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You
cast “furries” in a bad light. Whatever your research indicated,
“furries” and “furry fandom” arose in the mid-1980s, not the
late 1990s. It grew out of a love for anthropomorphized (i.e.
talking) animals, anything from Yogi Bear to Disney’s Robin
Hood to Planet of the Apes. Just about every major
science fiction convention of the time would have someone
hosting a furry party, where people of like interests could
watch G-rated furry videos, trade sketches of furry characters,
and talk about their fan interests.
Of course, sex has always been an aspect of furry fandom.
Some of the early sketches were sexy, erotic or pornographic.
And of course, the best-known (and critically acclaimed) comic
of the time, Omaha the Cat Dancer, featured sex among
its furry cast. As a result, some aspects of furry got a bad
name. But the vast majority of furs have no interest in fursuit
sex or having sex with stuffed animals, as you stated in your
column.
—Fed
Up Rabbit
Excuse
me, FUR, but how does stating that “furry fandom” has something
to do with sex put furries in a bad light? We’re pro-sex here
at Savage Love Inc., and decidedly pro-fetish. As far as we’re
concerned, there’s nothing wrong with getting off on fursuit
sex or fucking stuffed animals or anything else that doesn’t
involve grave bodily harm, real animals, children or Ann Coulter.
While I did make one wee mistake in my column about furries
(for the record: not all furries are into fursuited sex or
“modified” stuffed animals), in no way did I imply that there
was something wrong with being a furry. For a taste of what
being cast in a bad light looks like, FUR, I encourage you
to read on.
Sorry, Dan, but your “AIDS scared
them away from sex and into fucking Pluto” theory is way off.
When I first moved to Silicon Valley, the housing market was
tight and I had to rent a room in a house full of random strangers.
I wound up with a “furry” roommate. He spent all his money
and free time traveling all over the country almost every
weekend to go to furry “conventions” to buy “art” (read: “cartoon
animal porn”). He was, by any social standards, a freak. He
could barely hold a conversation with me because I didn’t
know the furry lingo. Everyone he brought into the house was
a different “animal” with a different fetish, and all they
ever wanted to do was tell ME about it.
My theory: Furries are often too ugly or socially awkward
to date or score with “normal” people. When they find their
“culture” on the Internet, it gives them something to belong
to. And if you’re a sweaty, overweight and socially awkward
dude on the outside, it must be liberating to fantasize about
being a beautiful and majestic centaur inside. I’m still good
friends with one furry guy I met through my ex-roommate. He’s
pretty much normal, except that he wishes he were a cute skinny
fuzzy animal man, because he’s got some body issues that get
in the way of real relationships with his fellow human beings.
Those body issues are what prevented him from having normal
healthy friendships and what drove him to finding friends
online in the first place.
Needless to say, I don’t live with furries anymore. Now I
rent a room with a good, wholesome, God-fearing gay man and
I only have to listen to terrifying conversations about how
to hook up in 30 minutes or less on gay.com.
—We’re
All Terrifying Freaks
Thanks
for sharing, WATF.
Your correspondent that wants a modified
fursuit should look at www.fursuitsex.com. This is a fairly
new business, run by a fur, and intended to produce and distribute
fursuit sex videos. They sell the suits once the video is
made.
—Ostrich
I’m
a little reluctant to print your letter, Ostrich, because
I’m afraid that supply won’t be able to keep up with demand.
I mean, think of all the people out there just dying to own
an actual fursuit that some COMPLETE STRANGER wore while shooting
a porn video. Anyway, I checked out the Web site you mentioned,
and . . . uh . . . it’s not for the faint of heart. There’s
something about the combo of big-eyed, human-sized, mascots/plushies
with decidedly unfurry pink human dicks sticking out of their
crotches that . . . well . . . I don’t mean to judge or anything,
and I don’t want to cast furries in a bad light or anything,
but, Christ Almighty, I’ve had some trouble sleeping at night.
Fair warning: Anyone who’s going to Disney World in the near
future shouldn’t go to fursuitsex.com until well after your
vacation.
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I’m sure you’ve got a fair share
of mail to go through, so I’ll make this as quick as I can.
Furry is NOT about fursuit sex or stuffed animal sex. Furries
simply like anthropomorphic animals. I’m sure you can understand
how a white-bread furry, say, a guy who enjoys sexplay with
his girlfriend wearing cat ears and purring, would cringe
at being grouped with someone who likes to stick his dick
into a hollowed out Winnie the Pooh.
—Neuracnu
Coyote
I
don’t know, NC. After checking out some furry porn—nothing
so restrained, however, as a guy and his girlfriend wearing
cats’ ears and purring—I can state with some authority that
images of people fucking hollowed out stuffed animals is infinitely
less disturbing than images of people sucking off theme-park
mascots.
Being a furry is a LOT more than
simply wanting to have sex in a fursuit or with a plush toy!
It’s media coverage of furry such as your article that gives
that impression, and it has caused problems for many furs.
In the simplest terms, furry culture centers around animal
anthropomorphism, i.e. the mixing of human and animal characteristics.
There is no clear definition of furry culture, but my experience
leads me to believe it is, however, possible to split the
culture loosely into two groups: “furries” and “furry fans.”
Furries are people who actually believe their personalities
would better fit a particular animal, and express a deep empathy
with that animal, or might even wish to become that particular
animal. Furry fans are people who express an interest in furry
culture, but not necessarily a wish to be an actual furry—although
they may have a furry character in role-playing games, and
enjoy furry artwork, fiction and just the general idea of
furriness.
Of course, it’s not all “good, clean fun.” There are those
in furrydom and furry fandom who will take their interest
to a sexual level. What offended me in your article was your
blatant assumption that ALL furries do this.
—Fed
Up Furry
OK,
OK: Furries are just fans—Trekkies with flea collars!—and
not all furries take their interest to a sexual level. But,
shit, maybe you all should. In some ways it’s easier to accept
and sign off on bizarre-yet-harmless behaviors and obsessions
if there’s a sexual component. None of us can really help,
control, or direct our sexual interests or fetishes; we can,
however, control how we choose to act on them. Someone who
gets rock hard or dripping wet when dressed up like a fox
or a raccoon or chipmunk makes a rough sort of sense. But
someone who fantasizes about being an animal or hangs out
with people who do without the excuse/cover of sexual fetish
or compulsion? I’m sorry, but that’s just sick.
mail@savagelove.net
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