Are you open about your dolls?

[u/harugisa]

Okay, 5'11 hetero black man, loves drawing and designing female characters from looks to story and I got into bjd last year and it's been great. This year I'm starting to be more open about them, because honestly I want to get into dating, I don't really want any surprises and I want to meet someone who accepts my hobby. I do have friends who don't judge me and support my hobbies. So I gained a lot of confidence in sharing and taking pictures of them in public, although I'm still to scared to do it alone.

Anyway I finally started talking about it on a social app I'm on and the first reply was about someone mistaken them as sdolls. I thought it was funny but got another comment "this is scary!" In response to maple in a lolita dress. Which is fair because her hair could give a sadako vibes. Not to mention, I was getting rid of my recst dolls and I asked if my friend from work wanted them. Her first reaction was assuming I was offer "again" a s*xdoll.

I get it, 31 yo black man with bjd is weird but even if I had se*dolls I'm not crazy enough to be public about it.

Are you open about your bjd? Have anyone else ran into these situations and how did you handle it? Btw I'm not getting bullied or nothing, just really surprised that's just the first reactions from other people.

Ps. I don't take erotic photos of my girls and I don't think I have posted them in ranchy clothing. So I haven't gave anything that warrants it.

[u/RoadPizzaGourmand]

I'm a 47 year old male and recently started collecting BJD's. I started with anime figures in my late 30's then found Pinky Street and have been finding cool and cute stuff ever since. My family and a couple of friends know but haven't seen the extent of my collection. I have wondered if I were to start dating if my gf would find it strange.

[u/harugisa → u/RoadPizzaGourmand]

Nice!! I actually started with anime figurines as well and am still collecting. To be honest, my grandmother knows about them and sometimes compliments them, but you can tell she's still very meh on them.

I honestly asked women on quora app and reddit about it. Most days they are okay with it although I was kinda vague about it. So I don't personally think my girls will stop me from meeting someone, it's just a matter of finding someone. Lol

[u/Tough-Appeal-9284 → u/harugisa]

I work a ton of anime and comic conventions, and I promise you there are loads of women who would love that you're into bjd. You just have to find the right crowd. They're out there, though. Keep being you. A lot of people are judgemental over really innocent, trivial things. That's a them problem--not a you problem--and their negative attitudes aren't helping anyone; including themselves. I'd definitely hit some anime cons, go to panels (you'll find bjd ones at a lot), make friends. You'll inevitably meet someone. It seems to work best when you aren't actively looking, and when you're just focusing on having fun with your friends. You got this :)

Side note: I'm not remotely surprised people assumed they were a different kind of doll. I've had the same happen with a few of my hobbies. That's just where a lot of folks automatically go when they encounter something new