Tail Ergonomics (Worldbuilding)

In a world full of anthrophomorphic animals, furries if you will, most species would have an additional appendages to humans: a tail. These tails can probably be used for ergonomics.

I was inspired to make this post when I remembered a picture of an otter with a tail bag- a bag attached to his tail- from reddit long ago.

I was thinking that many anthros would probably do the same thing or find other uses with their tail. Maybe they can use their tail to control stuff or operate vehicles, to show their emotions, or even as a third hand. But if their world was built around these uses for tails, how would they accomodate for different shapes of tails and species that lack one? Some tails are more flexible, others larger, others thin and small, and others are so small they barely exist (like the tail of a bear).

Their tails would also be used for aesthetic purposes. They would probably decorate them with items similar to how humans decorate their hair with hairpins and the like. Some may even wear covering for their tail. But with every species having different tail shapes, this would mean some tail garment may have to be tailored to specific species, especially tail covering.

So, would it cause jealousy when one species wanted to wear a tail covering that's only available to another species? Maybe Otis the Otter wanted to wear that beautiful tail covering, but it's only made for cats and his tail is too thick to fit. Also, some animals lack tail, so they won't be able to decorate their nonexistent tail at all. Some bears are probably jealous that their tail is too short to decorate with anything.

And finally, tail modification. Would some anthros snip their tail similar to how we do with cats? Would their people consider it body mutilation or just regular body modification like having a tattoo? Would it be treated as tradition, where in some cultures, some species (or even some gender of the species) have to cut their tail? How about tails that are too thick to snip without causing damage, like the tail of an otter?

There's a lot of possibilities on what having a tail can entail, so there is a lot of questions. Do you have anything more to add?

MinusPi, (edited )

Also, some animals lack tail, so they won’t be able to decorate their non-existent tail at all

Sad human noises

Lukarikid,

I wanted to make hand spikes that double as a pick for a shamisen of some sort

dressupgeekout,

You already alluded to this, but one of the main reasons why I love writing stories with anthro characters in the first place is because there is so much narrative potential.

In one story of mine, our main character is a skunk, whose extremely large tail is NOT accommodated for in most situations -- cramped seating on a bus or in a theater, for instance -- and this causes conflict. Thus drama, and thus an interesting story.

In the world I'm building, everyone CAN use their tail for nonverbal communication, but not all tails are the same, so not everyone can communicate the same things WITH their tails. In my world, this mostly stems from whether tails can be arched upwards or not -- so, a tiger is able to slowly and seductively sway their tail in a way that a horse cannot.

Another thing to consider is, even within a single species, there are variations. For example, the long shagginess of the golden retriever's tail doesn't apply to a Doberman. So, what personal grooming even means can be informed in part by the style of tail.

FlowerTree,
@FlowerTree@pawb.social avatar

The large variety of body shapes (and sizes depending on worldbuilding) is why I like the idea of anthrophomorphic animals and furries. There's so many things to consider, especially if you go to the deep end.

awooo,
@awooo@pawb.social avatar

I love furgonomics!

For a sci-fi story I'm slowly chipping away at I'm sort of trying to answer the question of how anthros could arise from humans, so that kinda sidesteps the issue of jealousy, since there would be choice, but it still leaves the other questions.

Maybe tail accessories would be made in multiple sizes and shapes, just like clothes for people are, though if tails and species are custom that could make it even more difficult, and there are so many real animals regardless. I guess in such a technologically advanced world accessories would all be custom made and arbitrary designs could be applied to them.

Something I haven't seen too many people think about is the health implications of having a tail. Walking on two legs while having a tail would probably cause tail injuries to be common from falls etc., and how do you account for it in infrastructure so it's safe for all kinds of them? It's similar to how things in our world aren't always designed for left-handed users, women or different body types, like cars for example. How would you keep lots of different species with slightly different anatomies, including tails, safe?

Furgonomics aside, I love tails and ears as a form of emotional expression, maybe in part because I'm autistic and would find it easier to express myself this way without the baggage that human body language brings!

Gabe,
@Gabe@pawb.social avatar

I had not thought about this...

I now want to come up with tail accesories for Gabriel. Do you have any ideas for accesories for tiger tails?

FlowerTree,
@FlowerTree@pawb.social avatar

No idea, really. I don't think tailbag is going to work, so maybe tail bowtie?

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