Rude Reactions to Your Dolls?

@MaleficentMrsofEvil - Thank you

I can't always keep from thinking of angry replies, but I try to refrain from actually saying them haha

 

My co-workers were making me a rough product of a doll stand (that I would finish later) and I overheard them talking and one said "now the real question is what she does with these dolls" I piped in real fast. Get out of here with that insinuation.

 

I've been lucky, in most cases people are either intrigued or disinterested, but not many rude comments. One of the only times that really sticks out to me was from years back when a kid from down the street was asking questions about them and referred to them as "Barbies" Didn't really offend me because I knew he wasn't trying to be malicious, he genuinely didn't understand. However the girl I was hanging out with at the time definitely took it personally. She was new to the hobby though and didn't quite understand how people that are not in the hobby see our hobby.

 

My mom has negative comments about the curved bodies of my dolls, but she sews clothes for them. )

 

I've been really lucky in that all of the comments I've had online have been positive. My family likes them a lot too. My MIL actually collects dolls herself, such as vintage Barbies and porcelain dolls. My mum also collects porcelain dolls and some more modern ones too.
All of my MILs friends like them too.
They just bawk at the price

 

Most of my friends and family are very accepting. I did have a previous housemate ask me to please never hang disembodied doll parts in a backlit window at night- highly specific, but also highly reasonable!

Strangers can be another story, though. I mention that I collect dolls in my Tinder profile, just so it won't come as a surprise to people, and I've had multiple matches open with "are your dolls haunted/have your dolls ever killed anyone?" I don't think they mean to be rude- they probably don't understand what a loaded joke that is to a doll collector. But it does seem a strange way to kick off a potential relationship. "Hey, you know that thing you really love? Is it SECRETLY EVIL?!?!"

A current housemate's cousin also once asked me, loudly, if I have sex in front of my dolls. They didn't mean it maliciously, but we'd never met before, so I was a little taken aback. I said something like "I'd rather not discuss that, but it wouldn't make me uncomfortable" and we moved on.

 

I have only 2 supportive friends in real life,all my doll friends are online. My family thinks I’m crazy,and I’m afraid to tell many people,as I’ve got so many rude comments.
the few times Ive taken then in public,for photos. I’ve gotten lots of rude stares,but thankfully no one’s said anything
meanwhile,my brother collect knives,and that’s considered normal…

 

I've only had one negative comment, but it was from a friend who also owns bjd dolls. She didn't like that one of my older dolls didn't fit in with my newer dolls. She even suggested that I should sell her.
I don't get negative reactions from other friends and family. Everyone who sees my dolls or who knows I collect, has had positive comments. But I also don't take my dolls out in public. I keep them at home, so they are not exposed to public scrutiny.

 

I've been fortunate enough not to encounter any specific rude comments. Semi rude from an ex friend, but anyone that says my dolls are creepy when I'm out taking photos, I just laugh and say, "You might be right, but they only creep me out when I hear them walking around at night through the house." Delivered deadpan, it produces a good reaction. It's also a good reminder to myself to not call someone else's hobby creepy unless, of course, it is.

 

My family and my friends are very accepting. My mother don't like all of them but she supports me in my hobby. My best friend like BHD and dolls in general, he collects some himself. My other best friend like my dolls but she's not particularly fond of them, she supports me but is not interested in buying some for herself. My other best friend thinks they're are terrifying but she supports me anyway.


But I received lots of very rude comments from outsiders. The worst one was from one of my classmate back in college. She saw my dolls when we had classes on zoom during COVID. When we went back to college, she asked me in front of all my class if what she saw behind me during the zoom meeting were dolls. I said yes. She then asked me why I owned so many dolls (BJDs, Pullips, Barbie, antique dolls etc etc). I told her that it was because I liked them. Then she asked me why I liked them, I replied that it's because I find them beautiful. Then she looked at my other classmates, laughed, and then told me that one of these days, my dolls would attack me in my sleep and kill me... Almost everyone laughed along with her. So I told her that one of my dolls actually did it but didn't mean any harm, she just wanted to play with me... And she actually bought it My best friend tried to defend me by saying that he also collected dolls, along with manga figures and such. Some of my classmates then also told her that they collected lots of different stuff and that dolls were no different than any other hobby. In the end, she just made a fool of herself.

People may be rude to us, but they just want the attention. They just want to mock us because they're not happy in their life. These people don't deserve our attention. We don't need them, and we are free to like what we want.

 

That's an amazing response! I also love, as a reply to "have they ever killed anyone?" the answer "keep talking smack and they just might..."

 

All you said also happened to me, on top of various other things.
The sex doll thing is so weird.
I usually respond by playing into it snd being creepy depending on how it's said lol, because sometimes it's unprovoked and annoying.

 

Something someone recently said to me was pretty gross and frankly xenophobic regarding my doll because it happened to be made by a Korean company; why anyone, especially an adult, feels it's necessary to comment on other cultures without any prompting, is absolutely baffling to me.

 

I’ve luckily haven’t had anyone say anything bad about my crew. I have a very supportive group of partners, friends and family members who help me with dressing them, posing them and choosing my dolls. I did create a page specifically for my dolls and surround myself specifically around people who I know would enjoy them in their space because I would be hurt if they said something mean about them. They are like my little babies. I’m sorry you experienced that.

 

I used to when I was younger. But I was from a small town that was very close knit and judgmental to anything new. I faced disgusted looks when I would bring my dolls out in public, to people telling me they were creepy all the way to being told that they were a waste of space and useless as they cost way too much to justify purchasing. I had one girl see one of the dolls I had (and mind you this girl was over 18 and I was still under 18 at the time of the event) scream in fear and tell me that the doll I had was weird and super ugly.

Thankfully I live in a place where it is more accepted and I no longer speak to anyone, live within, or involve myself in the town I was from. No more rude comments and totally acceptance now on my end!

 

People really seem insistent on telling you that dolls will "Come to life and kill you in your sleep". It's urgent to them that they tell you this, with a ghoulish expression even though they probably dont' believe objects can come to life. They can't stop themselves, it's like a cultural compulsion.

My answer? "Uh whose dolls do you think they are? I spent hours and sometimes years on perfecting or restoring each one of them. If they were going to try to kill someone, it would not be me. It'd probably be someone who hates them." *Meaningful Look*.

 

Every guy I was seeing (not dating) would call my dolls weird or creepy. There's a reason why we didn't get past the seeing stage.

 

In occasions like that only thing you can do is ask as sincerely as you can "Are you ok? Where's your handler?"

 

This is so common, it's really annoying. I understand that the common consensus on dolls is that they are "creepy", coming from a long background of creepy horror movies and bad childhood experiences, but it's so tiring to see the same opinion repeated by literally every person, no matter the background.
It's the same with Furby's, I have one myself and I always loved them, it's so tiring to keep hearing people express their fear or disgust for literal toys.


I don't have BJD yet, but I bought some off topic dolls a few years ago, and when I washed their hair and had them stand around naked to try, a friend of mine commented how it was weird and creepy and insinuated something bad about my interest in them, which is honestly super insulting. They are toys. I find it weird how some people read all kinds of strange things into something simple as toys.

 

I've only taken my dolls out in public a few times (once to an anime con, once to a doll meet at the local library, and my other doll was a fixture at the elementary school library I worked at). I've gotten a few stares, especially at the local library because we were all in a meeting room together which had a window facing the main floor, but no rude comments. Most people are either neutral or supportive.

My family are not huge fans, particularly my dad and younger brother. My brother finds them really creepy though, to be fair, he's always been afraid of dolls. My dad doesn't like them much either but is willing to have them around the house and doesn't really comment on them anymore.