I searched the forum to make sure this wasn't already asked and I couldn't find anything, so...
Basically the title says it all; what do your parents think of cosplay? do they support you, do they think it's annoying, do they not understand it? Do they help you out, or possibly do they even want to do it themselves?
And what about friends, do you have any friends who cosplay with you? Any people you don't want to tell, or haven't told in case they wouldn't approve, etc.?
Share any stories, it really intrigues me.

My parents can be in two minds about cosplay; my Dad thinks it's great and helps me out with supplies every now and then however my Mum is another story! When I am cosplay crafting, I get funny looks/comments. But once she sees the final product she's practically gushing about it to her friends! One incident she begged me to wear my wings, oh Mother you are so unpredictable!

All my friends are pretty chill about cosplay or already cosplay themselves. Any "normal" people who are on Facebook and see a flood of cosplay picture tags are always intrigued and think it's a really interesting hobby. Thankfully I haven't experienced any negativity as of yet!

I'm not sure what my folks would think. They know I'm in to anime and go to conventions but I haven't told them about cosplay. I don't really think its something that I'd particularly talk to them about though.

As for others I don't share my cosplay photos with people I work with in general. Most of my outside work friends are pretty geeky though, so the majority of them are pretty cool with it (I know a fair few LARPers, so dressing up isn't really an idea thats too strange to them).

My folks are fantastic about it - while my mother doesn't fully understand it, my father gets it perfectly and usually helps me pay for costumes, gives advice on how to make things and has even mad props for me when I have no clue how to ^_^

Most of my friends and my partner are cosplayers - that's how I met some of my best friends ^_^ My other friends seem to just ignore it or not really know what it is when I go on about it, lol.

the main problem aera for me is my partner's parents - they think it's a bit strange, so I try to keep it all hidden from them (difficult since they have a lovely big garage we use for prop-making )

Friends just accept that I do what I do.

Apart from one on facebook, who demanded I "stop it with this chinese weirdness!", that was funny.

Parents.. Mother is a seamstress, so she often helps. Father just thinks I like to make things, which he can understand as he's a joiner/carpenter and he liked to make tapestries when he was younger.

Both don't really understand the full extent, however they don't seem too concerned. If I did spend time going into detail, they simply wouldn't understand how fun it is. To them I am not to have "fun", I am to work, learn, and do as I must for my future. My leisure should come in the form of sleep, or sitting down and watching TV with them. Needless to say, I hate that. Cannot sit still without doing stuff and I want to get out into the world and do crazy things :3

My cousins don't really care, in fact they ask me for wigs and props for fancy dress.

When I started my mum used to make my costumes for me, but she eventually got fed up with it and told my sister and I that we needed to make our own stuff from then on XD My grandad used to make props for me as well.

My mum carts me and my friends around the country to go to various cosplay events haha XD

My parents are great about it. My mum loves to sew, and she loves fancy dress, so she's really great and always wants to help. I think she sometimes dispairs that my room is covered in fabric, or that I spend such vast sums of money, but she's always very kind and helpful about it. Dad generally keeps his nose out of my buisness.

At high school my friends often teased me, but I never take teasing too seriously. I didn't mention it at first at uni because I thought people would think I was weird, but it quickly occured to me that it's hard to seem odd at uni, because people have every hobby under the sun.
Most of my friends at uni are really interested in my costume making. One chinese girl said she loves it when people dress up because "It brightens the day of passers by and adds a little colour to my life."

Students wear fancy dress all the time for parties and events, I've found that it's considered a good thing to go that extra mile when it comes to dressing up.

Oddly, I got really nervous about telling the Japanese girls I live with about it. So for ages I didn't mention anime at all.
When Tomoka finally saw my room and the cosplays in my closet she started getting upset that I hadn't told her. To quote "I've been here six months and it's only now I find out that there's people in this country with taste!"

My parents are cool with it.
My mum is pretty much indifferent, I'd say my dad is too, but he's all for helping me with my props xD

A majority of my friends either think it's cool, or just don't care.
I do have the odd one who thinks I'm wierd, but they keep their mouths shut aha

My family's pretty supportive of my cosplay though I bet they're glad I have a hobby that gets me out of the house and socialising. My mum helps me when I have stuff to sew if I do anything wrong and my dad helps me out with props sometimes. My brother however is kind of grossed out about my wigs though he generally thinks it's cool apart from when we're fighting over who gets table space. he even helped with a few leather bits.

I've shown a few people I know and they think it's pretty cool. Though more people know I sew but I don't really want to tell them the whole story yet.

Mother: Is interested in it. Is also strangely proud, and will tell anyone who will listen about my hobby lol. I think I get my nerdiness from her though...she's a self-professed 'Trekkie and proud' and I'm sure if there had been as many cons when she was my age, she would have been cosplaying too.

Father: Doesn't know. Think it's best that it stays that way since he'll probably only take the piss lol.

Friends: Most seem nonplussed by it. In fact, I've only had two direct reactions to cosplaying and they have both been positive.

I don't have any friends who cosplay. To be honest I'm still nervous talking about it with friends who don't know or don't cosplay. I don't hide the fact that I do but I don't advertise it either.

mom - dosnt really mind that i cosplay but has to put up with it weather she likes it or not cause i drag her to cons and expos and she makes my costumes for me so she is kinda helping me with the hobby

friends - they know i cosplay and go to convetions but they dont seem to care

I don't realy talk about it outside of cosplayers tbh. My mum thinks it's a bit wierd and doesn't understand and my bro just laughs at me while my sister doesn't care. The only one who does is my granny since she used to make me fancy dress all the time when I was younger, she doesn't fully understand since I say it's for a party or something like that.

I'm not ashamed to say I cosplay I just can't be bothered with the funny looks and replies.

My dad disowned me becuase he didnt like it. Mam puts up with it and helps sometimes but she doesn't let me wear it around the street because she thihnks that the family and house will get targeted by people.

Mt friends love it and always ask me to come into college in it to see peoples reactions lol

My mum wont let me wear stuff in my town either, she wants me in groups when I'm out in it xD

Most of my friends Cosplay... if not they are really interested and just love to talk about it so yeah its awesome!

and my parents and the rest of my family are pretty much the same

M y mum thinks it just me having a bit of fun and always wants to see pics of me and my friends, wear as my dad hope I’ll grow out of it although I think he’s a hypercritic because he’s always wanted to get uniform of 1945 American paratrooper just to see what it would be like to wear that gear, yeah that’s completely different :/

My parents have no idea I cosplay, or that I have been attending Expo for the past year.

I know they wouldn't approve of it.

They know I'm going to Expo in October, as I'm staying in London. So I kind of had to tell them. They know I'm a bit of a nerd, anyway, so it didn't really phase them, but they don't know I cosplay, and it would be easier to keep it that way.

My co-workers don't know, because they would laugh me out of the building.

I shall list my family. Starting with siblings

Oldest sis: Really interested by it and is considering starting a photography commission thing based on it. She's a good photographer, based in Norwich, if anyone is interested.

Next up sis: Finds it interesting, but a bit strange. She says she wouldn't do it herself, but each to their own

Little (big) bro: Doesn't really get it but thinks it's kinda cool. Likes to use my props and stuffs for his silly videos.

Littlist bro: Doesn't really get it but thinks it's kinda cool. He's not bothered really.

- mum side -

Mum: Pretty supportive to an extent. Really critical about everything I do though. And insists she was supportive from the start but she wasn't (she said I shouldn't bother doing WallMarket Cloud and Cosmos cause I wouldn't be able to do it as well as other stuff but has since shut up after I DID make it, and made it DAMN GOOD!)

Granny: Finds it really interesting and fantastic! Happy to help out.

Grandpa: Doesn't know what to make of it but enjoys calling many female characters from anime hussys. Particularly Misa Amina from Death Note. He doesn't care, it's better than doing drugs, etc

Aunts and Uncles: Find it interesting, not their cup of tea.

Cousins: "whatever floats ya boat"

- dad's side -

Dad: Not supportive. I should be doing something worthwhile with my life (like a Law/maths degree *rolls eyes*)

Step Mum: Rather supportive. She looks out for fabrics for me.

Granny: Finds it really interesting but doesn't like the Japanese aspect of it (she has a thing against the Japanese cause her brother was killed by a Kamakaze pilot)

Aunts and Uncles: Don't really know about it.

- WORK -

Mostly supportive, thinks the outfits are quite cool but don't really get it. One thinks it's a total waste of time and is childish and stupid, but another finds it really interesting (oddly enough, the one that finds it really interesting is super cynical and the other who finds it stupid is really... bouncy?)

- Friends -

They cosplay. Those that don't generally ignore it.

family

don't really care eitherway. my mum only gets annoyed when it gets close to con time and her house become a cosplay sweatshop


friends
most cosplay anyway or are comic nerds anyway, and the others just accept me as being quirky and ecentric

I'm lucky that my parents don't mind me cosplaying at all, even though I'm starting to get kinda old for it. XD;; They just don't appreciate me spreading my stuff all over the place when I'm making stuff!

When I try on a costume, my Dad immediately whips out his camera. I find that really sweet XDD

My friends, for the most part, are also cosplayers/con goers. Or they don't know anything about it. Like my work colleagues! After 3 years, they don't know that I go to conventions/cosplay/make stuff/like anime in general. I R social ninja. 8D I think it'd just be a hassle to explain it to them.

Haha, my dad is also like that!

Actually, this topic has been around the block a few times in a few different forms. This one and the 'how do you cosplay' one should really be stickied. But it is an interesting topic.


Mum: Loves it. When I first started she helped me out a lot and was as much a part of the process (sometimes more) than I was. She'd really get into them as well and would always take photos of the finished product to show people. Now she likes to see photos of the events I've been to and asks what I'm working on (going to work on). Always happy to help and help me get my mannequin back. As my mum said:
"It's a strange hobby to have, but as least you're getting some very useful skills that you can take elsewhere in life."

Dad: I think he finds it interesting, but he certainly doesn't object to it. But then, I've been doing this long enough now that people have just gotten used to it. Though I guess he must approve because he walked in while I was making Lelouch and asked if I could make a Panto Cow for the parish Panto. Can't really object to a hobby that helped dress his panto people.

Sister: Again, I've been doing if for long enough that if she didn't like ti at first, she's fully used to it now. I can't remember her ever objecting, but she'd moved out already by the time I started. I think the main thing that concerned her was that she seemed to have the impression that I was twisting my mum's arm into making everything and I was just sitting back and doing nothing.
She's changed her mind now, because she'd trying to convince me to start taking commissions, or actively trying to set myself up for people to come to me for commissions. I really can't make her understand that I'm really not at the level were I'm good enough to do commissions.

Older Brother: We went to our first convention together and cosplayed for the first time together, so no objections there. Though we take very different approaches to cosplay.

Younger-Older Brother: Has now started going to conventions and cosplaying. But he's more of a buy and adapt as he can't sew yet.

Aunts and Uncles: a bit harder to say. I can't say they have any objections, in fact, when they're seen me working on stuff, they seem very interested. One of my uncles and his wife even looked through some con photos, though they seemed a little confused at times as to why I had photos of people I didn't know.

Friends: Some cosplay and are into the scene, or at least understand it, while others seem to just see it as another hobby. I tend to find that if they do seem a bit confused by it, as soon as I mention that I make the costumes, there is that shift in their perspetion. It goes from just dressing up (in their eyes) to something that has skill and something they can't do. But I've only had that problem a couple of times.

Work colleagues: In England, they seemed very interested in it. Especially the whole making aspect. Though it may help that I'm always very confident about cosplaying when talking about to people (in my opinion if they don't like it, that's their problem, not mine). Hell, I'll tell anyone about me cosplaying. I've even put it on job applications as an example of creatively, problem solving and the ability to learn as I go along and pick up new skills.
Over here they seem impressed that I make them and probably just the fact that people in the UK cosplay at all (my friend showed a picture to her colleague to try to convince her that westerners outside of America cosplay. It took a lot of convincing and I'm not sure it worked). I'm kinda hoping they don't take the idea of me cosplaying at the culture festival to heart though. I only have Beatrix with me and the idea of my students staring at me boobs for a day (maybe two) is not an idea that really appeals to me....

Well for me and my brother our parents like us cosplaying as it gives us something productive to do other than gaming, they are really lovely when they give us a ride all the way down to manchester and leeds and stuff so it gives us more money to spend at the cons mam also helps us alot with collecting materials, dad just likes to come along to cons XD
my friends dont mind me cosplaying they like hearing about it, i also have alot of cosplaying friends. ^^

My family are ok with me cosplaying, my nan is especially helpful as she aids me in making a lot of my Cosplay. Also my friends are fine with it, 2 of my best friends and my boyfriend are in a Cosplay group with me.

The more surprising thing is people who I go to sixth form with found out and I expected them to pick on me about it, but actually they think its cool. In art im making my own character and im allowed to make the out fit and ‘dress up’ as my character. Cosplay in art

My parents really arent too fussed other than the fact that i spend far TOO much cash on it xD

I met me fiancee (FusionRose) through cosplay! xD So she's generally my cosplay partner in crime!

My friends think is pretty cool and my work mates (RAF Airmen) generally just refer to it as 'dress up' they banter me a little bit about it but thats just the way we are, so i guess im pretty lucky for how people seeing around me =]