MH FEATURED POLL #21: What does your family think of Visual Kei?

[DogManX 179]

I come from an ultraorthodox conservative christian sunni muslim family, and needless to say I have to hide from them ever since I got my first Nightmare - anima on christmas. The world is so fucked up!

[Replicant 133]

My mom doesn't seem to particularly notice or care, unless she hears something she enjoys (which is really rare - visual kei or not). She's not super keen into music. She'll ask about it when I get CDs, but beyond that, nothing.

Brother doesn't care too much, either. Unless he hears something he likes, he won't pay attention to it. Difference being he actually enjoys music and has knowledge about musical stuff.

 

For both, I don't think they have even seen the look, just heard the music. If they have they don't particularly care or have never mentioned it.

 

Edit: went with the last option, since there is no "neutral" option.

[Duwang 676]

My mom has always been into rock music and used to go to a lot of concerts when she was my age so she understands my hobby very well. 

She doesn't care for how the bands look but she does like some of my favorite bands and has expressed interest in going to a live with me. She also seems very interested in meeting my honmei after telling her about all of my shenanigans with them and my fellow gya. 

 

As for my dad, he doesn't really care for it but he knows it's a big part of my life so he's supportive.

Even 12 years later he is still like "IS THAT A GIRL???"

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

They think it's hella gay and are afraid I'm going to tell them I'm transgender any day now

[Kawaii_Minpha 194]

Edit: Message deleted

[kyoisKILLINGME 195]

i always keep my music too myself xD i wouldn't wanna tell my mom about my taste because i know shes gonna judge me and shit and i know how my mom is xD the only person that doesn't judge me is my cousin soo im glad lol cause she short of  listens too the same music as me 

[MaikoMizu 167]

When I ordered my first Luzmelt poster and DOWNER CD boy... was my mom suspicious of my sexuality. My mom for a good month thought I was homosexual and she kept asking me that question, even her friends asked me too, still do to this day. Now my family accepts the fact that I listen to visual-kei bands and constantly ask the gender of the band members when 99% of the time they're guys. 

But nevertheless it's all good now. *I hope* Not to mention that they think that almost all of the band members are homosexual for dressing the way they do and seeing the lyrics they sing in translation. 

[Seimeisen 4406]

Here's what my parents know: I spend a large amount of money on CDs that come from Japan. That is all.

I have no interest in explaining visual kei to my mother who only listens to country and worship music (*has traumatic flash*) or my father who only listens to... classic rock.

As for my sister who has not lived in my house for over a year, she's the person that introduced me to DIR EN GREY (in mid 2008), so she vaguely knows that I listen to music with Japanese ladyboys that make unnatural screaming noises... and that I throw obscene amounts of money at it...

As for anyone else in my family, they don't really know anything about my music tastes.

[ghost 2686]

My parents know about it.

And their opinion is "As long as the music is good, eh what the heck."

They can't do the heavier stuff/screaming, but I've listened to Mucc's "Houyoku" with my Dad and he liked it.

I sometimes sing Dir en grey's "ain't afraid to die" in karaoke and my whole family thinks it's a great song. Sometimes I sing "[KR]Cube" and they think it's funny when I do the little vomit noises. 

 

Fun fact, my first ever concert was a Dir en Grey concert. With my mom who wanted to chaperone me hahaaa.....she was terrified to be there (and disappointed because Kyo just sang on stage with Addidas pants and no shirt and called him a poor showman) and later (after some misunderstandings) they thought I was homosexual.

 

EDIT

My mom and Kyo share the same birthday. Wat a twist! 

 

I also buy/sell a lot of CDS so they gave me the nickname of 4989,

which in Korean is pronounced "Sah-Goo-Pal-Goo" and can also mean "You buy some, you sell some".

[Pretsy 1343]

I have to say that my parents have always smh'd at my visual kei interests in the past, seeing as I used to be too rabid on vk at some point in my youth (say, 2002-2003 and 2004-2007 was where I became a bit too excited about anything vk). Not a big surprise really, except that my dad used to say once that "your tastes will eventually warp back to those you were really into back in the day". By this he meant the fact that I was constantly exposed to my relatives' tastes (e.g. mum: Patricia Kaas, Edith Piaf, Russian Chanson, Ken Hirai, Lara Fabian, Enya, Cocteau Twins etc. , dad: U2, Depeche Mode, schlager, Finnish prog etc) back in the day (ps. step-brothers (that I despise nowadays) have affected my preferences with their funky, acid jazzy interests too...). Guess he was right after all? Frankly enough they are kinda cool with the fact that I listen to vk in small doses nowadays (then again - over 10 years of vk is too much!)

 

Off-topicisms aside, orientation-centered misunderstandings have happened in my family too (lol) - if I were to quote them: " visual kei or w/e it is is the retarded scene of raging homo hooligans" (a "hooligan"-word came from DEG looks back in 2002 btw)

[paradoxal 2948]

My parents have known about visual kei since I started getting into the scene in about 2005-2006. My mom used to comment on my taste like "well you'll soon get bored of it anyway" and my dad doesn't really say anything about it, except for a tiny amount of complaining how some songs are really cool, but the vocalists always suck. He is a classic rock enthusiasts, so I think he really understand my enthusiasm towards the music I like.

 

My mom really doesn't like that I spend money on CDs though, she'd rather have me buying clothes. Though she doesn't have a clue how much I'm spending on CDs...

[peffy 3568]

My parents don't really care about music at all, except to complain that my speakers are "too loud" sometimes. My walls are covered with the bonus posters I get from CD Japan, and my mom will sometimes stare and ask "is this a boy or a girl?".. She will also give me disapproving looks every time I get a new parcel from Japan. (Her family lived in China during the Japanese occupation, so she generally dislikes Japan...)

 

As for my brothers, cousins and friends... sometimes I post videos on facebook and talk about why the song is amazing, but nobody ever comments, and nobody ever asks me about music in person. They all know I only like Japanese music, they all don't care about it, and they don't want to listen to it or hear about it. =(

[shinobu. 252]

When I first got into the scene, my whole family thought I was gay for liking visual kei. 

My dad ended up really liking Dir en grey. That was about it. 

 

Now that I've been away from my family for years, no one really knows about my tastes in Japanese music except for my boyfriend. He thinks it's really cool and even enjoys some of the bands. When coworkers or friends ask me what kind of music I like, I always tell them of the Western artists I listen to. Never saw the point in telling people about something they most likely won't be interested in. 

[kyoselflove 2680]

My mom has always enjoyed some of the music and even the music videos (I text her links all the time haha, be like; mom time for your weekly dose of beautiful Japanese men!) And she doesn't care, she will be like, 'Aww, that was a very pretty song and video' Lol.  What blows her mind is how I find them attractive haha.  If she REALLY likes it, she tells me to send her a rip of the CD, like Lycaon's Camera Obscura 

 

The rest of my family (brothers and sisters) accept it and like to crack jokes but don't really care otherwise.  

[Lestat 2167]

My father and stepmother enjoy D, Versailles and Malice Mizer (and Kamijo and Gackt solo) whenever I put any of those on, they recognize members and songs but other than that they wouldn't listen to any of it for themselves. My mother and stepfather aren't interested in Visual Kei at all, they think it's odd that I listen to Japanese music whilst not being able to understand most of it, and they're more or less the types to joke about it, especially the bands' looks.

 

About my siblings, I don't have the slightest clue whether they are aware or not.

[pawzord 388]

when i was about 12 (i'm 19 now) my parents couldn't accept it and they were like "you cannot listen to such satanic garbage blah blah" but in the end they were chill about it and even let me see some lives. sometimes they are still very ironic about it and ask if i'm still into those "chinese" bands. 

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

My mom is indifferent to it. She think it's cool that I like it (I think) but personally think it's total ahit music.

My little brother is also into vk and my older brother don't care. So yeah, better than those of you here who gets shit for liking it I guess : p

[MikuKun 83]

They all love it, I don't have a dad but my two sister's my brother and my mom love visual kei and Japanese music in general, they all support and love it plus they all want to perform so we respect their ability and amazing fashion!

[mechayolo 45]

This is hard to say xD

Since we are all males in my family (except my mom lol) My dad and 2 bros really look at me so weird every time I listen music xD

My dad is open mind in so much aspects, but he also is kinda 'macho' so he don't like my girly stuff xD

Anyway, they respect me, they don't like my music, but the worst thing they do to me is say little jokes about it ( I love Oshare so you can imagine the kind of stuff they tell me... xD )

It's kinda hard to be latino and try to feel oshare xDD at the same time with my family who want me to be just like them xD 

Anyway, I have my own taste music, and my parents respect me.

 

BTW just my near family knows about VK, my grandparents or cousins ect no one of them knows it, of course maybe they would think I'm a shame xDDD It's their way to think, so I respect ( Don't care) .

I love VK so much, I would like to everyone understand and respect VK fans in all the world ^^

[Ikna 1225]

My mum knows about it since 2005/2006. I mostly bought CDs without her knowing, but she stumbled upon VK, because I also bought Anime magazines with articles about it. I actually showed them to her and asked her about her opinion. She is not bothered by dudes wearing dresses and make-up (it actually reminds her of Bowie and Boy George, who she likes), but she just can‘t stand the music and generally has not a high opinion of anything Japan-related. Like many other parents she constantly makes fun of it and whenever I buy any CD she always asks if it’s "your japanese anime stuff”. But apart from that she does not really care much about it.

 

My other relatives do not know about VK. My father knows I like Goth, and that already worries him to no end, even though he ironically likes punk rock and used to collect Rock CDs, when it was frowned upon in his country (his parents are muslims and were very much against his lifestyle). So it angers me that he is so ignorant and dismisses anything in that direction as satanic and dangerous. In effect I never introduced him to VK. My grandfather (mother‘s side) and my aunt’s family are your typical conservative central europeans. For them everything was better in the past, before evil rock music perverted youth and people had “Christian values”. They are thankfully not as hate-filled as your average conservative (might be because my family still associated themselves more with social-democrats and because my grandfather hated his Nazi father), but they are still close-minded. I already have some issues with them, as they think me wearing black indicates that I must be traumatized and in need of therapeutical help, so I do not expect them to understand VK.

[Ro plz 1290]

Anything that isn't Gospel music or oriented is "Satan" to my mom.

 

I've gotten scolded multiple times for watching VK ish type things in her presence. So now I just keep it 2 myself. My dad prob wouldn't care tbh. He's real indifferent bout things like that it seems.  

 

There you go. 

[JRD 5156]

I let my dad borrow my car for an hour and he came back blasting Arustoromeria. My mom hates that I spend half of what I make a month on CDs, but either than that she doesn't give a fawk about it.

[Igyou_Hime 80]

My family doesn't really care, but my mom and sister thinks it's interesting and they like some of the bands/songs.