Udder Randomness

[famedglory]

Only time I ever had a reaction was actually from the cloth cutting girl at JoAnn's. She was asking what kind of project the fabric was for, I told her, she was like "so like Barbies?" I had resin Ella in my purse so I pulled her out and showed the girl. She was clearly freaked out but maintained politeness and once I threw out the word 'commissions' she visibly relaxed and thought it was interesting.

However when my husband bought me a MLP coloring book on our honeymoon (we were on a little island where all the shop keepers know you within a day) the woman at the register thought we had a daughter and when we saw her after that she started to recommend places that would be fun for a young child.

[catshem]

It's these sort of reactions that always put me on edge when I get questioned about my hobby or what I'm doing. :/ But once I talked about it people seem to have this "Oh, ok, whatever" reaction, though I can tell they lost interest in learning about what I do.

Wish I understood what people were thinking when they learn about our Doll Hobby. Like, what makes some people get all judgmental on us? Is it really all the fault of the way society thinks that toys are for children only? Man, we brainwash ourselves throughly.

[DollyKim]

Dolls=kids is one thing, having to be judgmental on people who are different than you is another. As long as you aren't hurting yourself or anyone else why is there a problem? Then again there are people out there who think if they don't tell you every minute thing you're doing wrong how will you ever know?

Then again I'm one of those people who will carry their doll in to the store, try things against it, and ask it if it wants something. Xavier has had reactions from 'that's a Dollzone' like they expected him to be a leper or something to a girl being brought to tears because she thought he was so beautiful. I like taking 1/3 size dolls with realistic eyes around babies because they'll babble at the doll like it's a person

[TieflingBoy]

I get so ticked when I hear stories from doll owners about the cashier judging them for their purchase of dolls. I just read something today in the MH tag on Tumblr about a person getting told they were "sad" for buying a doll... by the cashier checking them out.

If anyone ever experiences this, please call a manager. Employee's have no business judging you about what you are PAYING for. I know I don't really have to say it to this crowd, we're all pretty much going to growl at whoever even tries to side-eye us, but to anyone new to the doll hobby in general: don't take employee crap. Don't take crap from anyone. It's none of their business what you pay for with your own money.

(unless it's your parents money... then they kinda have a say, but don't let them bully you!)

Last time someone was a jerk to me at the register my mom didn't let them get away with it. She's a cashier and she said that if a cashier treats you like that the manager should fire them on the spot. They CAN'T get away with it.

We wouldn't get fired right away, but we would get a severe warning (and possibly a write up) if we ever did that to a customer and management found out (not that I'd ever do that to a customer, since I'm a push over who usually likes to mind his own business). I sometimes ask about it when I get older customers buying dolls, but I'm more interested in finding other doll collectors/enthusiasts in town (or at least in the tri-state area).

But yeah, it makes me sad hearing about cashiers bullying customers like that. I remember the staff at the Toys R Us in my hometown being really friendly towards people like me (like on front end, they'd always let me know when a doll brand I liked went on clearance or about unadvertised sales or tell me about new doll brands I might like). I'd always end up spending more than I intended because the staff was so darn friendly!

I don't quite understand the judgment myself. It seems like no matter what sort of geekery you're into, someone's going to judge you (my brother gets criticism for wanting to design games, my sister gets criticism for writing horror stories). It's annoying, but there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it, since when you try to defend yourself (or someone you care about) they just laugh at you further and keep thinking you're some sort of freak or loser. I've just learned to walk away.

[Evelien]

I never had any problems with cashiers when I was buying dolls, but that's because I'm a wuss and I never let it shine through that I'm buying one for myself.

I HAVE however had a problem with a cashier at a supermarket when I bought some Ben & Jerry's for myself. While scanning it, she eyed me unapprovingly and said "You know how many calories are in this ice cream?". Not that it should matter, but I am not overweight or anything. Her comment was so uncalled for. (And again, I would NOT justify her asking this if a customer WERE overweight, I just don't understand why she said it at all). :-\ I felt incredibly uncomfortable and was too flabbergasted to say anything. I avoided her at all cost from that moment on...

[famedglory]

I HAVE however had a problem with a cashier at a supermarket when I bought some Ben & Jerry's for myself. While scanning it, she eyed me unapprovingly and said "You know how many calories are in this ice cream?". Not that it should matter, but I am not overweight or anything. Her comment was so uncalled for. (And again, I would NOT justify her asking this if a customer WERE overweight, I just don't understand why she said it at all). :-\ I felt incredibly uncomfortable and was too flabbergasted to say anything. I avoided her at all cost from that moment on...

I had a similar thing happen when I first found out I was Celiac and had to stare at labels forever to figure out if I could eat it or not. I had been in the candy aisle at a Quikmart at my old dorm for a while reading labels when the lady at the cashier yelled over to me "Sweetie, don't be reading those labels. Just eat the damn candy." And every time I bought a salad or humus after that she'd give me this really judgmental look. The second time she caught me reading the back of a Snickers she told me that "he isn't worth it." Which I suppose is overall more positive than your experience but it made me super uncomfortable and wasn't really appropriate for her to say.

[SillyLilPuppet]

I accidentally a boyfriend .-.

Also my Rou now has pants with functional pockets and a dark blue haori, and Ineffa has a pretty green and pink yukata. Yay for kimonos being ridiculously easy to make!

Oh and has anyone else in the Portland area on here ever been to the big Fabric Depot? I think I almost died. There's just... so... much...fabric..........

[Evelien]

You accidentally whatted a boyfriend??

[Jany]

I'm confused now, lol ^^

If anyone ever called me a freak I'd laugh in their face and tell them how much fun it is and that they should try it sometime. I really stopped caring what people think about me a looong time ago.

[quidam]

I don't recall anyone ever calling me out on buying toys. I get the occasional "oh, that's cute!" comment, but not much more.

Groceries on the other hand I've gotten plenty of comments on. I like to try different things, and many aren't appealing to the cashiers. Even still, I don't recall anything truly offensive ever being said.
Wasn't everyone taught as children that if you can't say something nice you shouldn't say anything at all?