744 replies to this topic

[Force Nova]

Thorgar Wulfson, on 15 July 2012 - 01:48 AM, said:

now here's a Scary Panda... (what happens after panda gets sad)

I just wouldn't possibly be able to take that panda seriously... Not even with all that armor and that big gun.
I'd be like "Pfffheheh, panda, pffsshaha." *Giggles*

[Ramien]

Thorgar Wulfson, on 15 July 2012 - 01:48 AM, said:

heh hope you guys like these




now here's a Scary Panda... (what happens after panda gets sad)

Pandamental?

[Pyrite]

Soooo...after slogging through this pile of posts, I find myself intrigued and disturbed by some things that have been posted here.

First off, if you don't want to get hated on, don't post things of this nature. A lot of comparisons have been made to the SM community and how would you, the reader, like it if they posted a thread in this forum discussing whips and gimps and whatever else terminology they have? I bet a few of the people here screaming for tolerance would suddenly be hating on them as well. Freedom of speech means that fans of furries, as well as their respective "haters", have the option of stating their views. Even if they aren't nice.

Which is neither here nor there, due to the main gist of the furries here not being of a supposed sexually deviant nature. Unfortunately, the current understanding of "furries" tends toward that thought. Like myself, many people probably only know of furries through hearsay, rumors or through CSI:Miami (that's where I first heard of furries and "yiffing").

So I'd like to offer some of the more eloquent and cooler heads of the furry delegation to step forward and try to explain their overwhelming interest in anthropomorphic animals. Help us non-furries to better understand what might drive your interests. After all, we all loved Bugs Bunny. Although, I will assume that those who "yiff" (?) were more interested in him when he was in drag....

My questions as a stranger to these things, should you choose to answer them:

1. Do you find animals more attractive than humans? Not sexually. Just in general.

2. Is being a furry akin to just being a huge fan of cartoons? Most I can think of had animals as their protagonists (Looney toons, Tom and Jerry, Disney, etc.) who acted like people. Was this an influence?

3. Are the furries who do this yiffing thing actually considered furries? Do they do this because they (REALLY) like anthropomorphic animals or do you think they do it due to the anonymity afforded by wearing a mask?

4. Why are furries so insistent on being recognized as such and so worried about being "accepted"? As it was mentioned in earlier posts, it seems odd to say "Hi! I'm _____ and I'm a furry!". I would view people who do that with ANY hobbies/interests quite suspect.
- Hi! I'm Peggy and I 'm a cook! (No thanks. No cake for me.)
- Hi! I'm Joe and I'm a gearhead! (Get away from my car.)
- Hi! I'm Bill and I'm a *********! (Put that tazer down.)
- Hi! I'm Ghenghis and I'm a mass murderer! (Aaaagh! Run away!)
I guess you get the idea.

Sorry for the tl;dr posting. I am simply curious. And who knows, maybe I'm a closet furry? Because I really thought those two chicks were pretty hawt. :-P

Edit: Interesting. It seems the word for people who like to be hurt in a possibly unsavory way is blipped out. Interesting.

Edited by Pyrite, 18 July 2012 - 02:47 AM.

[Tezkat]

Back in the day, the furry fandom had its roots in the community of science fiction and fantasy geeks who were interested in anthropomorphism. After all, anthropomorphic depictions of animals have played important roles in mythology throughout history (even prehistory) and pervade modern children's media. You can think of that as the core of the fandom.

However, the furry fandom as a whole is a very accepting and inclusive community. It readily embraces members of related fandoms (Pokemon fans, Sonic the Hedgehog fans, etc.). Over the years, cross-pollination with other subcultures also led to the integration of several more sensational elements--therians/otherkin, zoophiles, fetish communities, and so on--into the furry fold, but they're considered the extreme fringe even within the fandom.

So modern "furries" cover the entire range, from folks who merely think the art is neat... to those who have a furry character they roleplay online... to those who feel deep spiritual connections to their totem animals... to those who would sign up for a species change tomorrow if the technology became available. More than 90% of the fandom falls into the tamer categories. Pretending that the rest don't exist would be disingenuous, but their presence opens the fandom as a whole up to being the internet's whipping boys and targets of sensationalist talk shows and media. If, as suggested by that CSI episode, you restrict the scope to fetishists willing and able to blow thousands of dollars on elaborate costumes with strategically placed holes, you're limiting your sample to a very, very small group of individuals. They no more represent the furry fandom than folks wearing Starfleet costumes and Vulcan ears to their wedding reflect the masses of Star Trek affectionados.

These are communities like any other. Furries like to hang out with their furry friends, and some of those guys also like MechWarrior, so of course you're going to get a community of furry MechWarriors. But jerks are going to attack them based on unfair stereotypes about the community regardless. What you're interpreting as a need for acceptance is probably less "Hey! I'm a furry! Accept me!" so much as "So what if we're furries? We deserve to be here too..."

And seriously... is playing a talking wolf any weirder than playing a giant robot pilot grown in an iron womb and genetically engineered for conquest of the Inner Sphere?

[Watchit]

I don't mind haters at all, in fact I find them funny. well, as long as they're at least original, if you see the same thing over and over again it gets annoying

[Pyrite]

Thanks Tezkat for the info. That was quite informative and well written.

So, if I understand correctly, a basic furry is just someone who likes to roleplay anthropomorphic animals in various settings/genres? Does this have to do more with your aforementioned spirit animal connection? How do I formulate this correctly....

So I would play a bear if liked the idea of brawn and muscles? A fox if I was more into a character who used guile to outsmart the enemy? A feline for grace, etc? Or does one like a certain animal more than others and choose from there? Does using these characters in roleplaying games have anything to do with the advantage of teeth and claws as weapons?

Here is also something on the more psychological side: do furries maybe like animals as their characters because they don't particularly like the human race much? As it is said, animals are the better people. (at least they don't screw each other over for profit.)

[Thorgar Wulfson]

Pyrite, on 18 July 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

Thanks Tezkat for the info. That was quite informative and well written.

So, if I understand correctly, a basic furry is just someone who likes to roleplay anthropomorphic animals in various settings/genres? Does this have to do more with your aforementioned spirit animal connection? How do I formulate this correctly....

So I would play a bear if liked the idea of brawn and muscles? A fox if I was more into a character who used guile to outsmart the enemy? A feline for grace, etc? Or does one like a certain animal more than others and choose from there? Does using these characters in roleplaying games have anything to do with the advantage of teeth and claws as weapons?

Here is also something on the more psychological side: do furries maybe like animals as their characters because they don't particularly like the human race much? As it is said, animals are the better people. (at least they don't screw each other over for profit.)

I just have loved animistic characters since i was a kid. loved disney's robin hood, loved superheroes and comic books and loved sci-fi. what i find amusing as hell is that you get a lot of sci fi fans who go ape over aliens but then get upset at furries. when a "furry" and a "alien" are one and the same. in comics you have well known characters like Batman and Catwoman who are basically people dressed up as animals and taking on aspects of said animals.

when i was taught to hunt and track as a kid i was always told to try and embody the traits of animals to better understand them and to better track and hunt. In sports and in the army they kept telling us to be animals to be hungry like the wolf, to get in there and go for the kill. Our whole society has elevated animal nature as something to strive for and achieve. All furries do is openly accept that which society already holds high.

I have seen things in the furry fandom that are disturbing to me and instead of flaming them or hating them i just let them go about their business as i go about mine. Hell i love the fact that we have a whole fandom here based on giant toy robots and they have the balls to hate on people who like animistic aliens piloting them lol.


me personally I like a lot of different things and dislike a lot of different things. Im not a furry but im not above liking aspects of several different fan groups. hell i play Yugi-oh with my girls and Magic the gathering with my friends, Wasn't long ago that any kind of gamer was considered to be a stigma to society, people should remember that when they go hunting down others to hate on.

As for me ill always love my biker werewolf from Werewolf the Apocalypse gaming nights lol.

[Raavi]

Pyrite, on 18 July 2012 - 02:44 AM, said:

My questions as a stranger to these things, should you choose to answer them:

1. Do you find animals more attractive than humans? Not sexually. Just in general.

2. Is being a furry akin to just being a huge fan of cartoons? Most I can think of had animals as their protagonists (Looney toons, Tom and Jerry, Disney, etc.) who acted like people. Was this an influence?

3. Are the furries who do this yiffing thing actually considered furries? Do they do this because they (REALLY) like anthropomorphic animals or do you think they do it due to the anonymity afforded by wearing a mask?

4. Why are furries so insistent on being recognized as such and so worried about being "accepted"? As it was mentioned in earlier posts, it seems odd to say "Hi! I'm _____ and I'm a furry!". I would view people who do that with ANY hobbies/interests quite suspect.

OK, let me try to answer your questions from my perspective...

1. For me personally - heavily depends on individual. I don't look at the exterior but more at the interior. My friends for example (regardless of their species - be those humans or other animals) are a lot more attractive to me than any other beings except for my BF of course. This seems to be a pretty common thing about furs I hang out with but that might be because I'm selective about who I hang out with.

2. For some furs indeed the cartoon characters were the "base" upon which they built their furry nature and many enjoy the cartoons a lot more than (sarcasm) "normal" (/sarcasm) people. But this is only one of many origins and elements of the furry fandom as a whole. As Tezkat said - furs are also therians/otherkins, Sonic fans etc.

3. You seem to mix up things. The term "yiffing" is just sex, nothing more, nothing less. There is no difference there, at least for me. Are you asking about fursuiters?

4. Now this is a question I asked myself a lot of times - and I think that I can answer it only now, after 15+ years in the fandom. For many of us being a fur is more than just a game/roleplaying or even a lifestyle - it's who we are, what defines us. This seems to be most noticeable among us, therians, who are deeply spiritual. Simply saying that I'm Raavi doesn't do the trick because I'm not what I seem to be from the outside and without mentioning who I really am would be misleading to others because they have nothing but my exterior to see. One needs to look beyond and past the outer shell to see the truth and the term fur is a push in the right direction.

I hope this was clear enough - and I would love some more clarification from your end in regards to point #3

Thorgar Wulfson, on 19 July 2012 - 01:38 AM, said:

As for me ill always love my biker werewolf from Werewolf the Apocalypse gaming nights lol.

He can hang out with my biker Simba sometime :-D Even thou Garou and Bastet normally don't like eachother - my character is different and has a deep respect for our wolf brothers and sisters.

[Raavi]

Pyrite, on 18 July 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

So, if I understand correctly, a basic furry is just someone who likes to roleplay anthropomorphic animals in various settings/genres? Does this have to do more with your aforementioned spirit animal connection? How do I formulate this correctly....

Both statements are true. Some are furs who are "into" roleplaying only, some (like us, therians) share a deep spiritual connection to our animal selves - live with the beast, walk the path of the beast, awaken the beast.

Pyrite, on 18 July 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

So I would play a bear if liked the idea of brawn and muscles? A fox if I was more into a character who used guile to outsmart the enemy? A feline for grace, etc? Or does one like a certain animal more than others and choose from there? Does using these characters in roleplaying games have anything to do with the advantage of teeth and claws as weapons?

Again - that depends on individual approach. Most furs pick one species and stick with it - most of such "choices" are subconscious (like for myself) and therefore not even a choice but more like inner self that one is born with and discovers. Some however pick their species for roleplaying purposes, they may change it and they are still perfectly valid furs.

Pyrite, on 18 July 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

Here is also something on the more psychological side: do furries maybe like animals as their characters because they don't particularly like the human race much? As it is said, animals are the better people. (at least they don't screw each other over for profit.)

That is a common notion and there are also many furs who consider themselves to be above humans thanks to their animal connection. After all we, furs, live without many of the human flaws - greed, corruption, hatred or intolerance.

[Pyrite]

Thanks Raavi for the intriguing and complete answers.

As to bullet three on the first posting, I was having trouble formulating my question.

I should mention that I'm going off of what I saw on an episode of CSI. :-P
I was wondering if the furry community as such saw the fringe group of....well..."yiffers", I guess...as furries? Or are they something else completely? If they are viewed by furries as part of the community, I would ask why? It seems to me to be a fetish where people do sexual things under the anonymity of a mask. Which, if this is the case, has nothing to actually to with anthropomorphic animals or values itself. The suits would just be a good way of having weird sex without anyone knowing who you are?

Edited by Pyrite, 19 July 2012 - 02:08 AM.

[Raavi]

Pyrite, on 19 July 2012 - 02:07 AM, said:

Thanks Raavi for the intriguing and complete answers.

As to bullet three on the first posting, I was having trouble formulating my question.

I should mention that I'm going off of what I saw on an episode of CSI. :-P
I was wondering if the furry community as such saw the fringe group of....well..."yiffers", I guess...as furries? Or are they something else completely? If they are viewed by furries as part of the community, I would ask why? It seems to me to be a fetish where people do sexual things under the anonymity of a mask. Which, if this is the case, has nothing to actually to with anthropomorphic animals or values itself. The suits would just be a good way of having weird sex without anyone knowing who you are?

What you saw was completely out of the blue and has no connection to reality, it was a twist and mockery of pretty much everything furs stand for so please don't base yourself on this. Too bad you can't un-see what you saw.

Furs that you refer to are called fursuiters (who also have sex like any other living being), not "yiffers". As I stated - "yiffing" is just a different term for "sex". Many of them are furs and are viewed as such because sex is just a tiny and hardly relevant thing about who they are. To most of them the fursuit is a form of expressing inner self on the outside, a way of showing who they are. There's very little or even completely no "anonymity" factor in there or at least no such intention. For _some_ (and I emphasise the word SOME) it's also a fetish but is it any different than SM, bondage or any other kink? Besides - who doesn't enjoy the feel of fluffy fur under their paw :-D
I'm afraid that your view of the entire "yiffing" thing is somewhat messed up because of what you saw. Perhaps you should try to think of it all as what it is - an act of bodily pleasure and in some/many cases expression of feelings, nothing more. Kinks are there to be enjoyed and as long as they don't hurt anyone it's all good - no harm done. Open your mind to new things, approach them with curiosity rather than fear and you will find the world to be a much more interesting and fun place to live in, despite the dark times.

A great friend of mine once passed to me a rule I live by to this day: anything that does not harm another living being cannot be wrong. It may be weird, it may be funny but as long as there is no harm there is no wrongdoing.

[Pyrite]

Indeed.
And I know better than to actually believe anything on TV. Which is why I started this line of questioning. Where better to learn about something than at the source?

Hopefully others have learned a little something as well.

[Risky]

Bump. Keep this thread at the top, since it ****** people off that it's here.

Edited by Risky, 19 July 2012 - 07:16 PM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Risky, on 19 July 2012 - 07:15 PM, said:

Bump. Keep this thread at the top, since it ****** people off that it's here.

Is that really necessary? lol

I would say that we do fine on our own for the most part just being semi-active here.

[Risky]

Vulpesveritas, on 19 July 2012 - 07:56 PM, said:

Is that really necessary? lol

I would say that we do fine on our own for the most part just being semi-active here.

Very necessary, I love my enraged nerds.

[Lightdragon]

risky feeds off deflated egos so the more bad flamers he gets to screw with the better fed he is

[wanderer]

Risky, on 19 July 2012 - 07:15 PM, said:

Bump. Keep this thread at the top, since it ****** people off that it's here.

Trolling is rude. Look at the long line of hate threads that have been locked already, why would people here want to see their discussion join them?

[Risky]

wanderer, on 20 July 2012 - 05:52 AM, said:

Trolling is rude. Look at the long line of hate threads that have been locked already, why would people here want to see their discussion join them?

Alright, you got me on that one.

[Bluey]

that is FWL stands for ?

[RotS Targe]

Bluey, on 20 July 2012 - 10:06 AM, said:

that is FWL stands for ?

Free Worlds League http://www.sarna.net...e_Worlds_League