What do your parents, girlfriends, boyfriends, ect think?

[Delphine]

I'm curious how everyone's parents feel about your spending $50-$3,500 on a mermaid hobby or profession? Also your boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, husband, friends, ect.

Personally, my parents giggled at me when I made my fabric tails, and I think my mom was kind of embarrassed when I'd take them on vacation.
Now, I told her I plan on making a "real" one, and she's kind of oblivious on the cost. I know the paint, clay, even shell shock won't be too bad since she's used to crazy art prices, it's the near $200 dragon skin I'm worried about.

My boyfriend however, I just told today, and he is so excited. He's always called me his mermaid, and when I told him, later he said all he did was smile, he's so proud of me and he thinks it's beautiful to see someone have such passion for something, he doesn't think it's strange at all, and the best part, he asked if he could help!

So tell me your stories please?

Hey, MermaidKeri!

Whoohoo, Dragonskin! My first & only tail is made from Dragonskin 10 Medium, and I made it myself (with the help of some fabulous friends & my boyfriend). If you have technical questions, please, feel free to ask me!

Hm, now that I think of it, random fellow art students who knew of my Project Delphine were supportive, even though they didn't really know me. That was a pleasant surprise! Many were also curious, as well as strangers (kids and adults!) I've met while mermaiding at the beach. My friends are a mix about my tail. Some don't understand it, though most think it's cool & can, at least, admire the work & love I put into the Delphine Tail. Tails, be it silicone or fabric are time-consuming, require endless hours of blood, sweat, tears (and lots of love) to go into them to turn them into our visions of the "perfect tail" we design in our heads and on paper. I feel like my parents think it's interesting. One of them was considerably more involved in the making of it (behind the scenes type stuff), so understands and appreciates my tail-making in a deeper way. Oh, though neither was surprised because I've been into mermaids, faeries, dragons etc. since I popped outta the womb. XD My artist-boyfriend has been happy to see my passion about my tail-making, & got hands-on with me for the Delphine Tail Project. I couldn't have done it without him, so it makes me thrilled to hear your boyfriend supports you, as that's huge!!! And if you want a mertender, perhaps you may consider asking him. As a mer who made & wears a Dragon Skin tail, I can tell ya you'll need someone to help you put it on & get out of it (sooo ungraceful a process, haha), maybe to carry you around in the tail, as you won't be able to walk once it's on.

Also, stick with your vision of your tail. Others may offer suggestions etc., but you know what your tail needs to be like, so while you can consider suggestions from loved ones and friends, don't compromise. I don't mean this in a bad or harsh way, just that another mer (someone who has been mermaiding for a few years and has become a friend) told me when others were giving me advice etc., that I had to stick to my vision to make sure I was happy with what I was creating, to keep envisioning how I wanted my tail to be, how wonderful it would be complete & that would help me get through the rough days. She was right, and I share her advice because of it. Best of luck & hope to see some updates on here! :3

[Mermaid Adriel]

I finally was able to talk about it with my uncles, and to my surprise they thought that my aspiration is something fantastic! And honestly, I felt better when I told them about it.
Fun fact: My aunt has seen Mertailor's interview on an Italian TV channel yesterday

[shimmygoddess]

My hubby probably thinks I am crazy, but I try and explain it more towards the 'child entertainment' POV. I am already a professional bellydancer and do fire, so I told him it is another thing to incorporate into my style. However when I told him I was getting a professional tail he was shocked by the pricing. He told me not to do it. I waited a couple months and asked for his help in measuring and he just looked at me bewildered and told me not to blow my money on half a fish. LOL. Little did he know I had already placed my order. He never did help me measure, I had my kids help and am just hoping for the best. We have not talked any more about. LOL I think he is supportive to a degree just not the investment part. sigh

oh want to add, that I dont really care what my family thinks. My parents, ect..see all my posts and just laugh, but they have never been negative. My younger kids are very supportive, my older one, who knows

[Echidna]

My younger kids are very supportive, my older one, who knows

It must be wonderful for younger children.
"My mommy is a real mermaid!! I can be a mermaid too when I'm older!!!"
Their mates will all be jealous like no tomorrow.

However, once they're in their teens, it will be the other way around.
"omg my mom plays mermaid...so /&%ing embarrassing!"
But then, in that age kids are embarrased by their parents no matter what they do anyways

[Mermaid Adriel]

It must be wonderful for younger children.
"My mommy is a real mermaid!! I can be a mermaid too when I'm older!!!"

I've always been curious of children reactions about this it sounds something magical!

[MermaidSabrina]

When I told my mom what I wanted to do, she just smiled, no wierd looks. And I learned something from the experience .at one point when I was young she was an author untill her publishing company went out of business,She became friends with a author named Ashley knight ( she wrote the fins trilogy , highly reccomend it) and it turns out she's a mermaid! She lives up in the same direction as my dad side of the family, so my mom has seen her and her tail. So my mom thinks it is cool that I want to do something like that. Thank god it wasn't too awkward! The rest of my family was another story, but they got used to the idea,So that's good. And when I go see my dads family I get to swim with another mer , talk about supportive.My friends still give me odd looks than laugh it off though, but I'm kinda wacky to begin with :P

[Vixy]

parents have no idea yet, but friends are really supportive although I have had a few rolling their eyes jokingly about another costume hobby. I do have a lot, but a lot want to see it happen for me and are behind me.

[JaceAquarius]

I have hinted at my Parents and friends that I might enjoy having a tail, but they don't know really how serious I am. I swim with a monofin on a regular basis and I get a little flack from that sometimes. I am starting to train in Freediving, but more from my mer desires rather than pure freediving. I have the fabric to make myself 2 mer-tails and am ready to start. Still no one knows that I'm that serious. It's nice to pop on here and see other people though like me!

[shimmygoddess]

Yea, my daughter is more into it obviously. She wanted her own tail and we swam together when we were at the beach, and I did her mermaid pics. Everytime we are out and she sees anything with a mermaid on it, she expects me to want it. LOL. My son will be 12 this year, so not sure how things will go at that point. LOL

It must be wonderful for younger children.
"My mommy is a real mermaid!! I can be a mermaid too when I'm older!!!"
Their mates will all be jealous like no tomorrow.

However, once they're in their teens, it will be the other way around.
"omg my mom plays mermaid...so /&%ing embarrassing!"
But then, in that age kids are embarrased by their parents no matter what they do anyways

[Ponytales]

My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for wanting to swim in a tail (amongst other things). But then I think he's crazy too so it balances itself out.

[Elle]

My husband is supportive...he was a bit stand offish at first, but this afternoon he helped me make my scale box
Mum and Dad don't get it, but are fine for me to do it. Most of my friends think it's cool, others think I'm a bit weird.

[Miyu]

My circle's current (harhar) thoughts on my decision to be a mermaid:

Mom & Dad: seem to think it's cute.
Grandma: Thought it was a little odd, but now thinks it's awesome and cute since I actually got to swim in a monofin and liked it.
Boyfriend: is growing on it, can offer advice here and there, has opinions on tails I show him/describe to him. Is looking forward to me designing a tail for him, but is not crazy about it like I am :P
Other family members: no clue
Adopted family: One sister pretty much said "do your thing", and has posted a couple of mermaid-type things to my FB wall.
Friends: I hear a lot of positive support, and quite a few of them have started to associate me with mermaids - One even painted a painting for the first time in years, of a mermaid, and was thinking of me when she did, so that warms my heart that I could help get her creativity going She even (completely unknowingly, since I haven't shared my current tail plans with anyone on FB yet) made the painting in pretty much the exact colour scheme of the silicone tail I'm designing... and the fluke shape is somewhat similar to my planned fluke shape!

[SeaGlass Siren]

Update: my friends have all started calling me mermaid as a pet name and post a lot of mermaid and ocean related stuff on my fb wall too, and my hubby calls me his "angel of the sea " or his "mermaid princess" . Eeeek!

And when I told my mom I'm having an ocean themed wedding she wanted to see the fashion and the designs and thought it was super pretty!

[XMermaidMarinaX]

My mother said that though she thinks its a bit silly sometimes, she'll support me. While my dad was alive he'd just say he wanted me to pursue what made me happy, never judged anything about it. My grandma thinks its interesting and enjoys seeing me swim around in tails whenever I come over, not that I have my tail often at her house. Not too sure how my gf thinks of it, but she did show a friend a video of me when they didn't even know who I was. My friends are pretty cool about it, calling me their mermaid or fishy or something aquatic. Either way, I'm just glad none of the people close to me mock it, and I can enjoy it.

[tealmermaid]

n/a

[mermaidtigris]

i got the nickname mermaid girl from my friend's grandpa. everyone i know thinks it's cool and my mom helped me a lot with sewing my first tail. i even helped my little brother make a tail and he's outgrown it now so it's been passed on to my littlest brother. (i have three little brothers) i think that being a mermaid has helped me to actually make more friends.

[-Annwyn-]

My parents are okay with it. I do not think that they have a vested interest in it because it's never discussed. But my mum came along to my taping of 'Serenity' and got a real kick out of seeing me swim live. I'd love to talk about Mermaiding 24/7 but I'm resigned to the fact that an engaging discussion on swimming/costuming/freediving etc is just not going to happen with my folks. They just seem to smile and go along with it, not because they're hiding bitter feelings about it, but because they are indifferent.

My parents have always been the liberal, do-what-makes-you-happy types though.

[Mermaid Ellowyn]

My parents are supportive, but they always have been about whatever I am passionate about. My boyfriend thinks it's really awesome and immediately offered to be my mertender. I'm very lucky!

[teeth4u]

Unfortunately, I have some difficulty in this area. My mother thinks it is extremely weird and has called me a "freak" for wanted to "play dress up" as a mermaid. It makes me feel bad but I know this is something that is so much more than just being weird (because I think we can all admit it's a little out of the ordinary).

[MysticMerman]

Well... I've come out to my parents as a gay man, I let them know I was in a triad relationship with 2 men (all three of us were equal parts of one relationship), I let my parents know about what I do as a side show and burlesque performer, and a few other oddities that a strong Christian based family doesn't like to hear... So when I told my parents about being a merman, they were fine (I think they were more than used to me throwing curve balls at them and got to the point where nothing's a shock anymore) my moms first words about it were literaly "I like this a lot better than what you're doing as a stripper." Lol. (Thanks mom... -_-)