During work travel a few years back I happened to stay at a Marriott with my wife during a furry convention. We knew something was odd when, while looking for a parking spot, we passed by a patron who was unloading luggage from their trunk and we thought we noticed a tail protruding from the back of their pants. For about a minute we didn't make much of it. Then, while walking from the lot to the main entrance, we noticed from about 100 yards out, a few people in what we assumed were mascot costumes. It was only when we made our entrance that I realized what we stumbled upon. I felt like a regular doctor Doolittle - surrounded by all kinds of animals that I could actually talk to and they to me (well, sorta - when I passed by a couple squirrels near the sushi bar, I was unable to translate the chirping noises they were making to each other). Long story short, it was super entertaining and they were cool when I asked them about their culture, etc. I only wish I loved something (family/friends aside) half as much as they love to dress like furry animals. But I'm boring. Even this wall of text I wrote makes me want to nap.
My wife and I were talking about this and it made me wonder if anybody even actually gives a crap about furries at all, or if hating them is just an internet meme and nobody actually cares IRL.
I give a crap in that they’re people and should be treated respectfully like you’d treat anyone. Other than that as long as no one’s getting hurt I really don’t bother myself with dictating how others should live their lives. Life’s short, do what makes you happy.
There’s all sorts of things that the majority of folks don’t sexualize that some people do. Are you going to get upset about someone wearing knee high socks in public just because it is a fetish for some people?
I would think it’s weird for the people who fetishize knee high socks to wear them in public. So I don’t think it’s necessary bad for anyone to wear furry stuff, but it is if they get off to it.
I don’t think they’re incapable, just impolite. Like I’m sure someone could wear a butt plug out and about without feeling stimulated. But I think it’d still be impolite. Maybe the best comparison I can think of would be maid outfits. I don’t think it’d be good to wear them out and about if you have a fetish for them, even if you aren’t aroused at the moment.
I think its worth noting that this could be happening right now. Anyone wearing sandels might be subject to someone finding their feet attractive! The horror! :) As a side note, lots of people wear clothing that’s revealing but most of us aren’t up in arms because someone is revealing part of their cleavage. I’m specificlly refering to people wearing pants down around their bum. With there ass cleavage hanging out :)
from what i’ve heard talking to other furries, “embracing the cringe” is a somewhat common part of the fandom for a lot of us. “furry hate” is just an evolved form of school kids making fun of eachother for liking different things.
there’s just something so freeing about saying “yeah i pretend to be a dog on the internet for fun”, especially when you just know it’s gonna make someone somewhere SO MAD for literally no worthwhile reason.
Personally, I see it similar to wearing BSDM gear or those cropped hentai shirts in public. Are you free to do it? Yes, but I’m also going to judge you for it
Yeah, for me it's like people who go ALL in on collecting kitsch. Is it a bit cringe? Sure. Is it hurting anyone? No, there's nothing inherently wrong with it. And if you have the guts to stand up and show it proudly, man, more power to you.
The Internet hatred for furries always bothered me. I’m not into it, I think it’s weird, but so what? I think BDSM is weird too, but we don’t treat people into BDSM like we treat furries- as if they’re some sort of disease. I’ve met a few working at sci-fi/comic cons over the years and they’ve always been really nice, decent people. They just have a kink. Lots of people have kinks.
The problem is that the sexually charged furries have trouble understanding and respecting other’s boundaries. This is an even larger problem when you’re dealing with a community that tends to appeal to younger people. It doesn’t help that there have been several very public cases of well known furries being engaged in things so horrible I’m not even comfortable mentioning it here (hint: age and/or species and/or aliveness).
I blame the astroturfing early on. The furry community never really overcame the weird allegations from their first major convention. It also doesn’t help that people think furry is JUST a sexual thing.
And many replies here are people hating on furries, and people actually thinking fursuits are primarily a sexual thing, this is wild lmao.
From someone actually from the community, fursuits are NOT a sexual thing for the VAST majority of furries, and should not be treated as such. Can’t believe I still have to say this.
Echoing what pugjesus said below, it would be easier to empathize with if it were a sexual thing. Sexy times have gotten weird, especially with the modern internet and the specificity of porn. Most people could imagine how a fursuit might spice up things in the bedroom, not to mention the anonymity of wearing a mask. But few people understand the desire to wear a fursuit for day-to-day activities. I imagine it would be too warm and uncomfortable, and I wouldn’t get any joy or comfort out of it.
Personally, I’m on the live and let live team. I don’t have to understand your lifestyle or your hobbies, nor do I feel the need to justify mine. But that’s probably why you have to keep explaining it to everyone.
My kid is into the whole Furry scene. She makes the art, she’s learned valuable skills working on the suits and things.
Here’s the thing though. She doesn’t wear a fursuit for “day-to-day” activities. She does this stuff only with friends online. It’s just a creative community working with each other and building on each others work. I don’t get it, the appeal that is. It’s silly to me.
Most of the people she talks to are into drawing and creative type stuff. They’re musicians and artists from around the world. They have this odd thing in common that gives them a reason to create something familiar, quite often, with friends.
It isn’t her whole personality, it’s just a part of it. A social part even. It’s something to give them a sense of community and belonging.
I’m not a social person. I don’t have close friends and I don’t have any interest in sharing hobbies with other people, so it’s super foreign to me as a person on almost every level.
I just think people have serious misconceptions about what it is they’re doing. They’re just roleplaying and goofing with friends while being creative.
Sure, there’s a seedy side, but people make Simpsons porn for fucks sake. The difference in how we feel about that is that we all know the Simpsons and we know that’s not what it’s actually about. It’s just a few degens making weird shit. That’s the deal with furries too. A few degens make it sexual or make their whole life about it.
It’s goofy, but they’re having fun and meeting people.
It bothered me bad when my kid started getting into it because of all of the bullying those folks get.
She’s a teenager and she’s having fun. She’s learned to draw and sew because of it. I haven’t seen anything even remotely worth my concern. They create characters and stories and just have fun. She’s learned to use 3D modeling software and serious art software. I got her a decent drawing tablet and she draws things for the kids who can’t draw. She’s developed some serious skill as a result of her interest in the stuff.
I think it's the fact that furries tend to bring their kink public. I have not consented to engage in your sex games. If he showed up to a ceremony in leather and a ballgag no one would be ok with it, but the fur suit is the equivalent and I'm expected to applaud.
Some do, many don’t. A fursuit is a costume, as a cosplayer in fandoms do, and I guarantee there are cosplayers that have sex in their costumes.
Knowing quite a few fursuiters there’s less of them that want to have sex in suit because it’s hot as fuck, makes you a lot more clumsy, and those suits are expensive as hell as they’re custom made.
We established that there is sexual and non sexual furries. As each of my examples is both non sexual and sexual for some people, it is impossible to deem the one as right and the other as wrong on that basis.
Interestingly it is you, that seems to consider animal suits and behaviour as a sex thing. So maybe you need to own up to your kinks you little furry.
I mean if someone gets off by not hurting or interacting with you then your consent isn’t important. What happens in someone else’s head is theirs. How they act toward others is important. Feel free to be skeeved out, tho.
A big part of this misconception is actually from That Episode. You can actually google the phrase That Episode. No need to even specify the show, just those two words are enough (but the show is CSI). There’s a bunch to read into if you’d like, but the important bit is that a big part of public opinion - which has only recently begun to change, and only in some parts of the internet - comes from That Episode’s portrayal of furries
So the distinction I feel here is that women are people. If a man wants to dress like a woman, sure, most people can interact with women in public, whatever. If you want to call them both, broadly, a form of cosplay, then drag is a costume that doesn’t fundamentally change much. Animals aren’t people.
I mean, Halloween is explicitly a cosplay event which subverts social norms. I think it’s pretty disingenuous to conflate Halloween with typical daily interaction
furry meet ups are explicitly a cosplay event which subverts social norms. i think it’s pretty disingenuous to conflate people with hobbies with sexual deviants.
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