177 replies to this topic

[Sakura_Y]

My dad is kind of anti-Japanese so I don't really share a whole lot with him at all.

My mom I've shown PV's and listened to music and even though she doesn't understand what they say she's said she likes it.

My brother and sister I've shown it to and they're more into Japanese culture for the anime and manga so H!P hasn't really gotten their interests.

[Tim]

My parents probably thin I'm gay as well, 17 never had a girl friend, but at least I'm listening to female groups rather than male groups.
My mum made a comment the other day, something about doing what makes you happy, so yeah. Just making myself happy.

Sorry for starting a new topic.

EDIT: i feel as though peers and friends react differently to family as well. Like people call me a freak or nerd or creep. But yeah at least I'm happy and I have a passion in my life unlike them.

[Apple Cake]

my family doesn't really care, but they're mostly just amused when they see me so wrapped up in the fandom. my parents are always asking me to go and watch some boy groups instead of little girls but i suppose they don't mind. when my dad goes to japan for his work i always ask him to buy me a CD or two. (only thing is he's never good with any of their names so i end up having to write out a list over and over again) as for my mom, i like playing H!P music in the car when we're together and she listens to it with me quite companionably.

[TofuMan]

My immediate family is ok with it. I'm the dad of the family so that helps. I basically made my whole family into H!P fans. The H!P staff found it fascinating at Sakura-con and took our picture a few times and shot some video.

I've tried showing my parents, in-laws, etc. things. Explaining why I find it appealing. They seem to understand my points but are generally turned off by not being able to understand the lyrics. (Which is a little strange as I know most people don't really listen to the lyrics in English. Yeah, they can spit back the chorus (sometimes), but they don't really know the song's full message.)

I get stranger reactions at work. I'm pretty open about my fascination with it. I've got an Ayumi Hamasaki poster in my office. They're confused but slowly coming around to actually investigating why I like it.

I have opened a few people's minds up a bit (even made a few new fans). I try and rationalize what I like about the various artists and songs to myself so I can give a somewhat reasoned response when an opening presents itself.

One thing I can say that might be useful is that many of the people that mock what you like will eventually find themselves wondering why they didn't pay more attention when they finally "get it". Even if it is many years from now. I myself am kicking myself for not paying more attention to the "strange" guys with all of the manga/anime back in college.

[Tyzer]

My family doesn't really care that I listen to it. If I learn the language it alright.
My dad is still kinda iffy about it but he can't be that iffy if he knows the tune to half of the songs I have
My mum kinda likes H!P and I think she's started to distinguish when a person is speaking Korean, Japanese or Chinese
As for my siblings they love it

[Tim]

I feel the people who mock me are secretly jealous because I am being who I am without having to live with the stigma that I have to be that "manly aussie bloke". I guess my parents were worried about that at first that this is gay, but I've told them that boys listen to girl groups and girls listen to boy groups, then they didn't care. When I get my own car I'm gonna have my ipod always playing in it so passengers will have to deal with it.

[Kaeseki]

I've tried showing my parents, in-laws, etc. things. Explaining why I find it appealing. They seem to understand my points but are generally turned off by not being able to understand the lyrics. (Which is a little strange as I know most people don't really listen to the lyrics in English. Yeah, they can spit back the chorus (sometimes), but they don't really know the song's full message.)

I've had this come up and I have a solution which works every time! Here is a sample:

Friend: Do you understand Japanese?

Me: No, not really.

Friend: Then how can you listen to this stuff?

Me: Okay, Remember when we were younger and listened to Iron Maiden and Metallica all the time?

Friend: Yeah.

Me: Did you understand the lyrics?

Friend: Errr, no.

Me: But you enjoyed it, right?

Friend: Well...yeah.

Me: Well, there you go!

[Nao-kun]

Lucky me living in another country than my family, nothing to explain that way, except that my Mom has been here twice to visit me and she was in for a shock both times lol.

[nono:)bbz]

A lot of you seem to get jip for your Asian music interests, which makes me suddenly feel extremely lucky that I never do.
My dad is an old-skool rocker; has a 1200 LOW Harley Davidson, listens to rock, leather and shades, etc.
My brother is a heavy metal head; listens to Dimmu Borgir, black only, etc.
So I never expect them to embrace it, but at least they never tell me to stop liking it. As long as I have a job and good grades, then they don't care what the hell I'm into.
My mum is the best about it though. She wouldn't choose to listen to the music herself, but she likes that I'm into other cultures and that I don't care what other people think.
She lets me play my music in the car and she watches MV's I show her because these are what make me happy and that's all she ever wants.

She only has one favourite and that is SuJu's Heechul because he makes her laugh in "SuJu Full House" (I showed her the "poodle dog" clip for yous that have seen it ^^).

[Angelia]

My parents are probably fine with it. I often talk about H!P so they're familiar with it.
I'm trying to turn my little sister into a H!P fan (i'm not forcing her but it would be so awesome to have another H!P fan in my family.), so I showed her Mikan once and I don't know what she thought about it I'll try to show her some other j-pop, like Ayumi Hamasaki (She's the one that started my j-pop fandom

[QuickCrusader]

i guess i am the only one left who still take updates from hello stuff ... but what can i say... my fb friends didn't know about hellos ... sad me right? ... (sad face)
my brothers like h!P but since they got else to care off then i the only one left. my parent didn't about know this. >_>lol life.

[Bisso]

I have watched tons of Hello!Morning episodes with my brother during lunch times, so also my mother and father had to see it ah ah. My father is an X Japan hard listener, I made him discover a lot of japanese music in the last three-four years, but he don't listen stuff like Momusu songs or from other similar J-pop groups/bands. But he enjoy Hello!Morning ah ah. My mother doesn't really care, she isn't interested and she can't listen to the english subtitles either so she don't understand quite nothing and she gets bored. They have seen some Morning Musume and H!P concert too.

Funny fact, my father calls KonKon "the smart girl" everytime he see her ah ah. And he likes Niigaki Risa and Yaguchi Mari.

[Shawaazu]

Well, J-Pop is nothing new for me but idol music (just H!P though, really) is. My family didn't see much of a difference in my music tastes until started watching PVs, and it became more noticeable as my interest grew. My dad's only "reaction" was when I was watching Platinum 9 Disco while folding the laundry, in which he walked by, stopped for a bit to watch, and then said "Of course they would only pick good looking girls."

As for my mom, it's a completely different story. I listen to H!P in the car when she and I go shopping together, so she's familiar with with a lot of Morning Musume songs, just not by name. She's a big fan of songs such as Kanashimi Twilight, Moonlight Night, and Ambitious!. And she's always liked pretty girls so she'll like to look at the photos I received (Her reaction to my NFS Junjun Fankora photo: "Oh, she's so cute! Her cheeks are so round! "). Oh, and what's awesome is that Koharu instantly became her favorite when she saw her in Shouganai Yume Oibito shortly after I got into H!P (that's how she became MY favorite!).

[Ebii]

My parents are like "you have to be mature enough to stop that love, is not good for you" lol ~

[Kaeseki]

I don't get the gay thing. I've always been more concerned about being accused of being a pedophile for watching J-Pop. Because of that I don't listen to groups' earlier works with anyone else present.

[yoru shonen]

For me, nobody in my family knows about my H!P fandom. (then again I don't openly show it.) I have a lot of merchandise but I have them in cases in my room. When I get a package from Hellostore USA, they don't really inspect it or whatever they just say "oh you got a package." When I went to New York and Seattle for Rika and Berryz, my dad asked "WTH you going way out there for?" I just tell him "I suddenly got the urge to go on vacation over there, see you in a week." My laptop is filled with HP pics, but I have a internet connection that goes into my room, so nobody sees it. Have I thought about showing them? Yes, but after reading some of these replies, maybe not. Anyways thats my situation.

[-=o=-]

My family = H!P.

---------

EDIT: It's sad that in some families a member's interest in a particular subset of the entertainment industry could leave them feeling uncomfortable or even somewhat ostracized.

Would there be similar topic discussion on a forum for obsessive fans of water polo?

Is H!P fandom/fanism/fanage (whatever the proper term is) shunned by a majority of people in the industrialized world?
Is it the same with H!P fans in Japan?

I can somewhat understand in the western world there being a curiosity among members of a non-Asian-ethnicity family as to why a member would show great interest in something that would not seem to have a personal connection to. But, do Japanese family members scoff at another member's interest in a particular western music phenomenon? (Is not Japan the home of more Elvis impersonators than even Las Vegas?)

--------

I think most of my family is used to my peculiar interests. I never have been one to follow popular trends or fads, and rarely abandon an interest I take up. I've been an H!P fan for quite some time now, and doubt I would drop it until it either H!P dissolves OR does something worthy of my wrath.

[Feralia87]

Well, my family knows about H!P, but they think it's horrible and annoying.
They hate J-POP.
My mom says that I'm too old for that kind of music.
Only my cousin likes J-POP, but she only listen to Jonny's Entertainment.

Normally I like Metal music. So I've got many metal friends who would think that I'm insane if they would know that I like the music of small japanese girls.

[TenshiDoll]

I keep my H!P, as well as AKB48 fandom, hidden.
If they found out, They would think I was a レズビアン or something.

My dad is somewhat racist against Japanese,
and he knows I am learning Japanese, and want to be an exchange student in Japan.
When he's mad at me, He says "F Japan" to me....
So It's best not to tell.


I did ask my dad once if he ever heard of "Morning Musume" -- and he said no.

[StarLOVE]

My family doesn't specifically know about H!P, but they do know about how i like listening to Japanese music. I don't really talk about it to them that much just because they don't really care about it. It's the same way with my friends. They know I like Japanese music but we don't ever talk about it. It's like everyone knows i like listening to Japanese music but it seems that they will never understand why I do. They don't get my fascination with it at all. I'm the only person I know that likes H!P and sometimes I feel alone when I have absolutely no one to share this interest with. So I am very glad to be on here when I can talk to you guys who love H!P just as much as i do