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submitted by doctorskunk
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submitted by nareko
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I can almost pinpoint the time I realized that furry was just a slice of humanity as a whole, and not some special fandom elevated above the dregs of the world.  I think it came sometime in around 2007, and it probably happened in a text-only, electronic gay bar on the Internet (and I’m pretty sure it was while pretending to man-sized fox wearing a nice suit on the internet, but that’s a given).

The subject was girls.  In the Purple Nurple (t tpn on FurryMUCK), this comes up occasionally.  Being a gay bar of sorts, the e-bar tends to attract some very gay people.  Which is to say, it attracts everyone, but since it’s a gay bar, most people tend to gay it up pretty hard while there, and so when girls come up, reactions are pretty much as you’d exepct:

• The nice folk – a few who are probably a Kinsey 6, but most who are somewhere less than that – tend to just ignore the topic.
• A few who are feeling pretty snarky or eager to fit into the very-gay scene will pull the “ew girls!” card out and wave it around.
• The token straight guy will start “throwing people out the window”.
• Any girls present seem to fall into two categories:
  • Those with female players will likely roll their eyes. Whether they act that out on the MUCK or not is up in the air.
  • Those with male players will pout, get defensive, or say nothing, depending on why they’re pretending to be a female animal-person on the internet.

This sort of scenario seems to come up every once in a while in the Nurple, where females are mentioned in a sexual context among a group made up of primarily homosexual males; and that’s not a grammar gaffe: several homosexual males I’ve met online seem to base a large portion of their personality and social interaction on the fact that they’re homosexual.

While I don’t remember for sure, what I think happened is that I was dwelling on this as it was happening some time around early 2007.  It was a pretty introspective time of my life, with bits of college working out very well while others collapsed around me in ruins.  I was spending a lot of time reminiscing about high school and the way I had changed as I grew up.  When I was depressed, it would border on “where did I go wrong?”, and when I wasn’t, it tended towards “how did I get here and how can I get where I want?”. It was the romantic, introspective springtime of youth that all young foxes must go through at some point or another.

During high school, I had been part of a support group of sorts, OASOS: Open and Affirming Sexual Orientation (and gender identity) Support.  It was a group organized by the Boulder County Health Department, and was made up almost entirely of young men and women trying to find the easiest way to fit into their imagined roles of gay and lesbian, or, more accurately, GAY and LESBIAN.  One of the defining moments of my life came from this group when I met a female-to-male transgender guy by the name of Michael.  The reason this was a defining moment in my life (and part of the reason Michael and I started dating) was because it helped me to understand the difference between sex and gender, and more importantly, how that changed my outlook on how these young GAYs and LESBIANs were acting within their stereotyped roles.

Something clicked inside, that day in 2007 as I was sitting in a fake gay bar on the internet populated with fake animal people. Being somewhere less than a Kinsey 6 myself, I was one of the ones who kept quiet, and as I watched, I realized that this was OASOS all over again.  These were almost all GAY young adults saying “ew, girls” while the STRAIGHT young adult e-threw them out the i-windows.  Those in the Nurple who I had perceived as basing a large portion of their personality on the fact that they were homosexual were really no different than those at OASOS struggling to do exactly the same thing (though, being older, those in the Nurple were probably a little less fraught with hormones and acne – but maybe not, who knows).

I feel it’s important that I say that I love all the wonderful people I’ve met online and in the Nurple especially, and I really don’t mean to cast aspersions on those who hold true to the Kinsey 6s and 0s out there.  My point here is that society contains several sets of roles that, in the western world, tend toward heteronormative. My discovery those years ago was that these roles existed through all of western society and permeated even into my messy little fandom – furries really were just a slice of society as a whole, trying to carve themselves a new, more exclusive role.  Perhaps this change in my perception began even sooner, though, and the shift in thought was more the final step after a long build-up.

I had been to a few conventions by this point – I believe AnthroCon ’06 and FurtherConfusion ’07 – as well as a few considerably large parties down in Denver and the normal weekly furmeets.  When I had stopped hanging out with furries solely online and moved my interaction to real life as well, perhaps that’s when my slow realization began.  It was undeniably fun to head out with a group of people who wore tails and ears, who made their stupid noises and were overly affectionate in public (if not to me, than certainly to the non-furs around us).  It felt good to belong to this exclusive group with shared interests and ready conversations.

After I’d suffered my sea change, however, the boundaries between our little (or big) groups and the world around us started to blur, for me.  I saw the same societal currents moving within the fandom that were moving in the world around me, and I began to see furries more as a group of mostly middle class, mostly western, mostly young adults.

The changes in perspective were subtle at first.  ”Perhaps furry is just more welcoming of the misfits and the minorities than other groups,” I thought.  ”Maybe the preponderance of homosexuality within the fandom is due to the more liberal attitudes therein.”  Over time, however, these views have changed, though only slightly.  I feel it would be more accurate in both cases to put the sentiments in the subjunctive mood: “Furry wants to be seen as more welcoming of the misfits and minorities than other groups”; “The preponderance of homosexuality in the fandom is due to the liberal attitudes the fandom wants to be perceived by the outside world.”

This, of course, makes it all seem a little sinister, though it’s nothing of the sort.  This is just the politicking that happens with any subset of humanity in order to increase its chances of survival.  If the western world as a whole is shifting towards more liberal attitudes towards homosexuality and minority groups, then a group can “get ahead” by being perceived as having liberal attitudes those things.  The fandom is really just like the rest.

I see this same thing played out time and again within subsets of the community around different issues.  Recently, our local furs went through something of a upheaval due to the very same gender issue as above.  There have been  issues surrounding the use of one site over another, issues over those who like fursuits and those who don’t, and even within that, issues between those who like fursuits with certain holes and those who don’t.  It’s even been claimed that the fandom is more drama-filled than any other group or the society as a whole; a claim that’s easily debunked by listening to an episode of This American Life (really, just pick any one, it doesn’t matter!) or by watching any news around election season.

Our only real claim to uniqueness is that we do tend to be more interconnected than most other groups of people.  Currently, I would hazard a guess that furry is much more interconnected than most other social groups, thanks to the internet.  However, if you had asked me that five years ago, I would’ve suggested that it be twice as interconnected.  This is an arms race we’re going to lose, and that’s okay.  We really don’t need to be different or better or more distinct than other social groups; we’ve cemented our place in western society already and our little supposed enclave is secure for the foreseeable future.  Just that we’re all just like the rest, is all.

I am building a fursuit and it is time to get some fur. Where are some good places to get quality fur that wont kill my wallet?

submitted by Ragingsquism
[link] [21 comments]

submitted by toribue
[link] [8 comments]

Okay here’s a different take on things: Mr. Foot, aka Bigfoot, is a sasquatch private eye. Having received a letter from his long-lost brother Yeti, Mr. Foot enlists the aid of his friend The Jersey Devil to fly him to the arctic — only to find that Yeti has been beheaded. Now the reluctant Mr. Foot must bring together his old gang of cryptozoological friends — including Nessie and the Megaladon (or giant shark) and others — to find the killer and bring them to justice. It’s all there in Footprints, a new black & white comic book series from 215 Ink. It’s written by Joey Esposito (the comic book editor for IGN Publishing) and illustrated by Jonathan Moore (FUBAR). Alternative Magazine On Line has an extended preview of the comic up on their web site.

image c. 2011 Jonathan Moore

submitted by 123not-it
[link] [24 comments]

submitted by Nicodimus27
[link] [6 comments]

submitted by 97bluelights
[link] [15 comments]

submitted by ShifterKei
[link] [18 comments]

submitted by BadWolf_
[link] [9 comments]

I play Battlefield 3 on PC. I'm looking for some furry servers to play on and some furry platoons to join.

Anyone other furry redditors playing this game?

submitted by skrowl
[link] [1 comment]

submitted by Rodent38
[link] [1 comment]

submitted by 123not-it
[link] [6 comments]

submitted by musicmage4114
[link] [6 comments]

Author: mbulsht 

By rights, this little entry of mine should be posted next Monday, as part of my weekly “Quotes” series, but it was addressed to us on Ponychan for this particular day. As it was anonymously posted, I cannot speak to its validity. But in spite of that, I would like to share it with you anyway, as it is well written, and a very moving story. Here are the words of an anonymous poster on Ponychan.………………………………………………………………………………….

“I have a sad but heartwarming story of friendship and magic, bronies…

Every so often, I volunteer in my city’s Children’s Hospital and provide some youthful fun to the young kids there. A while ago, I developed a good friendship with this ten year old girl named Sarah. She’s simply adorable, but she was fighting cancer. She’s a First Nations girl, and her parents gave her up, essentially not wanting to deal with her intensive care. When she hasn’t been in the hospital, she’s been in an orphanage. I came to be something of a big brother to her, and she was another little sister to me. We’d tell each other jokes, play games, and talk about what happened that day.

One day, I asked her if she could keep a very important secret. She eagerly said “Of course!” I told her I was a brony. She laughed so hard, people in the wing turned to look at us and ask what was so funny. True to her word, she replied with the usual “nothing”. She told me she had never seen the show and couldn’t understand how I, a guy twice her age, could like a girl’s show. So I did the only thing I could think of; bring my laptop to the hospital and watch My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic with her.

We watched all the episodes together, and discussed our favorite ponies. I couldn’t help but be rather somber when she told who her favorite was. Sarah’s favorite pony is Pinkie Pie, and let me tell you why. Sarah told me that Pinkie Pie was her favorite because she helped her face her fear of dying. Pinkie taught her to laugh when she was afraid or sad, and to always keep your chin up when you’re feeling down. It was her birthday about a month ago, so I bought her a Pinkie Pie pony from Toys ‘R Us (I got so many weird looks in the store). She was feeling really sick that day (from chemo), but her face lit up when she opened the box to see a brand new Pinkie Pie. Her Pinkie Pie, to help keep her safe and happy. She told me it was the best gift she had ever gotten in her entire life.

The last time I saw her was six days ago, just a few days before my birthday. She had been getting worse with each month, but she was always happy to get a visit from me. This time was different. She was hooked up to more equipment that usual, and couldn’t even sit up. She gave me an early birthday card, which had a hand drawn Fluttershy inside. She also gave me a balloon she had received from an orderly. I asked her how she and Pinkie Pie were doing and she just smiled weakly at me and said that they were doing great, even though she knew she was getting worse. I told her I would come visit her on Monday for Halloween and give her some candy if she could stomach it. She smiled again, and said she looked forward to seeing all the costumes around the hospital.

I got a call today that I knew would come, but had always dreaded. Sarah had passed away. When I got off work, I just sort of stumbled around in a daze, got on the bus to the hospital, and practically sleepwalked into the hospital. I finally came to Sarah’s room, which was now empty. No more Sarah. The bed had been made, and most of the medical equipment moved. I wondered if I had entered the wrong room, but I knew it was the right one. As I walked out holding back tears, a nurse called out to me. “Excuse me sir, are you Anon?” I told her I was and she told me heavily that Sarah had passed away. I told her that I was aware, but had hoped to say goodbye at least. The nurse then brought me to her desk telling me that Sarah had left me something.

I saw Sarah’s Pinkie Pie lying there on the desk.

The nurse told me that shortly before Sarah died, she asked her if I had stopped by and referred to me as her brother. Sarah told her I was indeed her brother, but that I was going to see her on Halloween. Sarah passed away with Pinkie Pie in her hand, and the nurse said it felt right that I should have it as a memento.

I’ve rarely cried so hard in my life.

I’m looking at her Pinkie Pie right now, looking back at me. It’s comforting to know that this pink little pony helped get this girl through something I cannot even begin to understand or know how to deal with. All I ask is that when you all are out trick or treating or partying on Halloween, please do so in honor of Sarah. She wasn’t a sister by blood, but she was my sister in spirit, and ponies have helped us in the darkest of times.

Love and tolerance.”

-Anonymous

……………………………………………………………………………………

Friendship is indeed magic, bronies. Tonight I raise my celebratory Halloween glass in honor of Sarah.

-Ben Sims
(mbulsht)

Find the full article here: BronyShow

I've always felt like I wanted to be something different, I guess you could call it more animalistic, and I think this is where I belong...

Though I'm not sure. I imagine myself as a cat-person. Not fully a cat, and definitely not completely human. I'm not sure what the norm is around here, but I don't like the idea of a full furry suit (for myself-what ever anyone else likes is their own business). I envision myself as a humanoid with cat-like (specifically lion) augments to my person.

Part of the real reason I'm joining an online community is that my friends (my pride) are going to be graduating and leaving me this spring and I have no idea how to meet new people.

So if there is anyone out there looking to add a new lioness into their pride/pack/herd/what-have-you, drop me a comment or a message, it will seriously make my day and possibly earn you a life-long friend.

submitted by kittycatclaws
[link] [23 comments]

We're the only girls who put on MORE clothing than usual for Halloween!

[Edit- sorry for the Karma-whoring. That thought just struck me as funny. Thanks for all the compliments! :D Been a little down lately looking for work, I needed the boost! You guys rock! :3 )

submitted by ChatGarou
[link] [38 comments]

Part two of Episode 10 - due to TK, er, Technical hicKups that is ... Starring TK, Xavier, and Eeve3. TigerTails Radio - Season 6 - Episode 10 - Just Before The NaNo - Part Two