Other trans people here?

They probably haven't noticed that - I generally only read the actual content of a post, not theperipheral stuff arround it and rarely even glance at the signatures etc, and I can't be the only one.

I think the majority of people on the forum default to assuming female unles they know otherwise. Many times on various threads there have been comments to other posters, as a group, referring to them as ladies... "What do you think, ladies..." etc. I'm frequently referred to as her/she by people who only know me from my posts (and on other forums entirely) rather than in person, and that's not a trans issue, just a male in a predominantly female populated hobby issue.

Teddy

 

...there are tons of trans people in this hobby..and tons of men. I think there are even facebook groups for just trans collectors last I looked.

With every hobby there are gender assumptions. I play video games a lot and I'm always a man to everyone until I speak. Even then sometimes I'm called a boy and they think I'm in middle school....I'm a 29 year old female. My husband sews clothes for my doll and I have to make sure I state 'my husband did this' because if I say my significant other/lobster/lover/other half/(any pet name really) they automatically assume he's a female...because sewing is apparently a feminine thing to do.

Like teddy said, people very rarely read signatures, just content. Its not meant to make you feel bad/down/etc. When I'm playing video games even I think that 99% of who I play with is a dude. I assume their gender based off of what I am usually surrounded by, just like they do with me. I often say things like "Lets do this dudes/guys/fellas" even if I know there is another female in the group. If it is an issue that effects you, perhaps posting in your first post for your feedback thread that you wish to refer to yourself as He/Him and it is something you put emphasis on will help. Also letting your buyer/seller know during the transaction will help as well, that way they can leave appropriate feedback after everything is complete.

 

{grin!} I get that all the time. Knitting too.

"Guys" is used gender-neutrally a lot these days, certainly in the groups I socialise with, and on TV it's used to refer to mixed grous male only groups and female only grouops. As far as I'm aware, few (if any) of my female friends would even think anything of it if I were to say to a group of them, "I'm going for icecream, do you guys want to come too...?" or make some similar use of the term.

Teddy

 

Keep in mind that not everyone who is trans is interested in others to know about this either. There might be several individuals you talked with that are unbeknownst to you actually trans but you assumed they aren't since they aren't as open about it/don't plaster it on their profile. Not everyone who's gay wants to constantly and everywhere out themselves either or treats it as more than just their sexuality. People can be part of your group without you knowing it.

The good thing about online interaction, compared to "offline", is that here you can easily pass.
There's no need to out yourself, to face any possible unpleasant interactions with less open-minded people or risk anybody of finding out who better shouldn't. You can just go by your preferred gender and feel for once how it's like for people to just accept when you tell them "by the way, I'm a man/woman".

People going with female by default is also not something they do out of malicious reasons. Pretty much what was already mentioned, in some hobbies one gender tends to be the default and people just go with it. I know several cis and trans men in this hobby myself and my brain still assigns "female" as soon as I meet a new collector online.

Personally try to go with gender neutral too though, when I talk about someone I am not 100% sure about/are a stranger to me I just use they. At least English has that option, German is a little more complicated.

 

Here it is the opposite of "there are no women on the internet"...
So yeah, as @Teddy said, you will be assumed female, here, unless (directly) stated otherwise, yes.

I am in no way intending to "police" you, @heavenlydevil, on your doll/characters, but as @Ara said - a lot of trans people do not want to be defined by being trans. And do not think of it as something that should be viewed as a character-trait.
(But it is not like you forcing people who are trans to speak up about it here. So I hope you manage to find some fellow trans folk who does not mind being open about it!)

Anyway, what I want to say is to just be careful so that being trans is not all that you, or your characters, are.
Transitioning takes time, so I am happy that you got your doll to help you through though!

 

People call me ma'am/she/her all the time here in my feedback too hahaa. There are plenty of dudes here in the bjd hobby, even if we're small in number! Sorry you get misgendered I can confirm that most of the time it's just people not realizing you're a guy. I've never run into anyone who thought guys couldn't be in this hobby or anything like being intentionally mean or ignorant. I've been getting nothing but good vibes since 2014. : )

I'd love to see your doll with scars, sounds like he'd be an interesting doll for sure.

 

I personally try to stay away from gendered pronouns unless I know someone is a male or female, but I sometimes slip up. I'm always grateful if that person corrects me because I don't want to make them feel bad just because I don't know. I'm sure a lot of people in the hobby feel the same way.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with some of the posters above; most of the time I don't read the signature or profile of the person I'm responding to and just assume they're female.
When I'm playing videogames online there are also a lot of people calling me dude or buddy because they assume I'm male. I don't think that there's any vicious intention behind that and people will start using the right pronouns once you've told them.
Please don't always assume that people do everything with a specific or vicious intention, in my experience they (and that includes me) just don't read everything about you before replying

 

Not trans, but yeah I also get misgendered a lot. I'm male and my hobbies are all pretty feminine so most people assume I'm female. Don't take it personally, a lot of people just do it without thinking, they're not trying to be malicious.

 

Agender person here. I'm sorry people keep misgendering you. I don't think they do it to intentionally hurt you, but I am sorry that you still get hurt.

It might also depend on what they are using to view DoA. Im on an Android phone and I dont see signatures at all. So I reccomend putting it in your little icon message (where yours currently says 'a bunny') for maximum visibility (could say 'he/him' or maybe to still have it fun put 'bunny boy' or something like that), or if you want to keep that for other stuff maybe make sure it says so on your first feedback post and on your profile and hope for the best.

 

I'm trans and I've been in this hobby since 2007. My experience has been wildly mixed. The hobby is very much better than it used to be.

People assume I'm a girl a lot, too. It doesn't help that my feedback thread was started before I transitioned so the older entries - i.e. the ones people see, use she/her for me. There's not really anything that can be done about that, though, as editing previous feedback entries.....well, it's not a precedent you want to set, is it! My profile pic is sufficiently beardy that I'm not misgendered as much as I used to be. And I know people don't do it maliciously - of course they don't! But intent sadly doesn't mitigate it making you feel bad, and I'm sorry for that, and understand.

A lot of my dolls are trans (most of them, I think?) because being trans is normal to me, so it's normal for me to reflect this in the art I produce. That's one of the lovely freeing things about this hobby - infinite modding power _

 

NB over here. One of my dolls is trans, too. They started out NB and ended up a boy.

Sorry you're being misgendered! That's the pits :c

 

Based on the number of other trans folks I know in a bjd discord I'm a member of --- I'd absolutely say you're not the only trans person in the hobby!

As someone else said: there's facebook groups specifically for lgbt collectors! There's also a few discord servers specifically for men/masculine identifying folks (both cis and trans, but the two I'm in are predominantly transmasculine folks. (; ).

If you're interested in any of these, dm me and I can send you links!

I don't want to post links publicly, as some people in those spaces may not be out and I don't want to expose them.

 

Yeah unfortuantely a lot of people believe collecting dolls is a feminine thing to do which is why a lot of people use she/her pronouns. I am very sorry. ;A; I am nb so I get how frustrating it but I don't think it should dictate your feelings towards feeling that you are all alone. And honestly I don't think it matters who collects in this hobby as long as they don't hurt anyone else and themselves in the process.

 

I'm not trans, but I'm going to take special care to make sure I don't assume pronouns! I want everyone to feel welcome.

Also my next doll is going to be nonbinary, I saw the sculpt and just knew. Though they'll be OT so unfortunately won't be on the forum.

 

I never assume gender on this forum unless you tell me, I just call you by your user name only. I grew up in a time where all of the LGBTQ was on the down low, like you only whispered it ya know. Some older folks I work with are not into what they refer to as "that life style" and my hubby tells me when he was active duty in the Navy you really did not mention your sexual preference at all. The Clinton era don't ask don't tell, with this new president who knows what will happen to anyone that is in the military now and they are LGBTQ.

 

I'm a trans person in the hobby. You definitely aren't alone. I've been misgendered in my feedback thread and around the forum as well. I do not think any harm is meant by it, usually.

 

Hello I'm trans too! I keep my pronouns in my description thingie but people I think definitely assume in this hobby! That being said... I'm guilty of it too... Once or twice people have misgendered me in the hobby, but to be fair my name is Morgan and I do have one of my female dolls set as my pic but you are totally not alone!! I'm glad I'm not either!!

 

I don't want to tell you you're wrong, but I'd hate to think people were doing it with intent? From what I've seen the community surrounding BJDs is very inclusive and progressive.

Trans dolls is something I was giving thought to the other day actually, I don't really have a specific character in mind for mine, and whenever I speak about them the pronouns flip back and forth. I'm not sure about modding the body itself, but it's something I'd love to see!

 

I try to put effort to gender people correctly, or simply use "they" but most people just don't pay attention to it, I think people will just use the "most common" pronoun in the environment they're in while on the internet. It's annoying, and I understand it can be hurtful. I'm cis female but get constantly misgendered online as I play mmo games a lot, there everyone is assumed to be male, even if I have met lots of other girls who play that sort of games. I also work in a very male-dominated field, and people tend to be surprised I'm a girl when they only know my initials... I hope people will get used to assuming less and paying a little more attention in the future. But at least in the doll hobby it's not usually malicious intent.
As for trans representation in the hobby, as well as male and nb folks, I've seen quite a few on instagram (where people tend to share a little more about their personal life compared to DoA), I just think not everyone is comfortable with sharing this part of their lives, so there might be more than you expect, they just don't say it. Either way I think there's nothing wrong with having a hobby that doesn't match the stereotype of your gender!
My next doll on the wish list will be a-gender, assigned male at birth, presenting as androgynous /feminine and going by a female name. They are my current D&D character and I really enjoy playing as them. They were assigned male at birth but decided to take on a female name when coming of age (in the current setting I play all elves choose a name for themselves when they consider themselves adult/ no longer children).
I think it's great that dolls can be projections of ourselves or what we like, and the more variety and inclusion, the better!

 

Hey I'm also trans! Relatively new to the doa community, and its only just this year I've actually managed to start getting dolls and branching out!

I'm also a trans guy, and i have been very lucky to have not received anything negative anywhere online, least of all in the doll hobby. I know of someone I'm in a bjd fb group with who is also a trans guy and has a transgender DD (i dont know if he's on here, i think he might be) and everyone had been super kind and interested in the comments - genuinely asking innocent questions so that they get it right I think having trans characters in doll form is helpful, as it makes me feel represented in a positive way, and it will definitely be a conversation starter, and a way to help explain trans identities/issues/etc to cis people.
I don't have any trans characters myself, but so far i have pretty gender neutral dolls XD I have my first ever doll meet next week too, so i am nervous about yknow how people will talk to me, but my name is on here so the other meet-goers can see, but i don't really pass that well, especially when i talk XD But as I've only seen positive things from other people in the hobby, i am optimistic that it will go down well

 

I'm non-binary and transmasculine! I just had top surgery yesterday In the process of a legal name change too.

One of my dolls is non-binary, one is genderfluid and another is a trans man, based on my second D&D character. I used a "female" body sculpt for him because surgery isn't really an option in his setting (and lots of trans men don't opt for bottom surgery anyway.) The sculpt I used, the Dollstown elf body, has such small breasts that they don't show under clothing so it's easy to assume he's wearing a binder. I might even make a little binder for him.

 

I'm a trans boy too! I cosplay a lot which is where I get most of my misgendering when it comes to hobbies. I don't really see other doll people irl.
All of my characters are trans in some way. The doll I have right now is sort of my mini me. I got him when I couldn't really express my gender so a lot of my internalized issues got projected onto him. I got him in a male body, but I might get a different body eventually since he doesn't have bottom surgery( I just wanted the flat chest.)

 

I think a lot of younger people in the hobby are more aware of LGBT identities and are quicker to look for pronouns etc. I always check someone's pronouns if they're listed somewhere before I refer to them in a post (and tbh, this might sound harsh to some but if someone lists their pronouns in their signature there's really no excuse not to use the right ones). Even if you accidentally use she/her for someone and then realize their signature says he/him or they/them, you can just go back an edit the post.

In my doll server on discord, I have a strict policy on respecting pronouns and when each person arrives they're asked what they'd like to be referred to with; they get a pronoun role which is easy to find when in the middle of conversation if needed. Again, no real excuse to misgender someone.

I haven't had the best experiences in the hobby as a gnc nonbinary person. I get misgendered often, which does suck to read all the time, and in servers I've been in in the past I've been questioned about my identity. I've had people say that they "just call everyone they/them" even if they know a person's pronouns, which is like, a more woke way to misgender someone. I've also had some rlly rude things said about my trans doll, Liam, who I've modified to be a male sculpt.

But on the bright side, there are trans friendly spaces around, you just need to find them.

(If anyone wants an invite to my LGBT-safe discord server for dolls of all kinds, message me!)

 

I'm NB. I'm kind of the stealth end of things because "my gender is *noncomittal shrug*" makes it really low on my mental priority list most of the time. In one of my social groups, every single pronoun has been used on me because I don't often bother to explain.

One of my doll characters is a trans boy, though I still haven't gotten around modding his scars and my new chubby baby doll is kind of genderless... I bought the "boy" body, but the character wears dresses all the time. Not sure if I intend it as an identity thing or just mimicking how young boys wore dresses back then. Swapped the doll's head recently so I've been waiting to see what idea speaks to me.

 

I'm so happy to find someone else who has a non-binary/transgender doll that is on a "female" body. I have one as well, and when I first got them I got a lot of flack for buying them a female body. But it's what made sense for the character. The body I used has small breasts as well so you can't see them under clothing but I like the binder idea. I've always been one for underwears under clothes for my dolls, haha.

It was very disheartening being told I was doing transgender people a disservice by owning my doll, who I love. I didn't want to argue, but it just didn't seem right to me that it was such an issue. Like you said, a lot of people don't opt for surgery.

 

Another enby here. *waves*
New to the hobby.
So far none of my dolls are trans, but that's a definite possibility for the future!

 

I actually rarely assume genders on here (not at all patting myself on the back or looking down on people who don't, I just happen to do it). I usually use "they/them" unless I know for sure what gender the person identifies as. However, since it is seen as a more female orientated hobby, many people default to female pronouns.

I have also been under the impression, though, that people in the bjd community tend to be open-minded as a whole, and I doubt many would be offended or judgmental if you corrected them and let them know your preffered pronouns. Most people don't read anything but the post itself it seems, so while I know it is annoying and possibly hurtful, try not to take it personally- most people just don't realize their mistake. I've also noticed there seems to be a fairly large lgbt presence in the hobby, so definitely don't feel you are alone here! Being trans is a struggle but being yourself outweighs that. Keep your head up and don't be afraid to speak up for yourself

I think it is wonderful that the hobby is helping you cope with being a trans individual- many collectors make their doll an extension of themselves to deal with parts of themselves that they may love or need to work on and that is 100% okay. Also, my inbox is always open for anyone who is struggling or just wants to chat, whether about the hobby or just life in general! I'm a great listener! Wishing you and everyone else a lovely day

 

I try to avoid using pronouns, to be honest, unless the person has stated them somewhere or I know the person. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but I do check sigs, avatars & even a quick look on their profile just in case. It’s easy to assume ‘female’ as a default in this hobby, but there are a lot of different folks about so a quick check can be helpful before just assuming.

For me, I don’t really care what pronoun anyone uses for me online so I don’t state it anywhere. In RL I’m generally she/her. Even though I’m not fussed, I know misgendering can be very painful for some & I wouldn’t want to deliberately do that to anyone. Accidentally? I hope I’ve avoided it! If corrected I would of course try to edit/remember for the future.

 

Hello I'm also trans! My pronouns are he/him I'm responding late to this but, being proud of being trans is great and that can totally reflect in your dolls! I'm planning on my first girl, she's a Luts Senior Delf Jean, and she'll be a trans girl! I just need to find a "male" type 3 body fs/ft and then she'll be complete! I'm thinking of modding small breasts for her, I think it'll be really cute!

 

Non-binary here! I'm they/them.

I haven't been in the hobby since coming out, I took a very, very long hiatus.

Honestly, I worry about socializing offline with people who might be interested because I find the styling and the like of a lot of the hobby to be really binary, or queerbaity. Most of my doll friends that I talk to are NB as well, though, and we have a lot of fun.

But now that I put that in writing, I don't know what I'm afraid of

 

Yeah the hobby definitely has some downsides with that...especially with a lot of people who also enjoy anime (myself included) you sometimes see people making "trap" characters for their dolls and other fetishy stuff which isn't really too great, and in my opinion, shouldn't really be allowed on DOA, since it's kinda akin to slurs and stereotyping and all that. Thankfully though I don't see it too often! I think people should just be more vocal about when they see queerbaiting or fetishy doll characters, so that way the community can be more comfortable for us, and everyone all around.

 

Not just the "trap" stuff, which is..the most awful.. but, like, the general representation of GNC as this sexy yaoi binary dynamic always has me

It's a lot better than it used to be from what I can tell, but still sometimes I'm scrolling and it gets a little "yikesy" for me.

 

Oh yeah, that too. I think a lot of people misunderstand what it means to be non-binary or trans or queer or GNC and make it into this cliché and caricature that's really just harmful and offensive, and also portraying it as just a trend or stylistic choice or "edgy" and unique when really we're just people living.

I think a lot of (cishet) people could do well with some more sensitivity and delicacy when writing these backstories with their dolls

 

Yes, definitely. Then again, it took a while for POC characters to be handled with sensitivity and respect in the hobby, so hopefully GNC and queer and trans is next.

 

I'm agender (they/them) and have been interested in BJDs for over a decade. As others in this thread have stated, you're definitely not alone!

I always feel a little weird including myself in trans threads though, as I present very feminine... I just don't like the assumption that nb/gnc means you have to dress androgynous (aka masculine)

 

I'm sorry you're feeling a little out of place, and very sorry you've been misgendered. I'm my experience though the BJD community is extremely welcoming of all gender expressions! I hope you can find a group or some individuals that you feel connected with in the hobby. ❤️

I'm not trans, but on a small level I've experienced some similar struggles that have helped me understand my trans friends better. I changed my first name years ago after not using my given name for many years before that, I cycled through a ton of nick names trying to find ME... I still feel really weird being dead named, I went through trauma when I used that name so ugh... Makes my skin crawl. I also developed breasts really early and they've always been large, so I went through a period where I was so uncomfortable with them (and how having all male friends when you're the only girl in school who's developed got me treated) that I bound and wore only men's clothes and completely rejected anything remotely femanine.

I know that's not anywhere near the level of dysphoria some trans folks experience, but it's given me empathy for how hard it can be to feel wrong in your own skin. I think dolls helped me a lot, especially with relearning that accepting that I have some traditionally feminine interests was okay and didn't mean I was weak or vulnerable like societal pressures lead me to believe. Seeing men in the hobby definitely helped a LOT with that too!!

ETA: Whooops, pain meds make my brain foggy and I completely forgot what I meant to say in the first place!! Sorry, having a bad fibro flair and not tracking well. I actually got a new doll that I'm working on who's a GF changling! They're 1/6 and aaaaaaaadorable. Originally got them to shell Edogawa Conan from Detective Conan, but I've they were here they were like uhhhhh... But I like the pretties too! Sometimes I want to have long hair and dresses Mom!! So I just kinda went with it and embraced the fluidity and mischievousness if The Changeling.

 

Hi also in the trans umbrella.
I'm Bi-gendered leaning to about 80% male days to 20% female. Female is my birth gender, but 80% or more I use he vs she, and I've all, but for mailing and business reasons dead-named my real name answering to Will/Willaim or a good number of nick names like Tipp even when in girl mode.

My S.O. (Who I have been with 19 years) is also Bi-gendered, more of a 60/40% of female to male days, but they are more closeted then me. (open only to our friends and in places like this, but not told their family.) We are both in this hobby, and my love has her/his own dolls. It's a wonderful hobby we share. So yeah there are other trans, and LGBTQ folks here, just hard to find sometimes.

As for gender identity with dolls, I love you have a doll that's trans as well. I have a kinda dolly comic book villain/anti-hero version of me. I got Velocity before I learned the term bi-gendered and figured out omg that's what I am. But now that I have, I've gotten Velocity a new body with flatter breasts as so he/she can have days that look closer to my own binder wearing male days. I might also mod the chest flat as would love a more manly chest RL. I have other dolls that are LGBTQ my boy Alice is genderfluid, and my boy/girl Ashley is between gender-queer and bi-gendered.

 

@mushrooms I'm also gnc/nb and while I more identify in the trans masc area, I still present very traditionally "feminine" so I definitely feel ya...a lot of people think neutral = masculine and don't get that clothes, makeup, style ect. have no tie with gender. i'm really glad there's more trans folk here though!! i was worried about how welcoming people would be here and while there is some people who have dolls that are sorta in that fetish-y trans category, it's not too bad and people are generally receptive when letting them know how to respectfully have a trans character for their doll.

 

I'm trans-masculine but non-binary, and definitely I think my mostly-male doll collection is a method of self-expression when I'm constantly gendered as female out in the world.

Currently none of my dolls themselves are trans, but they definitely have different relationships with the concept of gender and gender presentation, and it's a way for me to define and affirm what those things mean to me.

 

I'm a genderqueer trans man who's just returned to the hobby after several years of absence (during which I transitioned). When I first joined the hobby as a teen - I was most active when I was 13-16 - I primarily collected male dolls, and I dressed them in a mishmash of clothing styles, including a lot of dresses/skirts/frilly blouses/etc. Looking back, I think I was exploring my own gender identity and style preferences through my dolls. (I started dressing myself in mostly florals and pastels as soon as I passed enough to do so and not get misgendered constantly.)

These days I'm most interested in collecting tinies rather than the MSDs I liked as a teen, because they're less visibly gendered with the specific and hyper-visible "male" or "female" secondary sex characteristics that bigger dolls usually have. I like the idea of having MSD/SD dolls who are trans (and frankly, trans characters are the only older characters I'm particularly interested in creating/engaging with), but I'd want to go the route of getting bodies assigned one sex and modded accordingly and I'd prefer larger/fat bodies such as my own, so.... That's unlikely to happen.

On the topic of pronouns and specifically incorrect pronouns in feedback threads, the mods can and will alter other people's old feedback posts for you so that your pronouns are correct! I asked about this a couple of days ago and all of the she/hers in my feedback thread have since been updated to he/hims.

 

@Lixxie - oh wow, that last bit about pronouns is really good to know!

And welcome back!

 

I'm nonbinary and I feel this thread... Most of my gender dysphoria comes from being called "female" nouns such as girl, lady, etc. I use she/her pronouns and they/them pronouns, although no one really refers to me as the latter, even my close family members who are accepting.

As for doll stuff, I heard someone is making nonbinary/androgynous mature sculpts! Nidumdolls is the artist, who is from Russia.

 

For sure it's grating to always constantly be misgendered. I've attempted a gender neutral approach my entire life but it's really only online that I can consistently get the proper treatment. It's nice to find that the doll hobby is pretty inclusive but as it's an art related hobby I expected as much. Art hobbies tend to be pretty inclusive, which is a great thing to find.

I'd definitely be interested in a gender neutral sculpt; I was thinking of trying to get a modified flat torso for a "female" body to use for a more neutral character, but it would be nice to find a true neutral 1/3 doll. I took a look at Nidumdolls's Instagram, the sculpt looks really nice; I'm interested to see how it turns out.

 

@redcat - oooh, I'll have to check out Nidumdolls, thanks for the suggestion!

 

I'm nonbinary (feel like my gender could be described as "oh god what is that!?" because I literally have no idea*. It's just like... shrug.) And definitely not passing ^^;;; (I have basically given up on that because I'm too old, too curvy even at my thinnest, it's just impossible to hide. Uh, just my personal feeling. Never do anything I do! I very strongly advocate not doing anything like me haha.)

It's weird but I feel more feminine when in the doll hobby. o_o I dunno if anyone else gets this. Starting to feel like I act differently in different hobbies due to the gendered expectations, which is fine, it just means I act differently in different spaces. It's not intentional I swear O_O;

(Btw re. misgendering. I'm sorry if I ever do that. I can't see signatures reading the forum on my phone, so if your pronouns are in your sig, be aware that mobile users won't be able to see it. ^^;; but knowing people put them there now means I'll check profiles and such to see if there's anything I'm missing.)

Edit: one of the first dolls I bought when getting back into the hobby was a female sculpt to make nonbinary. I ordered her with a small chest, but I still wanted to start with a female doll as a base just because... it's me lol. I look forward to getting the energy to do their faceup and make some cool clothes. (oh no, my doll will be better at this than I am...)

*note, I am being self-deprecating. For cis people reading this, this is not permission to treat nonbinary people unfairly. Sorry, I thought I should add the note because humour does not always (ever) come across well online, and I don't want anyone to read my joke as serious. ^^;;

 

I'm transfem! I used to pretend I was a cis girl online, and did here as well when I first joined 10 years ago. Coming back, I feel much more comfortable [and safe here!] mentioning my transness, which is really nice.

 

im a nonbinary trans person (specifically, I do not align with any gender) and I'm short with a large bust so I'm prone to getting misgendered a lot. I was also kind of curious to see how many trans ppl are into the hobby as well, so im excited to see a thread about it.

whenever I make art, be it designing TTRP characters or just painting for class, I tend to put a lot of myself in things, so naturally a lot of my characters are trans and their experiences being trans are integral to their identity(obviously not they are). this will (once my doll comes) extend to him I believe. I tend to project how I wish I was perceived onto my characters and designs as well

 

I'm short too and had a large bust prior to top surgery so I really feel you on that. Also I love your icon and user!! cane toads are so cute!!! I'm excited to see your dolls once you get some!! My only doll I have right now is trans too, honestly I think all of my planned dolls are gonna be trans!!

 

Thank you! cane toads are very cool to me and I like how big they are. I plan on getting top surgery once I'm more financially stable in the future and once I've looked into reputable surgeons.

 

Yes their size is so cute!!! I love a good big amphibian I wish you the best in your search!!

 

I'm non-binary but with my tastes being more feminine I've pretty much accepted I'll always be mis gendered

 

@Byte I dont have much to say except that I feel that...I like a lot of fancy/silly fashion personally..I want to keep my hair long also which gets me misgendered

 

Wow I just found this thread!! I'm glad to see things have improved in the hobby, and it's nice to see other trans folks around. Trans masc nonbinary guy here.

My sister theorizes that trans people might be drawn to the doll hobby as a way of exploring gender, but I don't know. I'm fairly comfortable in my presentation at this stage of life. I'm interested to hear what other trans people think.

 

Hi!! I'm also trans masc gnc : o) Hmm...I think what draws people to the hobby on a subconscious level is all different, but on a trans basis, I don't really explore gender through my dolls, nor do I plan to...I've always thought women were beautiful so all my dolls are girls, and in the future I do plan to get two MSDs boys to be little clowns. I think moreso my being trans, shows through in most of all my dolls being trans and/or queer, but doesn't really affect how the doll actually looks, that's more just based on my other interests. But I know I definitely follow/am friends with some other trans bjd collectors on Insta that opened up about being trans through bjds! I think it'd be a fun poll to see all the different answers!

 

I'm a trans nonbinary doll collector, just wanna throw my hat in the ring and say I LOVE making trans and other LGBT+ doll stories, I really value representation in all forms of media and fiction, and I like to create stories that would've made me happy to see as a younger trans kid, be the change you want to see in the world and all that. I'm new to this doll collecting scene, but for a long time I've been collecting and making up new characters and stories for my collection of American Girl dolls, and now most of them have some LGBT+ themes at the very least. It's a lovely feeling having a doll that you feel like you can relate to on that level.

 

Genderfluid nonbinary here. I discovered it only recently, but in hindsight this has been me, all my life.

 

Whoa, I was just thinking of making a thread like this and stumbled across one a second later.

I'm trans myself, but I never talk about it and don't put my he/him pronouns on my profile because I also feel strange for being into such a girl-centric hobby.

Though, like other people here have said, I think there are a lot more types of people into this hobby than you'd think. I hope people misgender you less in the future—people who aren't trans often don't understand how much it stings.