Author Topic: Why the need to tell about furry?  (Read 77423 times)

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Offline Stigandr

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #25 on: September 17, 2010, 11:28:40 pm »
being of the younger age...I have never felt the NEED to tell anyone. If it comes up in conversation then why not! I wouldn't go out of the way to tell people though. Fury should be fun and by stressing about telling people about it just seems to bring unneeded tension.
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Offline Kishi

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #26 on: September 18, 2010, 12:24:03 am »
Exactly why I don't bother telling my mom what I do with my free time, it may just be my teenage rebellion, but Im 16, Junior in High School, I leave for college in just under 2 years, my mom doesn't need to know what I'm doing 24/7.
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Offline James Moon

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #27 on: September 18, 2010, 07:38:16 am »
Who here has other hobbies besides furries? Model ship building, stamp collecting, even things like sewing? Do you hide it? Are they something to be ashamed of? It is a need for people to feel accepted. Plus, sometimes it is just nice to be able to let people into your life. I dont know how many times I almost let it slip that I bought a collar or a fursuit.
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Offline Sky Striker

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #28 on: September 18, 2010, 10:20:23 am »
Who here has other hobbies besides furries? Model ship building, stamp collecting, even things like sewing? Do you hide it? Are they something to be ashamed of? It is a need for people to feel accepted. Plus, sometimes it is just nice to be able to let people into your life. I dont know how many times I almost let it slip that I bought a collar or a fursuit.

I've actually gone and let it... slip... that I bought a collar for... April Fool's Day... and that I also wore it around town... just to see everyone's reaction... when I passed by.

I also once, and only once to a very tollerant friend, let it... slip that I went to a furmeet. However the slip was so subtle that I don't think she noticed it.
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Offline Serra Belvoule

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #29 on: September 18, 2010, 07:41:29 pm »
I've actually gone and let it... slip... that I bought a collar for... April Fool's Day... and that I also wore it around town... just to see everyone's reaction... when I passed by.

I also once, and only once to a very tollerant friend, let it... slip that I went to a furmeet. However the slip was so subtle that I don't think she noticed it.
That still counts as coming out... and not that effectively since not many actually notice, or care enough to notice  :D
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Offline Sky Striker

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #30 on: September 19, 2010, 02:18:53 pm »
I've actually gone and let it... slip... that I bought a collar for... April Fool's Day... and that I also wore it around town... just to see everyone's reaction... when I passed by.

I also once, and only once to a very tollerant friend, let it... slip that I went to a furmeet. However the slip was so subtle that I don't think she noticed it.
That still counts as coming out... and not that effectively since not many actually notice, or care enough to notice  :D

I don't like the phrase coming out when it comes to the fandom but yeah, I guess I've tried to "come out" to others. I just think it's important for friends to know things about you.
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Offline Lynk

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #31 on: September 20, 2010, 11:59:08 am »
I haven't mentioned it anywhere except for this forum - heck, even signing up for this took some guts for me. Chances are, if I were to talk about it on any other forum, I'd be trolled to no end (Which is why I'm using a different username here). As for in real life... Well, I only have one really good friend, and I guess he would probably not think much of it. He's a sci-fi geek, and is into a ton of random stuff, so it probably wouldn't seem like anything too strange. I don't plan on bringing it up though, but he asks, I probably wouldn't lie and admit it. As for my parents... I don't have a clue how they would react. Their views on it could range from not caring at all (Yeah, ok. Just don't do anything that could get you in trouble) to total hostility (We're banning you from the computer for a half a year and getting you some mental help), so I'm not going to take the chance. I guess that's why I joined this place - so I could actually talk about it without getting mocked or anything. Although, if they happen to walk by as I'm on this site... Well, I don't know what I'll do.

Offline Serra Belvoule

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #32 on: September 20, 2010, 06:11:22 pm »
Well, it's metaphorical to say "coming out"... but it kinda fits because it's something some people have a need to make public and some others hide it, and some even don't care.
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Offline Otacon

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #33 on: September 22, 2010, 07:31:27 pm »
I agree with the OP.  I keep to myself.  But say for example that, I'm in my room looking through my furry art on my laptop (None of them are sexual) and my mom comes in and sees. What do I say?

EDIT: Some of the pictures are of two male furs cuddling or kissing.  The thing is I'm straight, but I adore when they cuddle.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2010, 07:33:32 pm by Otacon »

Offline Spirit

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #34 on: September 22, 2010, 07:44:10 pm »
It's anthro animal art! What if you were looking at Mickey Mouse and your parents walked in? Same thing basically. As long as it's not adult, it's completely normal to look at that stuff. And you said it isn't, so yeah.

Offline Mooshi

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #35 on: September 22, 2010, 07:59:13 pm »
You could go for the cultural approach and say it's kemono art if the characters were of anthro animals acting human. That kinda stuff has been around Japan since the 1300's. Saying it's anthro might still give the weird "zuh?" expression. At least with kemono, you can at least let them know you studied history. :D

Offline Otacon

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #36 on: September 22, 2010, 08:54:39 pm »
@ Spirit:  Good point, I suppose  :)  I don't really care what my parents say anyway.

@ Mooshi: I lol'd that is a very interesting approach.

Offline Sigurd Volsung

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #37 on: September 23, 2010, 01:59:47 pm »
First at Mooshi Where can I find this Kemono art you mentioned, it sounds very interesting

Second if it becomes an issue just point to all the cultures that have worshiped animal gods like say the bloody Ancient Egyptians. Or the fact that much of European folk lore has talking animals such as Puss 'n Boots.

I have said before and I'll say it again, furry is not new, only the fandom is and that is a direct result of the internet which allowed people to share art, stories, and other such silliness. Let's face it part of being furry is being silly, I don't care if you have a sexual attraction to Zig Zag, or any other hot bodied femme out there, or if you buy a six thousand dollar fursuit (yes I have seen them that expensive but you can't beat the quality) it's still silly. We furries need to be able to laugh at ourselves, if you take the fandom to seriously of course people are going to give you a hard time. I don't mean that you have to push it on people, but if you're a kid and your parent comes into your room and see a picture of a bikini clad vixen on a beach and gets worried just say, "Yeah I found this neat picture online, I think it's kind of cute." Just brush it off and be done with it, if they still give you a hard time tell them that it could be worse and you could be looking up porn, just don't have the Yiffy stuff, if you have any, where they can find it.

The othre thing I have said on numerous occasions is that there is a time and place for everything, and it is not always appropriate to wear a tail, a collar is easier to get away with under certain conditions. A furry friend in Denmark told me of a serious Pagan get together I believe it was in England where some girl showed up in cat ears and a tail. I'm sorry that just being stupid, it's being highly inappropriate, and that's where people get the wrong idea of the fandom. I went to a furmeet in Cali a few years back when I went there for my wife's niece's wedding and I went to another in Tennesse  a few years later. In Cali we got together at a restaruant, I was the youngest by a couple of years, and while most of us owned tail none of us wore them because it was not an appropriate thing to do. At the one in Tennesse just about everyone wore a tail, even the people who were almost old enough to be my parents, and I was twenty-nine at the time, because it was at a fellow furries house and who gave a Delta. That same group of people met the next day for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel and nobody wore their tail.

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Offline Mooshi

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #38 on: September 23, 2010, 02:38:10 pm »


The above picture is hundreds of years old, but you probably couldn't have guessed that on art style alone. :3

If furries are humans who act like animals (talking about the fandom here, I don't call the anthros themselves "furry" to avoid confusion), kemono would be animals acting human. The beauty of kemono is that they have human mannerisms and rarely act like the animal they represent. No random woofs and meows here.

Sometimes there is overlap between being a fan of kemono art (which literally translates to beast) and a furry when it comes to characters. (depending on how they are drawn) If they are an anthro character that acts human, stands upright, wears clothes and engage in people activities, you could consider it kemono.

Characters like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse will still be labled "funny animal", but I like cartoons too. :3
« Last Edit: September 23, 2010, 02:43:57 pm by Mooshi »

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #39 on: September 23, 2010, 06:47:25 pm »
I understand you're replying to Sigurd's comment, Mooshi. But if you want to talk more about kemono, then please start a new thread so this current thread doesn't go too off topic. Thanks.

Offline Serra Belvoule

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #40 on: September 24, 2010, 08:28:20 pm »
I suppose what Mooshi's trying to say is that humans have an attraction towards anthro animals, and as such they want to bring it out on their everyday lives, considering how many managed to make it a form of art.
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Offline Sky Striker

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #41 on: September 24, 2010, 09:36:57 pm »
I suppose what Mooshi's trying to say is that humans have an attraction towards anthro animals, and as such they want to bring it out on their everyday lives, considering how many managed to make it a form of art.

Yeah, pretty much all humans do. Look at all the anthro mascots, even for adult thinks like Geico.
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Offline Serra Belvoule

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #42 on: September 26, 2010, 08:56:05 am »
Yeah, geiko is a good example. Sometimes certain topics are marked with stereotypes and automatic thoughts such as "An insurance salesman is a sneaky evil person" or something like that. Solution? Use a cute little critter. It's fun, it's interesting, new and different.
And people go nuts when the company's mascot talk to you. It's something about iconic characters that drive people...
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Offline Sk Skunk

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #43 on: February 01, 2011, 03:58:27 pm »
At the direction of another thread, I'll kick start this over here.

The question has been brought up, why? For the most part, the answer is "there is no need to make a big deal about furry", which is not really an answer to the question. "It's just a hobby" is not an answer either. They are valid points, but they are not answers.

It comes up again, and again. Why the need to come out of the cage? Why make such a big deal about it? What is it about this hobby that catches some of us in such a strong way?

Simple answer: I think we are a bunch of really odd people, and in furry, we found a home. :) We have found our long lost family.

Not simple: When I discovered other people were touched by this madness, there was an excitement that I've felt very seldom in my lifetime. I may be an oddball, but I'm not alone. I have ridden the roller coaster, and things have leveled out. I'm also eagerly awaiting the next hill. I'll also get off the ride and just walk around the park. There is something about furry that is different from any other hobby I've been involved in.

I have considered myself to be a loaner. I have never really fit in, and readily isolated from others. This is the true madness. No matter what we think, being alone is not normal. We want to belong, be a part of something.

Sometimes the home is not a happy one. We have our crazy aunt in the attic, the uncle in prison, the cousin that we cant stand, the little brother/sister that acts up to the point we want to scream, the stubborn friend that just doesn't understand. There are those that have left on their own, some have been shown the door. I would bet that many of those that have gone on, would be welcomed back with open arms, disagreements forgiven with time. A few would be chased away again, because they deserve it.

A home, family, belonging, with all the baggage that comes with it. That's my take, how about you?

I'm betting some will read this and face palm. For the ones that do, why do you put up with all of this? Why would you stick around all of the emo/drama/insanity? If you have gone away, why did you return?

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Offline Landrav

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #44 on: February 01, 2011, 04:22:09 pm »
Whenever threads like this come up, it tends to evolve into a thread about telling people what/how to tell people you're furry (or even NOT to).  However, because they come up so often, I'm really intrigued as to the reasons people feel this need.  It's been discussed here a little bit (nice post, SK), and I'm sure I've posted something like this before, but I really want to hear why people think this feeling is so widespread in the fandom.
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Offline Mouselion

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #45 on: February 01, 2011, 04:52:48 pm »
Well, friends and family know that I'm a furry, except at work because screw that noise.

It's not that I "came out" as one would "come out" with being gay. It's more like people were just noticing things like I'd disappear to go to parties and conventions and I'd meet really freakin' weird people. And my best friend was the first to be concerned, "who the hell are these people, and where is it that you go? I feel like you're leading some kind of weird double-life" he would say.

So finally I was like "...Well I'll take you with me to Further Confusion this January, and what you see is what you get." And actually he had a blast which made me more comfortable just telling people who stumbled into bringing it up, which doesn't happen often except my friends all are nerds and people who know talk, therefore it eventually does happen. For some reason, anyone who finds out that I'm a furry has a positive reaction. I'm an extrovert and people know me really well, they already know I'm kind of an eccentric guy so they're not exactly shocked when I say something like "well that's because I'm one of those furry freaks."

It's not like I give people every seedy detail about what turns me on and how pathetic some people are. But.. yeah. It's not like it's been an embarassment to admit I have this hobby. People don't make fun of me in a malicious way, people aren't awkward around me, in general people I know are having fun with knowing that about me.

But I see your point in the sense that people shouldn't really feel "compelled" to tell people about this. LoL. One can certianly survive happily without ever telling other people they're a furry. But it's not always such a disasterous decision, either... LoL.
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Offline Magna

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #46 on: February 02, 2011, 12:35:41 pm »
I'm a very private person to begin with, so "coming out" isn't really an issue for me. I'll just keep acting the way I do, and if someone notices something I might explain further. It's not that big a deal though, and I've never been that open about my hobbies to begin with.

Offline Mr. Apple

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #47 on: February 03, 2011, 02:15:01 pm »
just got out of that phase about a week ago thank god :P
I was going to call you out on originality but saw that you posted this topic before me :o
anyway, it's a subculture/hobby. I usually use it as something i joke about when having a conversation with friends.
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Offline Landrav

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #48 on: February 03, 2011, 02:23:05 pm »
just got out of that phase about a week ago thank god :P
I was going to call you out on originality but saw that you posted this topic before me :o
anyway, it's a subculture/hobby. I usually use it as something i joke about when having a conversation with friends.

Looking back on how you felt, what do you think triggered that feeling?  (Still trying to steer discussion into the "WHY" behind the feeling instead of how to deal with it ;)  )
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Offline Wolf Fenrir

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Re: Why the need to tell about furry?
« Reply #49 on: February 03, 2011, 11:00:25 pm »
As far as I'm concerned being a furry is my business. I keep it to myself I don't care if anyone who knows me knows about me being furry. I won't go out of my way to tell them but if they ask I won't hide. My parents asked about a collar I had once and I gave them a little info and they didn't like it so I do t wear a collar around them and they don't care as ling as they don't know. Simpler for me