Do you ever speak of your doll-collecting hobby?

I think all of my family and friends know about it. I'm autistic, so I think they're used to most of my interests being pretty offbeat. And my girlfriend and bestie are doll fans as well!

 

Anyone that happens Come over to my House will almost immediately be Slapped with the Sight

of all of my Sixth-Scale Hunnies... As Well as Both of my Dollfie Dreams, the Moment they step through the Front Door. 

Indeed; I've no real Secrets to Speak of~

Edited January 7 by Tasuke

I usually don't straight up tell people I'm into collecting dolls... depending on who I'm talking to, I might mention my interest in dolls at one point! I used to be a bit embarrassed over telling new people about me being in the hobby, I feel a bit better about it now, though!!

My whole family knows since ive collected since i was a kid. I used to be very self conscious about it and wouldnt even tell my close friends. Surprisingly when my close friends finaly found out they were supper cool with it. My partners pretty suportive about it too. But honestly my mom is my biggest supporter and is always telling people so ive gotten used to just owning it now that im an adult. I don't go out of my way to bringing it up ever, but I'll never deny or be embarrassed about it if I have a reason to talk about it. 

Only my husband knows lol. I've never been super open about my interests, regardless of what they were, so keeping my collection to myself is just what feels the most natural. I don't know any other doll collectors in person either, so it's a bit intimidating to think about broaching the topic with people who aren't interested. (I think people are more accepting now than I give them credit for, but I've always had unconventional interests and I just don't want to deal with being judged.) My husband's supportive though so anytime I've wanted to go to a local doll show or talk about new releases or my grails, he's all ears, which is all I can ask for 😄 

My family hate my dolls and it's turned into a major rift.

It's a shame because I'm also autistic (diagnosed a couple of months ago). My dolls are my life now and they've also allowed me to go and meet a tonne of hoomans last year.

I look back and we have some amazing photos of our adventures. Here's Hana in Barcelona.

I'm pretty open about it. My dolls are an important part of my life. My family is accepting, since they all have their own expensive hobbies, and they respect the craftmanship that goes into them. I'm more open about it than I am some of my other interests, like reading.

I don’t really hide it at all, I don’t feel like I have anything to be ashamed of. No one is bold enough to say anything rude about it to my face anyway, haha. 

I find most people have an image in their head when I say I collect dolls and then seem pleasantly surprised when I show them. I’ve only had maybe one friend that is creeped out by dolls but she loves me anyway so she is supportive, just doesn’t want to see them herself lol.

My whole family including my extended family know that I like collecting dolls and photographing it. I am honestly not ashamed of the hobby at all. Its just part of who I am and if they can't handle it, they aren't worth being around with. 

i'm pretty open about it, but i really only get excited talking about it with my mom and my partner aha ^^;; i've collected dolls in some form or another basically my whole life, but had enough people call it creepy or be a little strange about it to where i find it hard to be enthusiastic if i'm not in a doll space. my mom is usually really excited with me about them though, which is very sweet of her, and even if my partner doesn't understand, he knows it makes me happy 💖

 

I already posted here a while back, but I found out recently something kind of saddening.

 

I started bringing my resin dolls to anime cons because I customize them based off of my favorite anime characters, though they are resin BJD and not anime style dolls like Dollfie Dreams.

Now maybe it's just me going to the wrong cons, but people get really, really awkward when casually asked if they are interested in seeing a doll customized like a fictional character, even a character they otherwise enjoy and may even be cosplaying.

Are everyday (to the extent that convention-goers are "everyday") people really that creeped out/put off by dolls? If not, I imagine my customs may just not be that good yet (which is fair) and people might not want to be visibly judging, which I understand. That or I may have fumbled the social aspect somehow due to being autistic. I tend to be pretty open about my interests but I am very much conscious of the fact that I have in the past overwhelmed people by infodumping so I try to avoid that now, but I'm not perfect about it yet. And yet I've improved a lot and I thought I was doing better at social interaction.

 

So I find it hard to believe that it has nothing to do with people's reactions to dolls as a concept, but maybe it's just me.

On 7/18/2026 at 9:58 PM, Starwaia said:

I already posted here a while back, but I found out recently something kind of saddening.

 

I started bringing my resin dolls to anime cons because I customize them based off of my favorite anime characters, though they are resin BJD and not anime style dolls like Dollfie Dreams.

Now maybe it's just me going to the wrong cons, but people get really, really awkward when casually asked if they are interested in seeing a doll customized like a fictional character, even a character they otherwise enjoy and may even be cosplaying.

Are everyday (to the extent that convention-goers are "everyday") people really that creeped out/put off by dolls? If not, I imagine my customs may just not be that good yet (which is fair) and people might not want to be visibly judging, which I understand. That or I may have fumbled the social aspect somehow due to being autistic. I tend to be pretty open about my interests but I am very much conscious of the fact that I have in the past overwhelmed people by infodumping so I try to avoid that now, but I'm not perfect about it yet. And yet I've improved a lot and I thought I was doing better at social interaction.

 

So I find it hard to believe that it has nothing to do with people's reactions to dolls as a concept, but maybe it's just 

Unfortunately, even though you may truly not be doing anything wrong, I'm not really sure how to fix your problem. There is a perception of dolls themselves as creepy, yes, but even more unfortunately, the perception of doll owners themselves as creepy/weird/emotionally stunted also exists. You'd think that anime fans could emphasize with that at least a little bit, but sometimes, it is just a little too weird for people. 

Maybe a better strategy to get people interested in your dolls is to carry them in a way that displays them (they make bags specifically for that, in all matter of sizes!), and letting those receptive to (or at least curious about) dolls to come to you.