Fighting that Doll stereotype

sigh..I would like to say that I don't care what people think about me but in reality
i do. I don't really care if random folks on the street think i am weird because
i have dolls but i do care if my friends think it is strange.
I also just started dating a guy and don’t know how to tell them about my dolls without
Sounding like a crazy lady. I guess I should stop caring what people think of me

 

i think it is normal to care a little bit. I care about what my friends and family think, strangers don't bother me, but that is just me. Try not to worry to much if your new guy cares for you he won't mind about the dolls too much, tell them you collect them as a hobbie. That is not crazy!

If you said they are your babies and you talk to them, i could see why someone would be put off. But if you just have them, then it might seem a little odd at first, but i am sure it will be ok once you explain.

 

Maybe having dolls is weirder than I thought it was - I never even thought of it that way! @@

 

That really pisses me off! i mean not all doll owners are the same! i happen to love dolls and i still go to school! i have friends and I'm perfectly healthy!

 

hum..I like to think of my dolls as art more so than my babies. hopefully people wont think i am on the fast track to the crazy train!

 

Some of my family know about my dolls...they already think I'm pretty weird to begin with and My Mum explains them away as art objects so people seem to ask less questions on them. And That seems fine to me, I do use them for sketching, and want to get into taking photos.

Anyone else I've told....well, a few of my friends were interested and they wrote it off as just another one of my quirks. Infact some even said that collecting costomizabl dolls soomed precisely like something I would do.... But anytime anyone outside my more personal circle has seen my dolls they were creeped out, adn I noticed looked at me quite strangely after that like I had some sort of ;issues'.

 

My family already thinks im weird too Koitten. My sister is so scared of my doll that i can chase her around the house with it like it were a spider or something. And no she is not a little kid she's 31.

 

This is why I just don't bring up the hobby to people I don't know very well/co-workers etc. I don't want to get streotyped. Most of my friends don't seem to have a strong opinion about it and some have even gotten into the hobby once I introduced them, plus I have made friends in the hobby as well. People who would streotype are not really people I want to spend time with anyway so it doesn't really matter.

 

Hehehe np! I didn't mean to sound too defensive....believe me, I won't REALLY be taking my doll EVERYWHERE (bathroom? lol!) I'm a pretty sane person and don't latch onto things too much, but my fiance and I are super-duper art geeks so pretty much anytime we leave the house, we have to take sketchbooks and prismacolors and our cameras and a few action figures with us (we love our Tribble from Star Trek and our Master Chief figure from Halo...he comes everywhere with us!) We're just weirdos! xD

Sorry it took me so long to reply! I think the server may still be having some issues...I tried to log in a few times today and it gave me server error messages!

 

the same here iv'e seen the doll master and i love the dolls even more i mean hell they are like our resin children. well im trying to get one and im not gonna have people telling me im weird for liking the dolls. and i blame the chucky movies as well for making the whole dolls are soul stealing monsters.

 

Oh i see that makes more sense. Still something i wouldn't do. Oh i have a UK-BJD club on DA and since you are moving to the UK i wonder if you would like to join. It might be a good way to meet other UK BJD owners http://uk-bjd.deviantart.com/

You have to be a member of DA, but i figured it might be good since you have a skecth book. The doll club part is mainly for doll photo's and to meet people from the UK, but it might be worth considering.

 

Never mind the stereotypes.
When a girl totes a small dog around as an accessory, is she weird, or what?
When a nice guy claims to be a best beer mats collector than you can imagine, will you just turn him away because of "silly" hobby?

I'm proud of my dolls, of my hobby, of my everything. People around see that I'm an artist, and artists are granted freedom per se. Even uptight old maidens in a park smiled, then laughed and talked politely to my Pipos Baha and Dollmore Misia.
BJD are art, hobby and love, and there's nothing to be ashamed of!

 

I am one of those folks who honestly doesn't care what most others think of what I do--friends and family included. So I don't worry about what someone might think of my collection of dolls either.

They're my "second children". (I have real kids as well)

And in the end, BJD's are just one kind of collectible--and many, MANY people collect something. We're geared to think of collecting in general as fine, but dolls as an age specific thing to collect. Hence, I think, the worrisome reactions. But I never let that stop me.

When someone asks (and they inevitably do) I just tell them I collect Asian Resin Balljointed Dolls. Most folks get from the title alone that it's a pretty specific hobby and tend to treat it like collecting weird art. The worst that has ever happened is that I get an odd look when I have the dolls out at the fabric shop looking for scale material.

 

When you have a hobby that is considered outside society's parameters of 'normal', I think it's pretty much inevitable that some people will see you as weird or creepy. =/ But the real problem here is how you deal with other people's perception of you.

Once Yoru was with me on an outing when we went into a grocery store to buy lunch from the deli. They guy behind the counter kind of sneereed at me and asked if Yoru wanted something too. I looked up and told him that he would like a pizza roll, please. Pretty much shut him up. ^_^;

Point is, I think the only real problem with the doll 'stereotype' is in what people choose to make of it. Why does it matter so much what random people think of you? Let them say what they want, the important thing is that you enjoy your dolls.

 

So is it odd then that people i know don't think it is weird? Because i keep pointing this out to people that no one i know sees the hobby as weird.

 

i do agree with pretty much everything here...

the funny thing is, when i take my dolls to the fabric store, i dont get weird looks, i get lots of interest and positive reactions. in fact one store in particular used to be run by the stereotypical "mean old ladies." they only paid attention to you if you were 50+ and making quilts, and if you werent (like myself) you either got ignored or they were down right mean. i brought my MNF shiwoo in one day and suddenly they all wanted to know about him...ever since then, theyve been very friendly towards me. especially when i bring a doll along XD

see? its not all bad...sometimes toting around the BJD is a positive experience!

 

I once brought my mini to the nursing facility I worked at before I moved. I brought her because I knew one resident's little doll-loving granddaughter would be visiting. The little girl, her Mum, and plenty of the female residents loved her. At the end of my shift I carried her room-to-room. Some of the older men saw my carrying her in the halls and laughed. It was like if I'd brought a pet into the facility.

 

I am happy it went so well for you! I think not everyone see's this hobby as bad too. My local fabric shop haven't seen my doll but know i make clothes for one, because they have notised i buy odd amounts so they asked me what i was making.

They do tend to be friendly towards me though and think it is interesting. I also have tried making my clothes but they tend to notice the difference because i buy so much more material.

They see it as a positive thing that i spend time sewing and making things for my self and for my dolls.

 

My local fabric store employees were fine. In fact when Isabeau and I visit with the dolls, they are tickled pink. It was a couple of the other patrons of the store that were, indeed, giving us the stink eye. LOL!

I totally didn't care.

 

what is the stink eye?