Don't understand hobby

[DollyKim]

There is a wonderful book called William's Doll about a little boy who wants a doll, gets teased about it, but eventually gets a doll and people understand why. Then there's the recent Sesame Street episode that starts with Baby Bear being embarrassed he likes to play with a baby doll, it ends well. There are many forces in the doll world who started out just wanting a doll as a boy.

So we like to tend to little plastic people. It's interesting that as a kid you had the Barbies going to church, I don't know if I've ever heard of that before.

[maywong]

Calivano- You might like this story called Lovers doll.

[OkamiKodomo]

Calivano, that is a heartbreaking story. Kids should never be socially shamed into hiding who they are. The system's hypocrisy never ceases to amaze and disgust me sometimes. All of our young lives, the outward message is "be yourself" and "you're special and unique and you should never care what anyone else thinks of you" but in reality, the truth is, be yourself, so long as you're just like everyone else. You're special and unique, but if you're in any way different from what society says you should be, you will be shunned and/or shamed or even vilified by the rest of the herd. I am glad you got to have that talk with your wife, and I hope everything works out for you.

My ex always thought my dolls were creepy, and didn't understand the attachment to them, but for all our problems that eventually caused us to go separate ways, he was always admiring of the creative aspect, and what I was able to do with them. He never hesitated to tell his friends, when they noticed Vespera or Rune sitting on my desk "dude, she made everything they're wearing, and painted the faces and everything!" Unfortunately, he did also have a habit of telling people what they were worth, monetarily, which made me uncomfortable, because most of his friends were homeless and/or drug addicts... and that WAS one of the reasons we split up. I couldn't deal with that around me, and I couldn't deal with being terrified of coming home to find my home ransacked and my darlings missing, sold to some pawn shop for a few bucks of fix money. Small personal items had already slowly gone missing, from a cheap flash drive that I used for work, to a bundle of hair ties, to a little costume jewelry necklace that was sitting on my dresser. Then when his one friend went "So wait you could sell that thing on ebay for $XX amount?" that did it. I had to keep my dolls hidden in my studio. That was just one of the problems we had, but it's the one that is related to dolls.

Most people I know may not get it, but at worst, they're a little weirded out and even then, once they realize the reason I like them, they usually are ok.

[Calivano]

We all have our problems with friends and family, so part of having relationships with people is finding common ground. Marital problems are among the worst because we tend to invest everything we have...from emotions to finances and they tend to affect others as well. I have a rough time with my spouse since she definitely has self esteem issues, but it goes beyond dolls. In the end, she understands that i like dolls, even though She finds it strange. I think ill look into those books, thanks for the recommendations. Okamikomodo, how long did you have to hide your dolls?

[OkamiKodomo]

Until I left... which was about eight months after that happened, I believe. Give or take. I hid them for their own safety, though, not out of shame. Now, I keep some in the cabinet to keep them safe from the sunlight, rather than from theft, as well as for space issues. Between my girlfriend and myself, we have over twenty permanent residents, plus a rotating crew of commissions and/or guests, and that's only the large BJDs. I'm not even counting the shelf full of Monster Highs. We have six just kickin' it around the living room, three that live in the bedroom, and a bunch that rotate in and out of the studio, as projects dictate. There simply isn't room to have all of them on display.

[Calivano]

That's pretty bad when people ask you what your stuff is worth before they steal it. You were wise to hide them.

[Calivano]

Maywong, is it lovers doll manga? I googled it and it looks like it has free chapter s online.

[maywong]

Maywong, is it lovers doll manga? I googled it and it looks like it has free chapter s online.

Yes, it is a manga. You can read it for free online.

[Jobee]

I'm very lucky. I have friends in the hobby, an aunt in the hobby, and a sister in the hobby. Mom used to collect a few dolls, so she understands. Hubby says they're creepy, but we're very fair about eachother's hobbies. *cough*videogames*cough*

[MeltedCaramel]

Hmnnnn, the main person who has to see all of my doll stuff, my mother, seems to have come around. She's gone from being completely creeped out by them to mildly exasperated as she always is with my creative stuff. She doesn't understand how her adult daughter is into anime, comics, cartoons, dolls, etc. She thinks it's a generational thing, but I have to explain that there are plenty of people her age into the hobby. I always leave it as "it's an artist thing"...that's actually an amazing excuse because she can't tell if I'm BSing her or not! "I need these Japanese doujinshi, it's an artist thing, as opposed to me being completely selfish and just wanting the awesome art even though I can't read Japanese. Yep. Totally not lying."