Is your doll habit a dirty little secret?

^ I feel exactly the same way, whimsu! I've always been super cautious and secretive about my doll collecting for fear of judgment and rejection, but I am just now getting to a similar place in my life where I am opening up a bit more about my dolls. I'm naturally a very extroverted and friendly person, so it has been really hard for me to keep it a secret for so long. In fact, just last night I was Skyping with my best friend (she moved from the US to Australia last year so I miss her dearly ), and I finally told her about my dolls. She was so supportive and very interested in them! She kept asking questions and commented on how beautiful they are. It was wonderful.

I still have not told my family. I don't live anywhere near them, and I'm an adult with my own income, so this really isn't an issue -- they have no legitimate need to know. I may tell my sister about my dolls at some point (we loved playing Barbies when we were kids), but a snowflake has a better chance in hell than I have of ever telling my parents. My dad would think it's crazy to spend that kind of money on a hobby, and my mom is extremely judgmental and would instantly label me a freak. I am slightly jealous of other collectors who are able to share this hobby with their mothers. That must be so nice!

I love how you described that concept so beautifully, LoulabelleBlue. I recently moved away from a small but awesome group of girlfriends in another state, and like I mentioned above, my best friend moved across the world last year; so, I've definitely felt the loneliness creep up every now and then. Plus, I've been so busy at work the past few months that it has been almost impossible for me to get out and go to general-interest (not necessarily doll-related) meetups and make new friends where I live now. My partner is loving and supportive, which is wonderful, but I would still like to have friends IRL who are also interested in dolls. The catch for me is that I'm not totally comfortable divulging that information yet.

TL;DR version: I have been pretty secretive of my doll collecting but am finding that I'm in a transitional period where I'm starting to open up a bit more about it.

 

It's not really a dirty little secret for me. I've taken dolls for photoshoots in public places and told near strangers that I collect dolls. Granted, I'm usually not fully forthcoming about my hobby--I'll just mention what I collect, and depending on a person's level of interest, sometimes that will be the end of it.

During the few public photoshoots that I've done, I've often felt Extremely self-conscious, and worried about people staring. However, more often than not, I've gotten very positive reactions. I think when a lot of people see BJDs in person, they can understand why I like them, by virtue of their sheer visual appeal.

 

I don't make a big production of any of my interests, but I don't make any attempt to hide them, either. I just don't find my dolls embarrassing. Then again, I'm not one of those owners who calls their dolls their children or treats them like living things, either. I don't think of them as anything but interesting toys, so I don't worry over-much about my interest coming off as seriously freaky.

Besides, the majority of my dolls are in a set of display cabinets on the main floor of my house. Anyone who visits us is bound to see them so there wouldn't be much of a point to denying that I had them.

 

Def a dirty little secret for me... My work requires that I'm a "public figure" around the clock for days and sometimes weeks straight, until I can retreat to the privacy of my home and be a quiet and not-so-social nerdy girl that I really am for a change.
Can't afford to be that girl in public and can't afford to have "nerdy" hobbies that are known to public. It's frowned upon in my regular community...
My husband knows, but that's about as "public" as it goes for me.

 

I'm not ashamed about being a doll collector, I love talking about it with people. I am involved in the arts as a profession so generally people think it's pretty cool. I'm still learning how to take good pictures of my dolls so mostly my photo shoots have been in the backyard, and I don't have my BJD's yet so I'm talking fashion dolls here. People in my cast now all know about my new resin guy that's on the way, but lots of them are anime and comics fans so they don't even bat an eye, and everyone is amazed that they make dolls that big (70cm) and with such amazing detail.

 

I'm not shy with my dolls when it comes to being in public, even if I'm in the middle of nowhere. It's my mom who can't know. When I got into mangas and anime, she told me it was a waste of money and time. So until I can prove to her that my dolls can be something productive, like an art form, BJDs are my dirty little secrets... A secret from her anyways. I think I can show her soon but I don't know yet.

 

I'm not sure if I would call it a dirty little secret for me, but it usually isn't something I mention when I meet someone new. I think I would wait a while to tell the person I collect these dolls and hope they don't think I'm weird ._.. Although with that said, I'm not embarrassed about my dolls. If someone is curious about them I am more than willing to answer! I would do photo shoots with my dolls, but I'm still uneasy about it in public. Maybe at a friends house or having more people around me to take the photos. I don't take them out for outings or meet up with friends. I'm too afraid that they will get dirty or broken or just something bad happening to them. All in all I am not ashamed about my dolls and I do post photos of them so everyone does see, so it's not much of secret!

 

As I said in a previous post I definitely do not think I could discuss my hobby with strangers for the same reason although I would love to get photos of them out of my home and garden I am afraid of what they would think of me. Looking like the old granny that I am doesn't help at all some one earlier mentioned 'crazy doll granny' if some one else likes other types of dolls model trains or what ever I wouldn't criticise them just because it is not my thing. I think everyone has to keep alive their interest in something what ever it is it is healthier than vegetating. I do love them for the art in the sculpts whether human or fantasy sadly not everyone appreciates this.

 

Ehhhh kinda? I bought my first two dolls while I was young and on my parents income when I really shouldnt have. I took the lunch money they gave me and vowed to only use half of it each day and put the other half in my doll fund, and my parents sent me on a trip to England to see my future school and I skimped like nuts and used the remainder of my food and tourist fund from that to buy my SD girl. So when I bought it even though I felt like I saved the money myself my parents werent too pleased since it was still their money and my mom just really saw them as a waste of time. Compound this with the fact that I was in an abusive relationship at the time that was making my behavior all sorts of... not normal and good and me and my parents had a lot of fights, my mom unfortunately didnt know about the relationship and how bad it was and just saw me hanging out with my doll friends and decided they were the root of the trouble in my personality shift. I've since told her the truth and she sees they werent the problem but she cant get over the prejudice that built up because of it.

So they are a secret from my family really, I'm saving up for a YoSD that I've had my eye on for a while to add to the family, but I wont be telling my actual family, the money really is mine this time though so there's no need to. Beyond that I dont get too show offy with my dolls to friends, a lot of my friends have a fear of dolls so I wont just shove them in their face. I really keep my hobby to myself, the most I do is bring my merpuki with me places in my bag, and she is the only doll that travels back and forth with me from school to home (my SD doesnt travel well, a bit too big for me to want to take on the plane). I'm not really one for doll meets any more, I havent been to one in a few years, my local community is probably pretty different now from how it was, but really I am more or less just content letting my dolls be my own hobby. They arent a secret to any one really they stay on their shelf and I wont stop displaying them or only look at them when I know no one else is around, I just dont feel a need to cart them around every where or do shoots in public.

 

I am a stay at home mom but I make my own money to buy my own dolls by doing auctions. My husband does not really know how much each doll cost and i have way over 100 (more near 200). They all stay in their boxes and in my closet. He knows i collect dolls but i don't think he knows the price of each. So i guess they are a bit of a dirty little secret. I used to collect Asian fashion dolls and that collection was in the hundreds. He may just think that my BJDs cost the same as those plastic dolls

 

I don't normally bring them up unless they're relevant to a conversation, but I certainly don't keep them a secret. I mean, they're DOLLS. Contrary to the popular stigma attached to them, people of various ages(including adults) have been collecting and showing off their dolls for YEARS. It's really not even that weird of a hobby. Why people are just now finding it an odd thing to collect, I have no idea. Needless to say, I have no problems taking them out in public or even snapping a few photos. If people stop and stare, then that's their problem. I'm not going to waste my time caring if people I don't even KNOW think I'm a weirdo or not.
As for my family and friends ... We're all weird so, I don't think anyone really cares one way or another.

 

Nope, I think everyone I know, knows about my doll hobby. And if they don't well I know I have brought it up from time to time. No one really seems to mind it and none of my friends collect but they are all open. My husband and my mom are my biggest support system. I am sure once my mom sees my first BJD, she is going to want one!!

 

In some ways I am secretive about my dolls, but in other ways I'm not.

Like my boyfriend doesn't know the full extent of money I've spent so far on my doll, but that's because he's a very practical person when it comes to money. Currently he just sees my doll as another object to display, which isn't what I image her being when she finally arrives. In regards to most of my friends, I haven't hidden the fact that I'm getting a bjd, and most are more than willing to listen to me talk about my shopping for her. (I do have some secret hopes of bringing some of them into the hobby, but we'll see) But so far I have not told my mother or my family that this is a hobby that I am venturing into. I don't think that my mother will judge me too much (she's been very supportive of my chainmaille and customizing My Little Ponies), but I don't really know how to explain it to her without being able to show her.

 

Being ashamed of anything that is our passion (as long as it's legal, of course) is a hard to grasp issue for me. People may not neccessairly understand why exactly we find it fun, but living with a feel of embarrasment is something abstract.

I'm not too flashy about my doll hobby (I can't call it a "habit" though as I don't sacrifice anything for it and I see habits as such) but I don't hide it from anyone either. Alot of people I know don't know I collect dolls and as many have fond out about it by accident. I have never felt bad for this to become public, I care to explain if one's interested. However, I never force people to understand it either. If someone calls it "silly" or "immature" I usually know immediately there's no chance for us to find a common ground so I don't bother. But this kind of comments never made me feel any worse or ashamed. I did feel bad for someone unable to just let it go, trying to make me feel wrong for my passion. Such people are sad, sad creaures.

 

Yes. Of course, my parents and sister are already known my dolls. But I don't want to tell my friends about my hobby.
I think they couldn't understand, and I'm tired to explain about my hobby. Most of people think dolls are childish hobby and they are looking me odd.
So I'm keeping my dirty little secret.

 

For the most part, yes. My family and a couple of very close friends know about my hobby, but only my husband knows how much my dolls cost. My mom always gives me grief about the price when I tell her and my mother-in-law doesn't buy anything unless she absolutely needs it, so it's more to spare me the grief of being put on a guilt trip than anything else.

Plus the one time I was telling my sister and brother-in-law about it they insisted that it would be a better idea to make a 3D model of my own doll, have it printed and sell it instead of collecting pre-made ones- because that's TOTALLY as easy as it sounds, right? *eyeroll*

 

I've encountered the same treatment with people in my university. I'm in Fine Arts and professors and fellow students alike seem to love these little guys since they're able to appreciate the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into them. Aside from a few people that are simply unnerved or scared by them I had overwhelmingly positive responses so far! Thus... I never really felt the need to hide them in any way (nor would I even if the response from the people around me was worse, really).

 

Oh god, LOL. That would OBVIOUSLY be so much easier/"better" than collecting OOAK hand-crafted art dolls. Clearly your sis and BIL are geniuses and we doll collectors -- the hundreds of thousands of us in this hobby -- are just utterly stupid for not thinking of that option, right? *eyeroll and lolz along with you*

 

I don't think so. Of cource, not all the people around me know that I'm a bjd owner, but I don't think there is anything embarrassing in being one.

 

My dolls are an on-off secret: I do not share or show my dolls outside the BJD community myself, but I will bring them out to everyone who is interested in them and wants to see them and tell my thoughts about them if someone talks about them. I don't start talking about them on my own to everybody, since many find the hobby somewhat awkward and strange like it was some kind of a fetish.

Though, when I was waiting for my first doll, I couldn't shut up about them! Yup, that's the way I learned that it might not be a good idea to talk about them with everybody.