When you think about someone playing with dolls, you probably imagine a little girl. Kathryn Barnes is 21 and says that her love of doll collecting has led to cyberbulling. 

The Chicago woman collects very realistic baby dolls, called “reborn” dolls, and would post pictures of them on her Instagram account. She thought a fun way to announce she was getting another one would be to post pictures of herself wearing a fake baby bump. Some of her followers did not feel the same way.

“Reborn parents use the term ‘reborn pregnancy,’ when they’re expecting a new doll and role-play the ‘pregnancy’ by posting photos online of tests and hospital rooms where they would go in to ‘labour,'” Barnes explains. “I learned the term when I joined the reborn community on Instagram and I started posting photos because I decided it was a cool way to let my followers know I was receiving a reborn.”

After “bullying and harassment,” however, Barnes has deleted her account. “People were private messaging me criticizing me and what I was doing,” she says. “It confused me as others did it too, but I didn’t want a fight.”

The reborn mom hopes to have an account again soon. Here’s a look at some other reborns on Instagram:

Anna Lou is ready for swimsuit season! 😂 ❤ // Anna Lou é pronta per la prova costume! 😂❤ #bambolareborn #bambolereborn #rebornbaby #rebornbabygiulia

A photo posted by 🍼 Italian Reborn Mommy 🍼 (@rebornbabygiulia) on Jun 5, 2016 at 12:23pm PDT

If you saw an earlier push you know we will be having a little girl joining the crew! I can’t show you yet but name suggestions would be awesome! 🙂

A photo posted by Fresh Foot Prints Nursery (@reborndaddy) on May 21, 2016 at 7:38pm PDT

£158.88 – Finally a new doll, a smiling one, because Benjamin, this is his name, has a beautiful dream and the sculptor caught the exact moment when he smiles satisfied. Benjamin is 20 inch, has light hair and weighs 2.6 kg. At his new home he will arrive with the clothes in the pictures, an extra piece of clothing, a little blanket, his favorite toy, two diapers, the birth certificate and a surprise for the new mother. If his little face tells you something, do not hesitate to take him home. It will bring a drop of happiness. I must say the photos don’t do him justice, he is much sweeter in reality! #rebornforsale #reborndoll #reborndolls #babydoll

A photo posted by Dana – Italy (@dandiana.artwork) on Jun 3, 2016 at 8:45am PDT

Source: Daily Mail