How to explain to parents about furry...HELP

Ever think about asking them to tag along to a con or furmeet? I know it sounds crazy, but my parents used to be the same way about furs until I offered to include them in what I was doing. They have never even gone with me to anything furry related, just the simple fact that they know I am not trying to hide anything from them makes them feel better.

Nightclaw

--------------------
Dear lord, you want me to do what with that hairdryer!?

The obvious thing would be to bring them along to the con. I can understand if finances or time do not permit that, though.

Otherwise, I'd recommend pointing them to WikiFur.

Good luck!

 
--
My LJ - My Website

There are many things that you can discuss with your parents. Not the least of which is that people who cause the most commotion tend to be the ones that get attention.

It's very easy for them to see and hear of anything negative, because our society tends to focus on the negative. It's what sells in the news.

What your parents may not be seeing is all the good work that folks within the furry fandom are doing.

I run a panel at Anthrocon called "Using your Powers for Good", and we basically discuss how we can channel any talents we have toward productive community affairs and charity work. It's not the flashiest panel, and certainly not one that's going to garner a lot of photographs. It does illustrate that there are many aspects to our group, many of which simply don't get recognition because they aren't overly sensational.

If you like, I can send you some links to images and web pages that have information about some of our fandom's hard working charity performers.

KP

I would say use my approach, but it may not work like it did for me, but who knows .. It worked twice.. why not a third time? (First time helped a friend write a speech .. Second time used it on my mom .. it worked)

I touched the finer points and went with that. When the questions came up.. But I saw this on CSI, or I googled furry and found "porn" or other stories about furries doing "bad" things

I simply addressed the problems like this

Every group of people will have a bad side, but it doesn't make all of the group a bad person. Even if a few "idiots" does stupid things like that, don't count the hole group out cause of the bad apples cause if you did that then that would be like. Saying ever single person is a very bad person for the doings of the other people of their commuinties and what not.

Feel free to use this if you want, It worked twice for me and I don't see why it could not work for you ^_^

Take along a camera and take lots of pictures of good fun furry things going on that they would have no trouble with and show the pictures to them when they return. They will be more at ease that you are sharing the pictures with them and have nothing to hide. Make sure to include pictures of the GOHs there (look, famous people!), the masquerade, panels, and people just enjoying themselves. Good luck!

Jovina

meh, I stick to the "What if" concept with my parents. They occasionally will pull this crap on me and discuss how I might have a girlfreind and might be living a normal life "if I werent so into that furry stuff"

then I tell them, hey, I could be like my brother who spent high school cutting himself with knives, smoking pot, and dating chicks who would call him christmas night at midnight after getting out of prison and ask him to go on another date at the cemetary.

this would proceed to shut them up quickly.

See, if your parents want proof. I AM proof that furry is a good thing. See, I used to be like ultra emo/goth/punk. I was one of those people that hated the world and everyone in it. I wanted nothing better than to just make everyone go away. Didnt really want anyone to die, just leave me alone entirely so i could play video games for eternity.

Then I found furry, I went out, volunteered and cleaned up a cemetary, organized some local furs for meets, convinced some kid online that suicide was not a good plan and there was so much more to life than killing himself. and when I say he was going to kill himself, he really was. Someone called me frantically asking what to do cus he was in his room with a gun that he found in his dad's closet. I was the one thing that kept this kid from painting his walls with himself. If I handnt of been furry, I wouldnt have ever known any of the people involved in this kid's life as i wouldnt have cared enough to get to know any of these people. Therefore, he would have never gotten ahold of me online and this kid would probably be dead right now. Would have died at the age of 14 over something so stupid as peer pressure and stress at school. Now he got help and is doing quite nicely. He aint a straight A student, but he at least has plans for college.

if your parents want to beleive that furry is bad and evil, then ask them how bad and evil can equal the saving of a life. How can bad and evil equal someone getting covered in poison Ivy voluntarily just to honor the dead? How can a bunch of folks in cute fuzzy animal costumes equal evil. If that equals evil, then what is good?

Im guessing your parents are probably devout religious folks. if so, you are on your own. "Its easy to change an idea, but a religion, thats a lot more complicated" -from the movie: "Dogma"

PS. in case you cant tell, ive had too many cases of trying to explain furry to angry parents thinking im selling their children to satan, and ive given up almost entirely. So sorry if I seem a bit cynical.

I think if I were you, I'd go about explaining it by simply telling your parents that the Furrie Fandom is a fandom based on a concept of art. Tell them about the origins in the Sci-fi community and how people split off to form the furrie fandom

Make it seem as though you are ware that there is a lighter and darker side of the fandom. Talk about the tame stuff, and talk about the non-tame stuff and make it clear where you stand as per a member of the fandom.

Tell them about how the art is a mix of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic themes, about how those themes make up the art, and what forms the art takes, via sculpture, animation, hand-drawn or GC art, fursonas, avatars, costumes....and how it all comes together at conventions where people of various interests within the fandom get to mingle and have fun.

The only thing as per resources that I can come up with off the top of my head although I am loath to mention the forsaken site....Wikipedia still has a decent article that hasn't been desecrated by trolls. Avoid places like Urban Dictionary, Encyclopedia Dramatica, Godhatesfurries.com, and Gaiaonline.com. Those places can be and are cesspools....either with much hate, or much misinformation.