Author Topic: Are you in the furry closet?  (Read 133811 times)

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Offline Darkness Falls

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Are you in the furry closet?
« on: June 23, 2005, 02:20:53 pm »
<font color='#EEEEEE'>That's a great idea, Sno-Pak! Some actual, positive, constructive help on the matter! Good thinking!

D.F.</font>

Staff Note: Due to "technical difficulties" that Furtopia experienced several months ago, this post here is not the official starting post of this thread. Please scroll down slightly till you come to my post with all the furry links in it and start there. Thanks. :)

Kobuk
« Last Edit: July 30, 2008, 10:50:33 pm by Kobuk »
All your coffee, and quite possibly all coffee everywhere, does indeed belong to Mazz. She takes it to keep it out of the hands of the psychotic coffee spiders...

...but no-one remembers that thread anymore, so I just look weird now. '<img'>

Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2005, 04:38:48 am »
brilliant!

i just told my pal straight  '<img'>  she's cool with it and so is everyone else at school who knows

Offline Kobuk

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2005, 10:58:55 pm »
Are you (or someone you know) in the furry closet? Would you like to come out and tell people you're a fur but afraid of how others will react? Are you afraid of where they are getting their info. from? Well let me step in and offer some advice and links for those furs who need a helping paw. Below are some links to sites that "break the ice" as it were when trying to explain what furry is, what the fandom is all about, and so forth. Of course, you don't have to tell anyone you're a fur and in the fandom. How much you tell people is strictly up to you. Only you can decide what to say, how much to say, and whom to talk to. The links I've provided here are merely a stepping stone to getting out of the closet. If anyone else would like to add to this list of positive sources of info. for explaining furries and the fandom, then you are more than welcome to post.  :)

http://www.xydexx.com/anthrofurry/
http://www.visi.com/~phantos/furrysoc.html
http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Furries
http://www.tigerden.com/~infopage/furry/
http://www.humantruth.info/furry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
http://www.anthrocon.org/about-furry

And of course, don't forget the best and friendliest place around.........Furtopia!

Why the need to come out as a furry? Read here:
http://forums.furtopia.org/general-furry-discussion/why-the-need-to-tell-about-furry/


« Last Edit: January 10, 2014, 10:13:53 am by Kobuk »

Offline Kobuk

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2005, 10:27:36 pm »
Thanks for the compliment, DF.  ':blush:'   '<img'>  I thought this might help somewhat for any of the younger furs and new members here on Furtopia. I've remembered quite a few topics in the past few weeks and months where furs were struggling with what to say to friends and relatives. I hope my links help. If anyone else has some positive links and resources to share, post them here.

Offline Far_Raptor

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2005, 01:55:20 am »
Sweet links, bro!  Thanks for the help.  I'll read em' and bookmark em' for future use.   I'll know just where to find them if and when they're needed.

Best,

~FaR~


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Offline Savaaha

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« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2005, 02:27:58 am »
I gace my dad a printout from the anthrocon site... stiff southern raised baptist who believes if somethings not the same as he thinks it should be.. then its all wrong....

Quote
If it aint a cult of some kind then it dont sound to bad.

Also helps to have a wellspoken whiteshepherd and his lady love pegasus walk thro the door to prove furs are good people.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2008, 06:27:51 pm by Blastdav »

EMPTY

Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2005, 03:54:47 am »
I fail to see how my personal life is the business of others. If I'm asked, I admit it. Sometimes I advertise it, but I'm not going to march in any parade, or e-mail all of my friends about it.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2008, 06:28:43 pm by Blastdav »

Offline Lost_Tiger

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2005, 02:12:03 pm »
At this point, people just assume I’m crazy and don’t really ask much when I do something different, if they happen to guess what I am good for them, if not… well they’ll probably find out eventually
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Offline Lost_Tiger

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2005, 04:27:39 pm »
I wonder if the good responses out way the bad. Are close friends more likely to accept you for you because you’re friends? Or will their problems with it (if they have any) be greater than the friendship
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Offline Seelas

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2005, 01:45:46 am »
Heh, interesting that you bring this up. I guess you could say that "in the closet" in a way, but my situation is a bit different than that of most. You see, I have a very close friend - one that I'm actually quite in love with - who is a furry and has been "out" to us for years now. Now, my circle of friends are all huge nerds, so this isn't anything new to them. But it's sort of his "role" in the group to be the furry. My role is to be the gay guy.  ':p'

As I hung out with this certain individual more and more, I realized that I was a furry as well. I'm out to him, but nobody else, mainly because I don't think they'll receive it too well. They all know how head over heels I am for him - they would probably think I was just copying him for the sake of it. I mean, it seems like kind of an odd situation - they're my friends for God's sake, they should be pretty accepting of this! - and who knows, maybe they will. But for the time being, I'm pretty uncomfortable with it.
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Offline Arbutus

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2005, 02:28:40 am »
Quote (Seelas @ July 16 2005, 1:45 am)
As I hung out with this certain individual more and more, I realized that I was a furry as well. I'm out to him, but nobody else, mainly because I don't think they'll receive it too well. They all know how head over heels I am for him - they would probably think I was just copying him for the sake of it.

Hmm... well, from your post, it seems like your whole group has been friends with each other for quite a while, right? If this guy had fallen into your company one day all of a sudden, and he was like "Hey guys, I'm furry!", and a little while later you were suddenly like "Guess what, guys, I'm furry too!"... then yeah, I guess that'd probably be copying him. But it doesn't seem like that's the case. I mean, you've been friends with him for years, so you could have just gacked his idea any time if you'd had the desire to-- but you didn't. Instead, you underwent a gradual process of realization and arrived at the conclusion that you were a fur too.

Did that make any sense? I'm tired, I don't know if I'm babbling or not. I guess to sum up, I think the very fact that it wasn't a sudden but a gradual transition to furriness, should be enough to show them that this isn't a passing whimsy to get you closer to him. I wouldn't worry too much. '<img'>

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Offline Lost_Tiger

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2005, 12:05:31 pm »
Your friends are your FRIENDS they should like you for YOU and the rest is irrelevant.
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Offline Mikael GRizzly

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Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2005, 04:06:01 pm »
This thread is a very helpful one, but it made me think, why are most of us hidden in a cupboard?

Maybe it's because we're simply different. Different from The Public-at-Large (hi, Simo '<img'> ), which is plain, "normal", boring. But they are legion. In democracy (The worst system ever conceived, yet there is nothing better than it - Churchrill), those who are legion, are heard.

This, coupled with a very hy00man ability to be quick to pass judgements, expecially about things they do not understand/not want to understand (eg. our own furdom), is what causes hate.

Prejudice and no understanding.

Throughout our human history, the lack of understanding and prejudice were always at the core of tragedies in history.

The Crusades
The fall of Aztec empire.
The spanish inquisition
Pogroms of people, due to their race/religion/belief
World War II (erupted because of Nazi prejudice and selfloathing)

Another factor, especially nowadays, is the mass media's greed for quick, shalllow news, to satisfy average people apetite (the so-called mr and ms Smith/Kowalski) and meet the 5 minute attention limit.

Lastly, our culure is becoming more and more devoid of empathy, feelings and open-mindedness. Slowly, it becomes a barren wasteland, purged of all feelings, where

"[...] we live according to race, colour or creed
[...] we rule by blind madness and pure greed
Our lives dictated by tradition, superstition, false religion"

In such world, a fully fuzzy furry, a warm, kind hearted open person with an open mind, is seen as a potential threat. As are all people whose beliefs are different than the PAL's and the People In Control (PIC). That's why we are forced to the said cupboard. Untrustfullness, isolationism and lack of tolerance are slowly grasping control.

I hope they'll fail in their attempt. That what we believe in will survive and win through.

Meanwhile, let's not go slightly mad.

Mika

[DISCLAIMER: If anything was said before, stated or what I wrote sounds too vague to understand, that's because I find it hard to phrase my thoughts]

Offline Kobuk

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« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2005, 04:43:35 pm »
As I find more positive info. and articles about the furry fandom, I will be posting the links at the top of this thread in my original post. If anyfur else wishes to post some additional links to positive media that they find, they are more than welcome to do so.

EMPTY

Are you in the furry closet?
« Reply #14 on: July 17, 2005, 03:29:44 pm »
i would consider myself a fur fan, but not a actual fur. oh yeah, why should you feel guilty about being a fur, and hiding it in the closet? its no different from any other subculture. its not like your gay or anything. dont worry about. believe me, i think most conservative parents would not freak as much than if you were gay. i just like the art, and my folks dont mind.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2008, 06:29:14 pm by Blastdav »

Offline Fen-Fen

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« Reply #15 on: July 17, 2005, 06:15:47 pm »
Quote (Savaaha @ June 28 2005, 2:27 am)
I gace my dad a printout from the anthrocon site... stiff southern raised baptist who believes if somethings not the same as he thinks it should be.. then its all wrong....

Quote
If it aint a cult of some kind then it dont sound to bad.


Also helps to have a wellspoken whiteshepherd and his lady love pegasus walk thro the door to prove furs are good people.

Exactly how my mom is, Savaaha.
And I’ll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom,
I’m as green as the ring on my little cold finger,
I’ve never known the lovin' of a man,
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand.

Offline Lost_Tiger

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« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2005, 09:02:54 pm »
YAY acceptance! Told a good friend and she’s very ok with it all, not very clear about what it is, but says as long as I’m happy it’s all good. Which is great no?
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Offline Arbutus

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« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2005, 10:27:48 pm »
All the other links up there seem to be really valuable. But, um... that LA Alternative Press article is really quite horrendous... it takes stabs at us in just about every possible way, and it would probably do a LOT more harm than good to anyone who used it to "come out," so to speak. I'd suggest it be taken off the list....

I do have something else to recommend, though-- the essay that first got me thinking seriously about the furry lifestyle and whether I might be a part of it. Here's Rabbiting On, written by Loganberry, who was a good friend of mine and who, I believe, used to hang around the forums until a few months ago.

Offline Kobuk

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« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2005, 10:52:33 pm »
Arbutus:  I've taken the LA Alternative Press article down temorarily until I have a further chance to read and review it.

Offline Kobuk

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« Reply #19 on: August 17, 2005, 07:19:04 pm »
In the General Furry Discussion forum, I wrote a thread titled "Possible new furry friend?". The link is here:
http://cgi.furtopia.org/cgi-bin....t=12123
On page 2 of that thread, I posted a email I sent to a person by the name of GrizzlyBear explaining to him what the fandom was about. Sporty Fox then suggested I post that email here as an example to other furs on how to possibly explain to other non-furry people what the fandom is about and so forth. You can use my email message as an example on how to write your own letter/email. I hope it helps.

Quote
Ok, In your past email to me, you asked "What is a furry?". Hopefully, this email to you should explain everything you want to know. The simplest explanation to start with is "Any person that enjoys, for whatever reason, anthropomorphic animals.". Anthropomorphic meaning, animals that have human-like qualities such as walking on two legs, talking, wearing clothes, etc. Such examples are Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and so forth. I guess I got the impression you might be a furry because of your username, you mentioned you like animals, and you posted that pic on MW of the bear. Sorry if I got the wrong impression of you.
But anyway, furries (That's what people are called who are into the Furry Fandom.) can also be interested in real animals as well as the anthropomorphic side. The reasons people are interested in anthropomorphic stuff is as varied as the people themselves. Furries come in a wide diversity of cultures and backgrounds. There are furries as young as 12 or as old as 60 (Also known as Graymuzzles.). They can be doctors, computer programmers, military perrsonel, etc. However, the vast majority of furs (Another word used to describe people in the fandom.) are relatively young and in their 20's. The whole furry fandom thing is basically a sub-genre of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy culture and did not go mainsteam until about the 80's/90's. The whole fandom encompasses a wide diversity of interests. There is artwork (IMO, at least 80% of the fandom is dedicated to this.), music, poetry, writing & literature, costuming (Wearing mascot suits, otherwise known as fursuits.), and gaming. As for why people get interested in the furry fandom, the reasons again are as diverse as the people themselves. Some people join simply for the love of the artwork and drawing anthro animals. Others tend to see it as a lifestyle of sorts. And still others tend to believe that they have in some way a spiritual connection with a chosen animal or believe themselves to be a animal trapped in a human body.
So now that I've given a brief explanation of what a furry is and what the fandom is about, you're probably wondering if I myself am a furry? Yes, I am. I joined the fandom back in November of 2003 and have been a fur ever since. As for why I got into the fandom, well, I'm not an artist and don't have any artistic skills but the main thing that caught my eye was the fursuiting aspect (animal costumes). I really can't say for sure why I like this aspect that much except to say that it looks absolutely fun and I would love to entertain adults and children at festivals, conventions, holiday events, etc.
If you want to know more about the furry fandom, here are some sample links to explain more about everything I've described:
 
The furry fandom tends to have various conventions dedicated to anthropomorphics. The largest and best is:
http://www.anthrocon.org/info.cgi/index
 
For an example of anthro artwork site, check out:
http://www.creativepaws.org/
 
Furs are also interested in costuming (fursuits) for conventions, parties, community events, etc. Most of the fursuits are hand built rather than store bought. For an example of fursuit costumes, check here:
http://www.mixedcandy.com/
 
For more info. and links to explanations of anything furry, try visiting this link here that I posted on a community forum.
http://cgi.furtopia.org/cgi-bin....t=10820
 
And if your curiosity still is getting the better of you, you can check into the furry community below which I am a member of. It's one of the best and friendliest furry communities ever.
http://www.furtopia.org/
 
« Last Edit: May 03, 2008, 06:32:48 pm by Blastdav »

Offline Inangus

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« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2005, 03:36:26 pm »
I draw furries (and lots of other stuff) a lot so I typically get people to look over my shoulder. Some of the people at school (as well as teachers) are strangely fascinated with them. That's kind of cool. I wonder what they're going to think this year though, when I show up wearing my bone-shaped dog-tag and the word "YARF!" printed on my bag.

I've never really experienced any real hostility at school for showing my "furry" side occasionally. Which you wouldn't expect seeing that I live in a very conservative area. The worst I ever get is someone telling me to stop drawing those "dumb animals" and draw something good, to which I respond with a smile and a clear and concise "[expletive] you. I'll draw what I wish, thank you very much."

Really, I don't see much hostility from "bad press" around here. People know that I'm easy to get along with and respectful as long as you do not cross the line of pissing me off.




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Offline GunSlinger

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« Reply #21 on: August 26, 2005, 08:17:57 am »
I'll just stick to furtopia for now ^.^ Always liked to not have too much known about me, and what is known people won't question too much *classic low profile I guess* anywho someday maybe, well most likely I will, but for now this works ':p' - gs
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Offline Nokomis

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« Reply #22 on: August 26, 2005, 09:41:31 am »
I'm totally open with my furry side (if anyone questions me) but when I explain, they don't seem to understand what I mean (well, my friend does, my relatives don't; but they don't listen to me properly....) but just let me get on with it anyway. When I bought my tail my mum didn't even care. She said I can wear it so long as I'm not out with her. xD S'all good. Since I don't think furs get any press around here, it's even more awkward trying to explain it because there's nothing to relate it to.

I'm not in the furry closet, but I'm not out of it either 'cause no one understands or cares about what I'm trying to explain.
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Offline Kobuk

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« Reply #23 on: December 05, 2005, 09:43:28 pm »
Pardon me for bringing my own thread back to the top of the forum, but while I was looking for threads about CSI for a seperate thread I was writing, I came across this old thread.....
http://cgi.furtopia.org/cgi-bin....t=10305
......which made me think about how furs are afraid to come out of the closet and why sometimes we are afraid to be furs, and so forth. I just thought that maybe I should put a link to it in this thread for furs to read. I found it quite informative and inspirational.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2008, 06:34:06 pm by Blastdav »

Offline Karizma

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« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2005, 10:16:11 pm »
If I had time this moment I would read them, but since I'm still quite new to the fandom as a whole I'm going to explore myself out a bit before I completely claim myself a furry. ':p'
Quote
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