Furries

[Mumzy]

I wanted to see if there were any furry fans here, and would like to discuss furries. I and others (online) would consider me a "furry" as a fan of furries. There's no true definition of "furry". I'm bad at explaining things so here's a wiki page about it:

The word furry (adj, f'eree), has several meanings, dependent on the context in which it is used. Predominantly, it means "consisting of or resembling fur". It also pertains to an interest in anthropomorphic animals and/or mythological or imaginary creatures which possess human or superhuman capabilities.

The plural form of furry in all its contexts is furs or furries; the subjects of furry interest are also known as furries. Because people in the fandom tend to identify closely with their avatars (or fursonas), the word is often used to mean a group of furry characters in art or roleplay.

What it means to be a furry
Someone who says they are furry is generally expressing an interest in anthropomorphic animals and/or creatures (and perhaps some affiliation to furry fandom). They may express that that interest in a variety of ways - through art and stories through to roleplay and performance. How deep or meaningful an interest in Furry is varies greatly from person to person.

Here is some good, classic examples of furry art:
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs39/f/2008/319/1/1/Leap_Of_Faith_by_darknatasha.jpg
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2013/003/9/4/____by_alexsyskoteyko-d5q9mr9.jpg
http://deviantfur.deviantart.com/gallery/?28877116#/d57wny6
(All of which are from DeviantArt)

No bullying, or bashing! Thanks!

 

[CJBlazer]

I am a furry!!! Furryism is amzing but sometimes the reputation is poor. I am a black timber wolf furry and proud to be one. :)

 

[shy ♡]

Furries club, another furries club.

 

[ultraviolet]

Furries club, another furries club.

(the first one is locked and from 2009)

 

[Datura]

furries are pretty cool & harmless in general but otherkin need to gtfo

 

[Tarvos]

What's the difference between a furry and otherkin?

 

[goldenquagsire]

What's the difference between a furry and otherkin?

afaik furries just want to fuck animals (sometimes fictional or sometimes real), otherkin believe they're animals stuck in a human body. they're skeezily appropriating trans* identities and discourse in order to be special snowflakes. and in doing so they make it harder for trans* people to be taken seriously. so, to quote Datura,

otherkin need to gtfo

 

[Vipera Magnifica]

afaik furries just want to fuck animals

This is still a pretty dickish thing to say.

 

[Worst Username Ever]

afaik furries just want to fuck animals (sometimes fictional or sometimes real),

Actually it's just an interest in anthropomorphic animals, and doesn't need to be sexual (though yes, it is for some furries)
some furries just think that "oh, anthro animals are cool" and doesn't care about the sexual side of it.

 

[goldenquagsire]

Actually it's just an interest in anthropomorphic animals, and doesn't need to be sexual (though yes, it is for some furries)
some furries just think that "oh, anthro animals are cool" and doesn't care about the sexual side of it.

oic, i always thought 'furry' was specifically a fetish thing and there wasn't really a term for people who just like anthro art (which i'll admit can look pretty cool). you learn something new every day.

 

[Worst Username Ever]

Yeah, some people have a furry fetish but others just like the art/idea of anthro animals. "Furry" is the general term for everything related to that.

 

[Vipera Magnifica]

Yeah, the thing with the furry "fandom" is, while the concept behind it is pretty harmless, it is a very large fandom, and there are certain subsets of the fandom that give it a very bad image. (Also see: bronies, sonic fans, every other fandom).

 

[Minish]

Pretty sure there are otherkin who are completely harmless. (idk if they aren't appropriating trans* narratives then, like, whatever. I feel like it's possible)

people have different ways of dealing with mental illness and/or shit going on in their lives for one thing. automatically judging otherkin seems a pretty short-sighted thing to do

 

[Murkrow]

I find it kind of weird that they were brought up just to be complained about in a thread that wasn't really talking about them specifically in the first place.

Yes, yes, I know I can't talk after I massively derailed that other thread into a discussion about grammar, but at least there were people doing things I didn't like present in that thread, which was about what you think about other people in the first place! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!




As for the actual discussion. The art can be pretty cool I guess. I'll enjoy a good drawing of an anthro about as much as a human or animal of the same quality. I don't much like how there's a massive amount of hate for furries on the internet. I tend to wonder, if things like Starfox came out today, they would probably be avoided by people a lot more.

EDIT:

Yeah, the thing with the furry "fandom" is, while the concept behind it is pretty harmless, it is a very large fandom, and there are certain subsets of the fandom that give it a very bad image. (Also see: bronies, sonic fans, every other fandom).

OKAY FINE I'LL GO OFF TOPIC AGAIN. (sorry :( ) I'm really really curious - what is it that's so terrible about the Sonic fandom? Maybe I don't visit the right websites but just like Twilight and Justin Bieber fans, I've seen people complain about them a lot, but I've never actually come across a fan of them that was annoying about it.

 

[Byrus]

Actually, yeah, otherkin have a real habit of appropriating trans issues. I really don't appreciate sex dysphoria being associated with thinking you were meant to be a beautiful majestic dragon or some shit.

and they also have history of defending animal rapists and abusers and this is just a small example! The otherkin, therian and fictive community harbours TONS of unhealthy attitudes and horrid people and is just generally indefensible

OKAY FINE I'LL GO OFF TOPIC AGAIN. (sorry :( ) I'm really really curious - what is it that's so terrible about the Sonic fandom? Maybe I don't visit the right websites but just like Twilight and Justin Bieber fans, I've seen people complain about them a lot, but I've never actually come across a fan of them that was annoying about it.

because they spam art sites with their terrible recolour "OCs" I guess?? I stopped paying attention to them ages ago to be honest

 

[Spoon]

Actually, yeah, otherkin have a real habit of appropriating trans issues. I really don't appreciate sex dysphoria being associated with thinking you were meant to be a beautiful majestic dragon or some shit.

and they also have history of defending animal rapists and abusers and this is just a small example! The otherkin, therian and fictive community harbours TONS of unhealthy attitudes and horrid people and is just generally indefensible

because they spam art sites with their terrible recolour "OCs" I guess?? I stopped paying attention to them ages ago to be honest

Vocal minority, perhaps? It seems fairly easy to cherry pick instances of people who identify as furry/otherkin saying or doing dumb, gross, or creepy things, but that could done with really any hobby ever.

 

[Byrus]

Vocal minority, perhaps? It seems fairly easy to cherry pick instances of people who identify as furry/otherkin saying or doing dumb, gross, or creepy things, but that could done with really any hobby ever.

no, this is a really common mindset. Did you see how many examples there were??

Also, is there REALLY anything defensible about a community that encourages people to think their fantasies of being a wolf, dragon or fairy dinosaur are perfectly healthy and discourages them to seek help? For God's sake, one person openly talked about how they growled like a wolf at customers on their job and when they complained about getting fired, otherkin flocked around her to cry otherkin discrimination. It was felkes on tumblr I think, I wish I could find the post, it was pretty cringe-worthy.

 

[Minish]

Otherkin definitely on the whole tend to be creepy and appropriative, but many of them really can't be judged :V there are lots of people who feel so shit they identify as outside of their situation as possible bc that's the only way they can keep it mildly together, etc.

like yes the otherkin community is super-gross and horrible and I steer waaaaaaaaaay clear of it but you just have to think for a single moment to imagine a harmless individual! I am gonna support people who decide things about themselves in order to feel okay

so like "otherkin need to gtfo" is not the kind of thing those people need to hear

 

[Spoon]

no, this is a really common mindset. Did you see how many examples there were??

Also, is there REALLY anything defensible about a community that encourages people to think their fantasies of being a wolf, dragon or fairy dinosaur are perfectly healthy and discourages them to seek help? For God's sake, one person openly talked about how they growled like a wolf at customers on their job and when they complained about getting fired, otherkin flocked around her to cry otherkin discrimination. It was felkes on tumblr I think, I wish I could find the post, it was pretty cringe-worthy.

Yeah, there's a lot of examples, but they're still cherry picked, which is kind of awful when you're gauging an entire community. I'm not really familiar with the otherkin community beyond "they're people who believe they're not," but as general rule, it's bad to judge a community by only certain examples.

I agree that the otherkin mentality isn't perfectly healthy and people who find themselves thinking that way should probably look into why they're feeling that way, but treating them like the scum of the earth isn't really a great way to go about it.

 

[Butterfree]

Can we not generalize massively about groups of people that aren't literally defined by whatever problem you're having with them, please? Yes, a lot of bad unhealthy stuff goes on in the otherkin community, but splitting off any group of people who hold weird beliefs and asserting that they're inherently awful is kind of terrible.

By all means criticize the trans* appropriation and the animal abuse and so on, but have some empathy; if people were doing this to a group you were part of, you probably wouldn't accept "But there are so many examples of people like you being [insert awfulness here]!!" as a justification for trying to plaster it on you too.