother in law always ask about my next dolly project and will pick me little bits and pieces up from places that they think I could use for doll crafting (Diorama making etc)
My Husband likes to collect figurines / statues and I collect bjds now.

I did recently have a guy in to work on some electrics in my house who asked if my bedroom belonged to one of my children though (because of all the figures / doll and diorama) I told him that it was my room and he gave me a weird look and a 'righttttt' LOL

 

I just started with BJDs (my first will be here tomorrow ), but back when I collected Blythe I didn't broadcast it, but I would talk about them if collecting or dolls came up. I also posted photos occasionally on social media. I never really got any negative comments from anyone, outside of comments that Blythe is creepy looking. But I've always been weird and have other "creepy" stuff at home so it wasn't anything I hadn't dealt with before.

I'm very open at home, they were all over. My husband has a much larger "toy" collection than I do so he really can't say anything about any part of this hobby, even the cost.

 

I hide my hobby from anyone outside of my household, friends online, and work, oddly enough.
My household doesn't mind my hobby, they think it's cute (or creepy, since I show them creepy dolls)
My coworkers think it's weird but they listen to me when I fawn over it
And of course my online friends are either into it, or they think it's cute/cool as heck.

 

I get a lot of mixed reactions, so I don't really tell many people about my hobby. A couple coworkers know, a few friends know, and a couple family members know. That's enough for me

 

I don't actively try to hide it, but I won't bring it up if given the chance. Only my girlfriend and best friend know about my doll. They're both cool with it, but I don't want to feel like I have to justify my hobby, especially since it's so expensive. I'm happy just keeping it to myself. ‍

 

I feel like I have to hide it until I've sussed out what the other person's reaction will be. For example, I wouldn't tell my mother or sisters because they'd be disgusted by it, but if I knew that a friend collected similar things themselves I wouldn't hesitate to bring it up and maybe show a picture or two.

But that's not the only reason! It's also nice to keep my hobbies close to my chest, because they're just for me and no one else can take them away from me. Not that I feel like I have to guard them or anything... it's just nice to be alone with myself and my preoccupations sometimes.

 

I used to try to hide my hobby a bit because I wasn’t very confident about a lot of things. But later I stopped caring about what people think of it. A lot of people I know are supportive of it and I think it’s easier for me to talk about it because I am an artist and I make work which is quite unconventional so people very often see my dolls as an extension of my art. My parents are very very supportive of my dolls and love how happy they make me.

 

I'm highly selective about who I share this hobby of mine with. My parents know, though one sees no value because it can be quite expensive. My boyfriend is only just now starting to think my dolls are not ~creepy~ after all. I have a couple of childhood friends who got into this hobby with me that know the extent of everything.
But that's about it.
I only really consider sharing with people if they show an interest in anime or things of that nature. I can frame the dolls as sort of like display figures from an anime, and people are more receptive. I come from a very small town with very closed-minded people. I'm only just starting to move past the point of caring what everyone thinks of me, but I'm not quite there yet.