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Papabear,

Am I just messed up in the head? Are furries like me messed up? I wish I was an anthro a lot. Does this make me screwed up? I already have lots of mental problems like schizoaffective disorder and it would suck if this meant that I'm even more messed up.

Anonymous

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Hello, Fellow Furry,

Good question, and one you usually get from mundanes, not furries—to wit: Do you have to be crazy to be a furry? Does having the urge to be a really anthropomorphic animal make you insane? I suppose, if it does, yours truly is certifiable. I think I would feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin if I looked like this IRL (art by Kleinbar). I mean, yum, hehe.

Part of this, a big part, I must admit, is my general dislike for the human race as a whole (although, not on an individual basis). This has sometimes been labeled “speciesism.” Psychologist Richard Ryder coined this term in 1970. What he was talking about, though, was human beings’ attitudes toward other animals on our planet being “only animals,” and, therefore, it was okay to kill them, ruin their habitat, and hunt them even to the point of extinction.

But, in furries, it is almost the opposite, where you get people who have a low opinion of Homo sapiens (hence, the origin of calling non-furries “mundanes”). Sometimes, this is a way for furries with low self-esteem to feel better about themselves because they are not ordinary humans. Sometimes, it is just a generalized misanthropic urge.

Then there is the fact that many furries simply find anthropomorphized characters very very attractive (hence the emergence of furporn). I, personally, have always thought a muzzle was more attractive than a flat face, that a nice, dense pelt of rich fur was beautiful, and that poofy tails are gorgeous. As a kid, heavily influenced by Disney films, of course, I wished I could jump through the screen at the movie theater and be a talking bear or wolf.

I believe, too, that many furries retreat into such fantasies because their real lives are very difficult and fantasy is a good escape that relieves tension.

Any or all of these might be true with you, take your pick, but none of them make you crazy. You know what crazy is? Crazy is the inability to perceive reality as it actually is and to make illogical choices in one’s life based on that skewed viewpoint. For example, someone believing he is the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte, dressing up as a French general from the early 19th century, and then believing he is on a horse directing troops at Waterloo is crazy. Crazy is thinking that there is a demon from Hell talking in your head telling you to murder people. Crazy is Don Quixote trying to kill a windmill with his lance because he believes he is a knight fighting giants.

If you have a firm grasp on reality, if you know who you are, recognize the people and the world around you for what they are, then no, you are not crazy.

Now, you mention you have schizoaffective disorder, although you don’t explain if it is the depressive or bipolar type—no matter. There is a reason I and the professional community say “you have schizoaffective disorder” and not “you are crazy.” Because you are not crazy. You are suffering from an imbalance that causes serious mood swings, but you are not crazy.

There are many many many people out in the world leading productive, happy lives who are furries. There is nothing wrong with them; they are just into something that they get a lot of fun and pleasure out of. You should feel free to do the same.

Hope that answers your question.

Hugs,

Papabear

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hey guys, finally got around to cleaning up my massive 2 part comment from /u/icetail's thread "tomorrow you wake up as your fursona, what is the first thing you do?"

as noted by the Writers notice a few things have changed from the original, but the overarching story is still the same.

anyways here's a google docs document with it written in and corrected aswell as footnotes for explanations

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I've been sitting awkwardly on the edge of the fandom for the past, ohhh, 4 years? I never ruffled any feathers or drew attention to my interests in fear of being outed, so I never really expressed myself as a furry - but earlier last week I ordered myself a tiger onesie. I sit here typing to you guys and gals with a giant grin on my face wearing this god damn amazing outfit that was just delivered this morning. It just feels... right - and its the first time in a long time that I've felt this comfortable being a furry, both metaphorically and literally.

I know it doesn't sound exciting, but I just really wanted to share this with you. It's one small step for man, but one giant leap for furrykind :3

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So a little backstory first. For the past few years ive been a lurker on 4chan and ive grown to just agree with the opinion of everything. That includes the hatred for furries. I didnt even talk to or learn about it I just went with the popular opinion. I want to apologize entirely because today changed everything I think about furries. I was at kami con and furries were there well I was having a really bad day like right this second im considering an hero bc my life is hell but I wont forget what happened. I was sitting with one of my best friends who was breaking down bc of some asshole and I wasnt having a good day what so ever so we went to just talk to random people and my friend said fuck it lets go talk to the furries and I was like screw it might as well. So we ended up talking to them and they have treated me more like a human being than my own family has in months. They were so kind and accepting even though they knew I didnt like them at first. I have never felt more accepted or wanted by a group of people in my life. I am even considering joining the fandom just for the possible friendships I may make. Im a straight 19 yo guy btw.

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I've seen a lot of posts about things you can wear as a furry to show that you're a fur. Collars are good examples of symbols but might be misunderstood ("Are you into BONDAGE?!!"). Necklaces are a good choice, but there are a lot of necklaces are mass produced, so you don't get the same feeling of uniqueness that you could get.

Recently I was on easy and I foundthis seller. They make high quality hand carved necklaces out of stones (Obsidian, Amethyst, Lapiz), and can be custom made. They have alot of wolf and owls on there, but I'm sure they would make other animals if you contacted them.

I recently purchased a custom obsidian wolf from them and it is amazing. Not too small or too big, and it looks great, the only problem is the price. Mine was dropped from 120$ to 90$, but they have a few that go to a couple hundred. Some may say thats expensive, but its one of a kind and will be a unique and special "token" for you to show you're furry.

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I was listening to some Of Monsters and Men today and I realized that the first track on the album My Head is an Animal is kinda furry. Here's a Spotify link to the song, if you want to listen.

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Hey, I'm new to all of this (youngfur, is that the term?) and I was wondering if there was something subtle I could wear at school, etc to show my membership. I've heard of collars, are those good? No one around me really suspects that I'm a furry, even my close friends and my family (My parents actually have an adverse hate for us). Maybe something that other furries will get, but not the general population. What do you guys wear to subtly show the hint that you're a furry?

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What it says on the can; Put your reference below and I'll draw you a sketch of your fursona. I just need some subjects for examples so this will do. You could also PM me if you don't want your stuff public for whatever reason. Go go r/furry!

[Edit] Reminder it MIGHT TAKE a while to get through these. [EDIT2] Closing these for now so I can get through, last poster was markhamgoalie

[edit]3 I definitely missed you if you PM'd me so I'm getting to those tomorrow!

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Furfunding Week in Review 2-16-14

This week’s illustration is from the kickstarter for Migration by Jeo Cannon 

Patreon continues to be a popular destination for fandom content providers. At some point I need to redress how best to feature Patreon projects and pages, they’re getting to be a bit like tribbles, piling up everywhere! Ach :)

This week’s reviews: The all-minotaur tabletop RPG “The Clay that Woke” and steampunky goodness with “Brick Port Dogs.”

On an unrelated note, I’ll be giving the “Crowdfunding for furries” panel at Furry Fiesta this Saturday! Please stop by and say “hi” if you’re in the area! I’d also welcome the input of an experienced crowdfunder at the table :)

Reviews New Projects

For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page and the Patreon Page!

Art

The Hungry Wolves: An Illustrated Book (Ends: 3/12/2014)
A story told in haunting illustrations featuring dreamlike and frightening images of nature and animals (particularly wolves…)

Caribou Ink’s Comics and Art (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Art and webcomics by Caribou Ink

Books/Print

Freethinker’s Book of Fables (Ends: 3/4/2014)
A collection of illustrated fables grounded in modern reasoning and critical thinking
I need to call out the image of the squirrel prophet worshipping a statue of one of the Three Muskateers as particularly life-changing.

Comics/Graphic Novels

Poppy O’Possum (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
A biweekly webcomic recently started by Morbi and crowdfunding on Patreon.
Patreon: The “P” is also for “Possum.”

Animatics (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Awkward bromance and wolf-on-ungulate drama on DeviantArt
I can’t find the actual webcomic. It must exist somewhere. Anyone?

Anthronauts (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Quirky and colorful sci-fantasy webcomic by Nixieseal

Brick Port Dogs (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Webcomic and graphic novel work in progress set in a magic-touched, steampunk version of Portland, Maine, by Glowcat

Inhuman (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
The “Inhuman” sci-fi webcomic by Not-Fun

Costumes/Clothing

Naughty Pups (Ends: 3/8/2014)
Puppy play props, tees, wristbands, and toys
Hmm…it’s kind of like someone made a vaguely naughty fandom about dog-based leather play, and farmed the props out to Cafepress. I like the rainbow paw print tee though.

Film/Animation/Theater

Medicine of the Wolf (Ends: 3/13/2014)
A beautifully-filmed documentary about our changing relationship to wolves

Tabletop Games

The Clay That Walks (Ends: 3/15/2014)
A moody and mythical tabletop RPG of a race of enslaved minotaurs in a Mesopotamiam wilderness
By the maker of “My Life With Master“, the “Igor, Bring me the Brain!” Indie RPG

Migration (Ends: 3/15/2014)
A board game of colonization and exploration in the “Settles” German board game mode

Web

Face.Rig.US Fansite (Ends: 2/26/2014)
A fan-made forum for Facerig, with lots of custom characters.
Not affiliated with the original Facerig project, BTW!