Woohoo.

Good to hear things are smoothing out for you!

Yea, my dad thinks I'm crazy for dressing up like a tiger as well. But he says "as long as you're having fun." so it all works out.

Ah I see your in the same predicament. Even though my dad really doesn't approve of it I he did say a few times "whatever makes you happy".

It seems that "you're insane" is the 'normal' parent reaction, but sanity is a play ground of the unimaginative and as long as you have fun can't be anything too wrong about it. Cool that you found a way to smooth things out!

Are they at least good wolf jokes? Any worth sharing?

I'm still not over the fact that there is such a thing as a "furry closet" to come out of in the first place. Maybe this is because I had to come out of the gay closet, almost 20 years ago now, and had to deal with the fallout of my parents' expectations. It didn't take long for everything to settle down, and the fact that I was then free to pursue my life was definitely worth it. I can't imagine having to have lived the past two decades in secrecy.

Fursuiting, on the other hand... well, maybe it means something different to others. But from my point of view (and you might share it), it's just... clothing. It's something you put on and take off. It fulfills exactly the same basic function as a 3-piece suit; it's a way of dressing for an occasion, of fitting in and enhancing a social atmosphere, of subtly changing one's presentation. I have yet to come across any clothing, casual or dress or costume (leather, anyone?), that doesn't start - and end! - at these expectations. Maybe work clothes fall into a different category, because they sometimes have pointedly utilitarian elements like hard hats and hammer loops.

Parents are the hardest people to raise, you know. We spend our childhoods wanting to grow up and out of the weight of their disapproval, but they actually retain the right to be disapproving well into our adulthood, even though it doesn't carry the weight it once did. And for that matter, we sometimes become disapproving of what our parents are doing. But we learn to get around that. You've figured out the most important aspect - they just want to see more of you. You'll never regret spending that time with them.

VERY well said.

Holy moley thats deep man! You are one hell of a psychiatrist musician. Your totally right! The fursuiting aspect of it being just clothing, there is no permanence to anything. I have not physically changed anything, its just dressing for the occasion. I will admit though, I have gotten extremely attached to the "clothing" in mention, more than the "I'm with stupid" t-shirt I bought at K-Mart.

Anyone can be "one hell of a psychiatrist musician" after two decades of coaching young teenagers to play contest solos in front of a judge.

Clearly, a fursuit is more of an emotional - not to mention financial! - investment than most clothing! I haven't even gotten the LaserWolf suit yet, but if it ever makes it up to my house for safe-keeping, I'm sure I'll model it for my mom. And I'm pretty sure she'll laugh and say "ohh, gaaaawd"...

I call it "comming out of the den..."

The truth will set you free. ;)

At least you don't have to worry about living a double life anymore. Best of luck to you! =3

Well congrats man, hope everything works out for ya.

My parents on the other hand won't be anywhere near as accepting about it. They come from very religious families, though I suppose being a furry will be the least of my worries when it comes time to come out.

Hm... yeah, sounds like they just missed you. Hopefully the jokes weren't too harsh... they'll probably come around and be accepting of it, I think. I would've been relieved it was just that you were a fur and you weren't doing drugs or frequenting bathhouses x3 glad you're stayin' ^^

Yeah, that's always a bummer, but I'm glad to hear your decision. :3

Good to hear things settled down. I remember how my mom found out I was in the fandom.(through my secret compartment!) Things are fine between us now. It just takes some time, that's all.

I've always thought that fursuiting was for laughs and great for actors to come up with some fun improv stuff. I mean heck, I bet it's easier for your parents to get that when they see you dressed as Pee-Wee Herman and Marty McFly. :)

It's like Halloween! And at these conventions, costuming and creativity is encouraged since there's so many creative people. :)

And I get those "what the heck am I doing?" thoughts when I fursuit too, and have been for 14 years. It's because we're rational folks and maybe we're expecting some kind of allure of the craft to make us feel like we've transcended reality. But it's silly and fun and we're choosing to do it in company where it's accepted.

I think if we ever stop having those moments of "what the heck am I doing?", then we're in trouble!

'Cuz we're nuts! :)

Yes! That is one of the aspects that really love about the fandom. It is a reality where you do and be whatever you want. That's not saying you can't do or be whatever you want in real life but the "be" part of it is taken to a whole other level in the fandom. :)

Its funny you should mention improv. I used to a bit of improv back when I was in college. The funny thing is when I used to do it I always felt restricted and restrained in some sort of way. Now when I'm in fursuit that restriction is gone and I feel free to do anything! I guess the fursuit acts as barrier between my actual self and the audience.

I'm much less self conscious in a fursuit because I'm not worrying about eye contact or what people think of the real me. It's liberating. It's like how Spider-Man tells all these one-liners only in costume. Some kind of safe anonymity or something. Or something about being more familiar with the kind of impression you're giving people, cuz the look is based off of an idea rather than looking like a specific other person.

Hee, I dunno what I'm sayin' cuz I'm sleepy. :)

My mom knows, but I really don't want to know what my dad would think...

Im glad that they didn't totally freak, I know I was scared shitless when I finally had to "come clean" about thew furry fandom. mom said "what the CSI thing?" I thought to myself OMG what have I done. But now my mom helps me with fursuit stuffs. And my dad want's to parade me around in the car he is restoring.

you sir, have won the game..... im just happy my dad is always too drunk to notice

Oh crap, you just made me lose the game!
I hope your happy. Go count yourself.
…no, I’m not drunk. If you don’t know about it, I’m referring to something called, The Game. Yeah… I’ll let you be on your way.

sorry.

Cooper..I'm glad ya were finally able to get it off your chest. I think their perception will continue to evolve into something positive. Nobody can doubt that you have a serious talent for entertaining others. And you get more and more interesting every time! I hope things go well for ya...

That being said, my parents reacted exactly the opposite of what I expected. They are both very ultra-conservative, and I was shocked when they reacted positively, even seemed more excited about the fandom than I was. Of course, I had moved out on my own 15 years ago, and didn't spend a lot of time with them anyhow, so that was not a factor. They did their own research as well, and see it as I do, having a great time with like-minded people.

The only downside to having my parents on my side is they don't have any sense of discretion. They have told everyone they know that their son is a furry! D'oh! My father made sure to announce that fact in front of everybody at both our thanksgiving celebrations...and nothing like "costumer", "mascot", "performer"..no...more like "hey everyone, did I tell you that Lee is a furry?" Dawwwwww....

Ha! It backfired in a good way I guess. Wow I hope my parents don't become that excepting.

Aww sweetie that's good that you got that off your chest. I've really gotta get back to the meets some time soon

Ahh! I haven't seen you in a gazillion years! Miss ya!

Glad to hear it mate! You're already getting wolf jokes? Aww I wouldn't mind some of those, my mom just says I'm strange and leaves it be. This is good, you're going to be closer to your family now and I wish it all the best!

Cooper! You know you're cool, no one knows that more than you do. You'll see, I have a video that'll lift your spirits. And possibly, I would also like to meet your parents. Heh heh.

And lets see now, lets go back a couple of years... Gee, whats this in the 60's... Oh those Damn Hippies! They're nothing but a bunch of drug-loving-cultists! Damn them! They're Happy and it doesn't look good. Oh, Oh, and those Tree huggers of the 80's! What a bunch of conspiracy!

Damn, look at all those people having fun! There must be something wrong with them! LOL

So you goto the DooDah parade and get a pie in the face and NOW look at you!

dude, you're braver than I am. All my parents know is that I went to a cartoon convention in October and I'll be going to another one that's in Pittsburgh.
but did you show them all your fursuiting videos? cause they should get a kick out of that.

That sucks, man. If it's any consolation, I told my mom about furry and she did NOT approve. Her logic... "it's just like cross dressing." XD

Well it's cool that they took it..relatively well :v and good ta hear your aren't leaving, you seem like a pretty cool guy from the vids I've peeked at. My folks'd probably flip if they saw the weird crap I draw.

wow x3
You rock! X3

Ah, I can see the trickiness. I'm currently still very much keeping to the edges of the fandom, but, as I've just gotten off my tenure as a college mascot, I've been debating the possibility of fursuiting from time to time. The only quirk is getting it past family without them jumping to conclusions.

Admittedly though, I think being a mascot with their knowledge to fursuiting would not cause as much a stir as I would imagine.

That being said, I've seen some of your vids and its always cool to see someone who enjoys fursuiting for the same reasons I enjoyed mascotting. For the absurd fun of it all. Keep up the great 'work.'

man, i just love reading your passages about your situations, they actually help me, cause i am in some of the same situations...well, i dont have a suit or anything, but i still cant tell my parents about the fandom.

I've actually showed my mom some of the dance videos from Anthrocon and she was like 'Why are they wearing those?' there was no way for me to truly tell her about it because she would call me weird for watching it. But, yea, every person that I tell about the fandom and the conventions, they always assume things like 'sexual', 'cult', 'kinky stuff'. I try my hardest to explain to them, but they just can't understand the fandom. Well, in any case, thanks for taking your time to read my replies, it makes me feel good to know they are actually getting read.

Continue being awesome! -Photon