Advice: Telling others about being furry

[JYNXthefox]

i tried to explain furries to my folks 3 times. it didn't go like i hoped so i dont tell anyone that i a furry ya know the saying 3 strikes your out well 3 times no more. people will have to figure it out on their own now on.

[Duke]

i actually just told more people today. They asked why i have paw tattoos all the time im like "cause im a furry." They just went "oh... well ok then"

[Scout the Fox]

Ask A Furry Episode 3
This has to be the greatest piece of advice I've received. Almost cried the first time I watched it... there need to be more people that do this kind of thing.

[Argus]

So I watched the episode of the Simpsons about Moe renovating his bar for the gays and in the end he runs for city consul. But in the scene there are these fursuiters that hold a sign saying furries fur moe. After that episode we were talking and furries came up. I said that I hate in the episode that they made it seem like all furrys are gay. He said no but they do **** animals. I said no your think of bea*******. Furrys are people who dress up like animals like Halloween. He said yeah but they still wish they were **** animals cause they do it in costume. Then I said this just because if he did here me defend them he would really think know. So I said not to defend them but I saw a poll on Facebook and so so few of them are even in to that. So he followed it up commenting I know every club like thing has there pervs. Ya know rule 34 of the Internet so we laughed and start another topic. I don't know what to do I really wanted to tell him but with his view as of now I am worried. Are there any shows that promote furrys. I know NOT American dad. But idk

[Duke]

no. The media only exploits the bad norms of a counterculture. They don't ever focus on the good or the normal behaviors because thats not exciting. They want to grab peoples attention by saying only negative things or putting it in a passive agressive way. It can't be helped. The media wants people to say "Oh gross what?!" to keep their attention to get more views.  It is sad and pathetic but its the world we live it.

[NovaAurora]

Yeah, I've found that when you're trying to explain the fandom to anyone, it's best to personally show them everything you want to explain about. It's usually not a good idea to tell them "look up *insert whatever here*," and certainly it's not something you can say "just google it" about. If they know you as a friend or at least a trustworthy person already, then they're a lot more likely to believe stuff they hear first from you than if it came from some form of media.

[Duke]

i should become a blogger, get famous and post awesome shit bout furries.

[Scout the Fox]

You have my support

[Duke]

haha thanks 

[N Phor]

I don't get this. I pretty much never talk about furries or being a furry. There just doesn't seem like much of a point. Everyone has their weird little hobbies and quirks that they have but don't really talk about. It's sort of a jarring and weird thing to bring up. I guess I might mention it if I was talking to someone and we got onto the subject of weird stuff we do, but otherwise it would be awkward to put in a conversation. I've only mentioned it to a couple other people in passing, and they didn't react much to it.

What makes people feel like they have to talk about it? I really don't want to seem rude, I'm just genuinely curious.

[MrRazot]

i wish i could 1+ this

[NovaAurora]

I don't get this. I pretty much never talk about furries or being a furry. There just doesn't seem like much of a point. Everyone has their weird little hobbies and quirks that they have but don't really talk about. It's sort of a jarring and weird thing to bring up. I guess I might mention it if I was talking to someone and we got onto the subject of weird stuff we do, but otherwise it would be awkward to put in a conversation. I've only mentioned it to a couple other people in passing, and they didn't react much to it.

What makes people feel like they have to talk about it? I really don't want to seem rude, I'm just genuinely curious.

Well, before I explain why I'd feel like I should tell someone, I'd like to point out that it's definitely not like I just go around telling everyone unprompted. I agree wholeheartedly that everyone has weird and quirky things that they do, and being a furry should not be treated as the huge deal that a lot of people seem to treat it as. But, the reason why I would feel obligated to explain it to someone, is because I feel like it's a great indicator of who I am as a person and exemplifies my personality pretty well. I wouldn't say this to a stranger by any means, but if it was someone I had enough trust in who asked me something along the lines of, "what do you think defines you?" I would bring up that I'm a furry. Of course, it is just one part of my whole life, and it has negative connotations for many, so what I'm saying relates back to a post I made earlier about how it's best to explain everything about the fandom yourself, rather than letting the media do it. But yes, that is my personal opinion.

[Draco Vertolgr]

why is it important for others to know? its not but I wear a tail and people ask questions so I try to explain.   the reason Itold my parents
 is because I wanted to go to fur meets and stuff. They didnt care at first.....

[LeafTheSwift]

At first?

[Puncia]

In my personal opinion, the first and most important thing to know is that being a furry is like being a gamer:

Some just browse some news or visit a forum every now and then, some write articles and write fiction/do artworks, some make it a living, and some submerge themselves completely.
Sometimes things go wrong (such as when a mentally disturbed person ends up on a killing spree), and ignorant people blame their hobbies when it's really the fact that when a large group gathers, there will always be some odd ones in the mix. It doesn't mean that every gamer is a serial killer.

Once they accept this, then you're pretty much safe.
From my experience.