He's 12 and, Yes, Kids, It's Time Once Again to Face the Fears of Being a Furry (Good Grief)

Hello Papabear,

I am a new furry with no fursona, and my brother hates furries, so i dont know if I should keep going furry. My sister thinks furries are weird, and I don't know how my mom would react. Please help!

Dirk (age 12)

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Hi, Dirk,

This all depends on how important being furry is to you and why you should care what your brother, sister, or mother think about furries. If being a furry is just a passing interest to you, and you don't care about it that much, then you might want to pursue some other interests just to avoid the subject all together.

If, however, you LOVE being a furry and have a great time doing furry things, then why do you need your family's approval? Well, probably you fear being teased by your sister and brother, for one thing. But, actually, that is what brothers and sisters often do: tease each other. It's called sibling rivalry, so if it wasn't furries it would probably be something else they would tease you about.

As for your mom, you say yourself you don't know how she'll react. So, she might be fine with it. Many adults don't understand what furry is, so you need to explain it in terms they won't find strange. One way to do that is to tell them simply that you like cartoon animals, such as what you often see in Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons--Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck are all anthropomorphic animals and are all culturally acceptable. Then explain to her that there are a lot of people out there who like creating their own talking animal characters, and they are called furries. That's really all she needs to hear about, if she cares at all. 

The other thing to do is not make a big deal about it. Parents pick up on their children's attitudes, so if you act nervous or ashamed about being a furry, the first thing your mom with think is, "Why is my son so ashamed of this? Is there something shameful I should know about?" Then, like many others, she'll go on the Internet, and you probably know what she will find there.

There are many positive role models in the fandom, including friends of mine such as Tycho Aussie and Dogbomb. Furries do a lot for charities, especially for causes that help animal and children's charities. But mostly furries just have fun. Oh, and they don't all wear costumes. Only about 1 in 5 furries owns a fursuit, and not all furries have fursonas, either. It all depends on how immersed you wish to be in the furry world.

Basically, my advice to you is don't make a big deal about it; if you don't see it as a big deal, others won't either. 

Stay Furry, Dirk!

Papabear