Explained fandom to parents; dad has the bad impression

I would suggest showing him this: 

http://vimeo.com/17995012

it might help, also, watch it yourself, its very very good, very well made.

It's really hard to get the ones that think furry is... crazy sexual people, to actually see we are just a community, and just like anthropomorphic creatures.  And that really, the best way to describe us, is a culture, since we, if we had our own country, would definately have a culture about us.  All of us act in a specific way, that is right in our minds, but not in the minds of non furries.  They find it weird, we find it normal... Example on how that works, is americans looking at japanese culture .  Are they not weird to us americans? however to them, everything is perfectly normal, it's just how they are.  That documentary I linked to is awesome at introducing people to furries.  I even put it on a DVD for my parents to watch, and both of my parents are very supportive to me being a furry, and actually seem to like my fursuit.

You might tell your father that the chairman of the convention (1) is a respected(*) scientist, (2) a does not allow anyone to show much as suggest naughty behavior in public at his convention, and (3) encourages people your age to bring their parents along if they are uncomfortable with letting their kids go alone.

(*) by about three misguided people, but it counts!

We also have several Retired and Active Duty military as well as Honorably Discharged veterans who are board members, staff, and attendees.  Not to mention authors, painters, teachers, auto mechanics, computer systems analysts, contractors, musicians, cooks, college students (some with multiple degrees!), moms, dads, grandparents, retirees, actors, electricians, etc etc etc....

I refuse to be "defined" by the questionable actions of a very few people.

I've never "came out" as a furry to my parents, because I don't do anything associated with the fandom that they'd be disturbed by.  I've had people show up to my meets with fursuiters in the back of a pickup truck, I've had someone crawl around on the floor in a ferret suit.  I haven't condoned any of these things, but I understand that furries do things like that.  All I have to say is "Yeah...they're weird."

If you are brave enough to stand up to your dad, ask him where he got his impression?

Laugh off the negative stuff and explain to him just how ridiculous he sounds.

My very simple suggestion: Bring them both along, and let them see for themselves. As the saying goes, a picture (or simply seeing something for themselves) is worth a thousand words...

To Wolf: Yay for another Mecha-fur!

I'd tend to agree that bringing your parents to the convention is the best way to show them what it's all about.  But if your father has the idea that "furry" is a cult, perhaps a few pieces of information could help your discussion.

First, there is no central "belief" that defines what furry is other than an appreciation or interest in anthropomorphic animals.  To some, it's about being a stage performer.  To some, it's about art.  To some, it's puppeteering.  To others, it's just a way to meet people and talk about cartoons or animation.  For every person you ask, you may get a different perspective on what the furry fandom is.

Second, Anthrocon prides itself on providing appropriate content and programming for attendees of ALL ages.  Let me recount a story that you can repeat, and I would encourage you to do so.  In the year 2009, one of our esteemed guests of honor was Joe Harris.  Mr. Harris was (among his many accomplishments) the creator of the cartoon character "Underdog".  Anthrocon was able to have a character costume of Underdog ready to greet Mr. Harris in the hotel lobby upon his arrival.  The original performer for this was to be a wonderful gentleman who built the costume.  However, before Mr Harris arrived, I was speaking with one of our attendees and learned that his 10 year old son would be there to meet Mr. Harris since one of his favorite characters happened to be Underdog.  Because he was a bit shorter, I thought "Wouldn't it be great to have this young fan BE Underdog to meet the character's creator?"  So, I consulted with the builder, and he agreed that this youngster would be better because of his height, and he graciously gave that honor to the young lad. I spoke with the younf man's father and explained about the character presentation, and asked if his son (nickname is "Featherwing") might be interested in doing the appearance.  The youngster was ecsatitc, and his father was floored that his son would get the chance to do such an important appearance.  They agreed and young Featherwing got to live out an amazing experience by not only being one of his favorite characters, but to do so for the character's creator.  His father was by his side the entire time, and they both had a great time.  You can view a video of this experience by going to youTube and viewing this link:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HHktpUxnmE   I know of nothing that better represents what the fandom is, than this story of a youngster getting to have a wonderful experience that he will remember for the rest of his life, and a beaming father there to share it with him.

Finally, I would encourage you to let your father know that you do understand his concerns.  It's always difficult to talk about things when all sides of the story are not easily available.  But encourage him to talk more about it with you.  Ask him if he'd like to attend and see things for himself.  Be open and honest.  There is nothing for you to hide.  Many attendees bring their family members to the event, because it's really a lot of fun. Not everyone draws art.  Not everyone has a costume.  Indeed, everyone has their own area that interests them.  But it's that diversity that makes this little gathering such a wonderful experience. You can meet new friends, learn things, and have a neat summer vacation.

KP

Returning to the concept that people fear/hate what they do not understand,in my criminology course we have been going over social norms which are actions that society expects. Society doesnt ususally think people wearing animal costumes is normal and dismiss it and unusual and wrong,there is also the fact that TV also presents things that are out of the social norms of society and usually blows them out of proportion in a negative manner.  You need to confront your dad/step dad and show him what furries really are and remind him that this is who you are and how he sees what you are will not affect you and you will continue to be yourself.  I can atest personally that i was under the influence of the fear/hate what one doesnt understand when it came to furries and because i didnt understand the ideals of the fandom i refused to go near anyone who even claimed to be a furry.After growing up a bit i decided to research it and found that my reaction to my lack of understanding was wrong and i learned more about the fandom and here i am now steadfast in the fandom.  If you think it is ok to do try reminding your dad/step dad about when he was judged when he was younger and remind him that its not fair to you for him to judge you for falling into a group that he doesnt understand.

if parents think of furry cons as a place where people come to have sex, they are totaly wrong, ive been to 2 fur cons and have never seen any kind of sex acts in public. anthrocon is a well run fur con, the staff prides itself on running a clean covention. i would ask any parent why they thought of sex in fursuits in the first place, then tell them politey thats not how furcons are run, yes being different is what we are but we all cant be the same or the world would be a very boring place.

heres another thing. if any parent says that they saw the C.S.I  episode and point to that as there basis on fursuiters, there wrong, if they believe that, then ive got some ocean front property in arizona i want to sell them. im 36 years old, if i had kids, i would gladly take them to any of the furcons  out there ( anthrocon, midwest furfest so on an so forth).