Early last week, CNN aired a "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" episode that talks about furries; the fifth season finale no less! My parents watched it and I watched it with them; they found it pretty informative, being the parents of a furry. Overall, the episode gave a very positive and accurate portrayal of furries, breaking that sexual stereotype many people still associate them with. My parents already knew somewhat about the truth of furries, thanks to sharing my experiences with them, and then this Lisa Ling episode clinched it even more for them.

The show explained about how a lot of these furries often deal with anxiety in real life and may have social problems, and being a furry is a fun way to get away from it all and be more outgoing, especially as a fursuiter. Since I have Asperger's Syndrome, I could totally relate to this. I still do have some anxiety, often from bad memories of when I was in public school, though at least I've had numerous friends during those years and still keep in touch with many of them through FaceBook and such. And when I was working at Sprawlmart I had anxiety relating to the job. So the furry fandom was always a nice gateway for me.

I go into more detail here, with screencaps and other images...
https://wile-e2005.livejournal.com/235463.html