Oh, dear. *grin* Bee? Do we have any notes from the panel? This is going to take a while. :)
I should really let Bee have first shot at this, but I can't pass up the chance. :) The shortest version I can muster is yes, it's the same furry that people make jokes about on Usenet, but it's Not What You Think. :)
Furry started out as a fairly innocuous movement of indie comic artists drawing sci-fi/fantasy stories with humanoid animal characters. It morphed, over time, into a sci-fi fandom a bit like the Trekkies... over a dozen large online roleplaying forums... an unusually noisy and ill-tempered newsgroup, even by Usenet standards... an alternative spirituality movement with (tenuous) ties to totemism and lycanthropy... and somehow, seemingly inexplicably, a sort of fantasy-based, mostly VR, alternative sexuality. All these groups are under the "furry" banner now; not everyone who calls themselves furry participates in all these activities, or even necessarily gets along with those who do.
As for the sexual aspect, well, um, yes. For various complicated reasons, furry is a very sexually open fandom, with disproportionately large overlap with the gay and BDSM communities. But some media outlets have tried to portray furry as first and foremost a sexual fetish, or even specifically as a fetish for having sex in animal costumes or with stuffed animals. Neither of these is true. These things do happen, but they're not defining "furry" activities by any stretch of the imagination. Most furries just... don't. :)
Many furries, like me, are physically attracted to the idea of sentient, humanoid animals, but the reasons for that are complicated and, once again, probably Not What You're Thinking. :) The overwhelming majority of furries know they're just dealing with fantasy creatures.
I think in many cases it's not their animalistic traits, per se, as much as the potential for experimenting with new bodies and expressing yourself through something evocative, wild, and a little mystical. At least, that's how it is for me and most of my friends who are involved with this strangeness.
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Date: 2002-10-09 11:11 am (UTC)I should really let Bee have first shot at this, but I can't pass up the chance. :) The shortest version I can muster is yes, it's the same furry that people make jokes about on Usenet, but it's Not What You Think. :)
Furry started out as a fairly innocuous movement of indie comic artists drawing sci-fi/fantasy stories with humanoid animal characters. It morphed, over time, into a sci-fi fandom a bit like the Trekkies... over a dozen large online roleplaying forums... an unusually noisy and ill-tempered newsgroup, even by Usenet standards... an alternative spirituality movement with (tenuous) ties to totemism and lycanthropy... and somehow, seemingly inexplicably, a sort of fantasy-based, mostly VR, alternative sexuality. All these groups are under the "furry" banner now; not everyone who calls themselves furry participates in all these activities, or even necessarily gets along with those who do.
As for the sexual aspect, well, um, yes. For various complicated reasons, furry is a very sexually open fandom, with disproportionately large overlap with the gay and BDSM communities. But some media outlets have tried to portray furry as first and foremost a sexual fetish, or even specifically as a fetish for having sex in animal costumes or with stuffed animals. Neither of these is true. These things do happen, but they're not defining "furry" activities by any stretch of the imagination. Most furries just... don't. :)
Many furries, like me, are physically attracted to the idea of sentient, humanoid animals, but the reasons for that are complicated and, once again, probably Not What You're Thinking. :) The overwhelming majority of furries know they're just dealing with fantasy creatures.
I think in many cases it's not their animalistic traits, per se, as much as the potential for experimenting with new bodies and expressing yourself through something evocative, wild, and a little mystical. At least, that's how it is for me and most of my friends who are involved with this strangeness.