Shame of the fandom

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

I was listening to an old episode of This American Life that they'd archived as a podaast, and at that time, they were changing their name to what it is now, so they had an episode about names and identity though these themes were  only loosely adhered to.

There was one act of the episode talking about fandoms, taking the example of Star Trek, where a juror in a court case would turn up dressed in full Next Gen uniform, complete with phaser, and how star trek fans cringed seeing that. Now they went into various ideas about fandom, and although this doesn't translate perfectly to the furry fandom there are ofcourse big parallels and it's something to think about.

You can listen to the episode here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/17/name-change-no-theme

and if you want to skip straight to the part about fandom, it starts at 22:50

[Ares the Ram]

I wouldn't be ashamed of someone going to court in full fur suit. We each have our own ways and I respect our right to follow them.

[Lucky]

i don't think i would ashamed, i would find it more funny then shameful (now if this was a person from my family, i would have some words to say behind it, and i would be a bit ashamed of it) people do odd things now and days, you can't really change the way they are, just accept it and move on.

plus the guy said she was being serious about the whole trail before she was kicked, so i fail to see the problem with her

[Armalite_]

This is actually a very good segment. It really makes you wonder and think why people feel the need to be shameful to be a fan of something. I guess the reason I feel that it would be a little strange to wear a suit or uniform etc. is because I feel like that it sort of "brands" the way people think of fans of different fandoms. This guy (Henry Genkins?) on the radio is talking about people wanting their hobbies or fandoms being able to "fit in" with normal societies. When someone publicly exploits these sort of fandoms (i.e wearing a fursuit to court), people of that fandom feel like they will be wrongly branded or thought of as being people who are weird and looking for a lot of attention. In some cases they might feel embarrassed or angry at the publicizer for "making them look bad" when really they're  just proud of who they are and have the balls to come out and do something like that; not as a joke but as an identity.

[iKero-chu™]

I wouldn't be ashamed of someone going to court in full fur suit. We each have our own ways and I respect our right to follow them.

I approve.

[Self-sain]

I think there is a time and place for everything, with something like that, you need to leave your 'person' at the door, and just be 'Anonymous'

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

This is actually a very good segment. It really makes you wonder and think why people feel the need to be shameful to be a fan of something. I guess the reason I feel that it would be a little strange to wear a suit or uniform etc. is because I feel like that it sort of "brands" the way people think of fans of different fandoms. This guy (Henry Genkins?) on the radio is talking about people wanting their hobbies or fandoms being able to "fit in" with normal societies. When someone publicly exploits these sort of fandoms (i.e wearing a fursuit to court), people of that fandom feel like they will be wrongly branded or thought of as being people who are weird and looking for a lot of attention. In some cases they might feel embarrassed or angry at the publicizer for "making them look bad" when really they're  just proud of who they are and have the balls to come out and do something like that; not as a joke but as an identity.

Precisely

[clearplasticcoyotee]

The only reason so many of us are ashamed to be part of the fandom is because its been so horribly misunderstood by people outside it.  =p
I'm not ashamed to be part of it, I'm afraid to be associated with the crazy stereotype in most people's minds.  X__X

[MinxKitty]

I think anyone who has the confidence to wear a fursuit or even a collar or something has guts to show who they really are.. I want to be proud, but yes the stigma is hard to get past. And people never understand! The questions of 'why are you wearing that' are hard to even begin to answer!! Am ashamed of myself, as I am currently hiding my collar under a scarf because I don't even have the guts to tell guy I'm seeing about me, even though I know he's interested in the whole concept...  Why do we care so much about what people think?? I wish I had the guts to wear my ears and tail in public
Xox

[Ares the Ram]

I wear my collar in public all the time. Let them laugh and point and talk about me behind my back. Theyre all just scared of change.

[serpington]

the only thing really stopping me at the moment from going public with who i really am is that i don't have a good collar yet. i can see how people would think that people being themselves could give you a negative stereotype cos it happens in families all the time. but around here there's not much knowledge of us that i know of so it's less intimidating to go out. and i agree with macid, who cares what they think? they don't know you and you don't know them. even if you do know them of vise versa, your only being who you are.

[Jaggs]

im the same as serp, but i have 3 labs as pets so not having a collar is not the issue its asking where the used ones are and the why you ask that follows thats stoping me

[Aoren Deringer]

Personally, I wear a collar. Why? I suppose I like to show who I am. Nobody bothers me about it, for some odd reason, and people oft divert their eyes. It's almost as if they are afraid...
I occasionally have somebody ask, to which they either leave in a hurry or double over, depending on if they happen to be a bistander or a hater... But this is unusual.

[MinxKitty]

I'm so jealous of how confident you all are!!  I just wish I knew what to say then faced with the questions..  I know I want to be proud of who I am.. But explaining it to an outsider is beyond me!!
Xox

[Ares the Ram]

Its actually pretty easy not to feel ashamed of yourself for being who you are if you look at things scientifically. Just ask yourself Who are the people who are talking about you, and Why do you care what they think? Answer those 2 questions and youre set.