How to explain to parents...

[Twi Rubix 726]

(Yes, I am aware this is a repetitive topic, sorry. )

 

Im bound to tell them at some point, but I dont know how. I made a poll telling what action I should do to tell them because i'm just not sure they would understand if I just outright tell them. What do you guys think? Vote in the poll!

[Starshine 16,335]

If you are not comfortable with the idea of telling them, you don't have to

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

Explain it yourself and tell them what a brony is.

[SrFrog 928]

Well if it's absolutely necessary, you should probably start by explaining what a brony is. Perhaps show them some of the Original content that came to be, just try not to pick something that's to weird. Anyways G'luck with that

[Sepia-chan 496]

I chose other, because that's what I'll do.

"Other" As in "DO NOT reveal it any costs".

[Twi Rubix 726]

Well, the reason I want to tell them is because of all the things I would do, Like go to BroNYcon, or meetups and stuff like that.

[Discolt 53]

Honestly, just tell them and hope they understand. And if they don't...then you're still the same fan of the show you were five minutes before!

 

[Starshine 16,335]

Hm. That's gonna be a little bit difficult to explain if you go to the meetups without telling them what it's about.

 

The easiest way imo is just tell them that you're interested about the arts from the fandom, not the show itself. Most of people will accept it easier if you like pony dubsteps or something like that

[Shankveld 4,951]

Other : You don't need to explain yourself to anyone

~

[Akemi Homura 7,682]

My parents are oblivious to anything related to popular culture. They don't give a shit, lol.

[Anachronous 682]

Explain it yourself and tell them what a brony is.

 

This. The only person who can make this weird for them is you, OP, just being straight with you here. There's nothing wrong with being a brony and both you and your parents need to understand that beforehand. If you get all awkward and act like there's a reason to be embarrassed of your fandom, your parents will likely assume the worst.

 

Keep it real, keep it cool and keep it brief. No extraneous videos, no websites, nothing at all unless they're looking to inquire. You don't need to quantify being a fan of something. If by the off chance that you believe you need to and start shoving the fandom down their throat in the hopes of making it sound more "legitimate," it's probably going to come back to bite you in one way or another.

 

Beyond that, there's also always the "haha im a hipster this is remix culture HOT TOPIC" card that you can pull. It's short, simple and should get the job done but you might look pretty vapid to your folks in the exchange.

 

Best of luck. It's no big deal unless you make it that way.

[Pony Joe 583]

This may sound crazy, but I think the best way might be to have them "accidentally" walk in on you watching the show. Get them to ask what it is. Then you can give them the normal routine, like a "You know My Little Pony? Well, they remade it and it's actually pretty good now!" sort of deal.

 

If they're curious, perhaps show them some clips, and then go on to explain what a huge adult following it has (the view counter on EqD should do) and what a Brony is, with examples of fan content to supplement. If they still don't quite get it, it's time to bring out the big guns: Professionally-written reviews of the show, explaining why it's so likable and why it's perfectly okay to love it. These two are particularly good.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Pony Joe

[Comet Tail 808]

This. The only person who can make this weird for them is you, OP, just being straight with you here. There's nothing wrong with being a brony and both you and your parents need to understand that beforehand. If you get all awkward and act like there's a reason to be embarrassed of your fandom, your parents will likely assume the worst.

 

Keep it real, keep it cool and keep it brief. No extraneous videos, no websites, nothing at all unless they're looking to inquire. You don't need to quantify being a fan of something. If by the off chance that you believe you need to and start shoving the fandom down their throat in the hopes of making it sound more "legitimate," it's probably going to come back to bite you in one way or another.

 

Beyond that, there's also always the "haha im a hipster this is remix culture HOT TOPIC" card that you can pull. It's short, simple and should get the job done but you might look pretty vapid to your folks in the exchange.

 

Best of luck. It's no big deal unless you make it that way.

 

Pretty much this was what I was going to say. My parents don't know, but I'm pretty sure and from experience in other things, this is pretty much the case. If you make it a big deal to defend/justify it, then it'll be a big deal. Just casually mention it in passing, and it won't be a big deal.

 

And the number one goal is to not make them freak out, which is the same thing as not making it a big deal. So, yeah.

 

Don't go out of your way to defend or explain it or whatnot. If they think it's odd you can say they got a whole new director and it's not a little girls' show anymore (That's true; Lauren Faust said she aimed to make it so anyone could enjoy it), and it certainly makes more sense than a talking sea sponge that lives in a pineapple that works at a fast food resturaunt for a greedy crab

[ScarletDagger 88]

I would show YouTube clips and show them the community and age group. Of course my dad isn't the greatest person to tell secrets to So only my mom and brothers know. I got my lil bro and his friend hooked on it. But I'm obsessed

[Kyreth 194]

Explain to them why you like the show and make sure they know that you aren't the only one in your age group. Don't bring it up out of the blue, that can make it look like you think its weird as well. Try using a pony desktop wallpaper and wait for them to ask about it, something like that.

 

Don't go out of your way to defend or explain it or whatnot.

 

Exactly. They will form their own opinion of it and they are entitled to that.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Kyreth

[Fox 5,331]

I don't care what people think of me, that's because I enjoy being me.

[Victoria and Co. 782]

I told my dad indirectly, via a TF2 tag. You should seriously try it!

 

 

I was testing it to see how my tag looked, so I put it up and forgot that it stayed there even after the match. At the time it was just my dad and I on the server (yes my dad occasionally plays Team Fortress 2 with me), I was showing him the ropes of the game, and he saw it. http://mlpforums.com/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.png

I don't know if he knows I'm a brony or if he thinks the tag was just some kind of internet joke, but my dad knows who Slenderman is so I wouldn't put it past him if he knew what a brony was.

Anyway, I consider that telling him until he asks why my desktop is ponified.

Edited February 23, 2012 by King of Magikarps

[Envoy-in-exile 101]

Don't make a big deal out of it, and it won't become a big deal.

[GrooveBroove 681]

I say for kids the best thing to do is just watch it and not try to hide it.

Sooner or later they'll ask about it and why you like it.

[LunaShy 169]

i was hal anxious of how to tell my wife. i mean here i am a 24 year old man with a full time job and a daughter and im watching my little pony, but i just kinda told her and she thought it was kinda funny but we watched like 4 hours together yesterday and she was like - this show is kinda addictive...

[DJ Vinyl 0]

im also haveing trobules im 13..no bros old parents (40-50) never heard of memes and i want to break it to em but i just cant for some reason...i think the best way for me is to go to hot topic buy a shirt and wear it...

[Osaka Bomb 39]

I told my parents more indirectly, I suppose. I made a Facebook post about the revelation I had that I was now a brony. They didn't comment on it or anything, but they look at my Facebook. I doubt they know what a brony is, but from the conversations with my friends that stemmed from it, they could probably more or less figure it out.

I don't know. I would say just tell them, and maybe explain what a brony is. I guess I'm not really sure how to answer. Part of me doesn't get the "coming out" sort of aspect of being a brony. I don't really understand how it's a controversy. That's just me, though. I can see how in some ways it might be problematic (I think is the word I want) for some folks. But that's how I revealed it to people. I just said it.

[Raiyny Day 71]

I used Facebook, actually. Since most of my direct family is on there, all my mom's side, I one day said 'screw it' and posted some pony stuff on there. They actually don't mind me being a brony, heck they even bought me some pony shirts on Christmas.

[RD_is_best_pony123 10]

You don't unless they bring it up.

[Mist Blitz 9]

You dont have to tell them, I havent for an exampel.

but they have seen me whatching it and they gave me this wierd look