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Hello Everyone!

On this week's podcast we open with a discussion on Twitter lists that propagate libelous information. How should you handle a situation when someone is falsely accusing you of doing something potentially illegal?

Our main topic is gaslighting. Gaslighting is when someone maliciously attempts to convince you that your perception of an event is false in order to manipulate you. This can take the form of calling you crazy, saying that you are wrong about something, or making you doubt your own memories. Oftentimes, this method is employed by people close to you, such as a partner, a parent, a teacher, or a boss.

If you are susceptible to these types of suggestions it can be incredibly damaging to your psyche. We discuss how to identify gaslighting and distinguish it from a genuine misunderstanding, then describe ways to defend yourself against gaslighting, including what to do when you realize that you are being gaslit. 

We also answer a listener question about how to tell a partner that you are in love with them, and how to challenge the gender norms that the man in a relationship has to be the first one to offer such a confession. What can a lesbian do?

We end with some feedback concerning our show and the bias that we, as hosts, have as (mostly) gay men. Are we intentionally excluding other genders or relationship styles when we offer advice?

For more information, including a list of topics by timestamp, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 018 Gaslighting - Can twitter lists be potentially libelous? What is gaslighting and how do you identify it in a relationship and mitigate against it?

old ep, was missing. Ep. 50 - Christmas Drunkcast! - old ep, was missing.

I love Martha Wash. What a voice she has (Yogi loved her, too). (Bonus points if you can tell me what famous duo she was once part of--without googling it or cheating). I kinda like the thought of making this the official theme song for "Ask Papabear." What do you think?

Today is the day! Our #documentary, Fursonas, is now available on iTunes https://t.co/UzdP1HXz82 #furryfandom pic.twitter.com/QAoUdWEqN1

— Fursonas (@FursonasDoc) May 10, 2016

Here’s one of those media events where a story catches on and gets a lot of coverage at once.  That used to happen very rarely.  Now it’s happening every month or so in 2016, “The Year of Furry.”  The director, Dominic (Video Wolf) is killing it with interviews and promotion.

• Newport Beach Film Fest: “A Furry Flick: The Beauty & Complexity of the Furry Fandom
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: ‘Fursonas’ explores Furry fandom and the media
• Radio podcast – Dominic on The Kevin & Bean Show
• The Daily Beast: “Exposing the David Miscavige of Furries” 
• Inverse: ‘Fursonas’ Documentary Illuminates the Beauty and Anger In Furry Culture
• Slug Magazine: DOMINIC RODRIGUEZ: THE PERSONA BEHIND FURSONAS
• Glamour: What’s a Furry? A New Movie Takes You Inside Their World
• Esquire: What It Means to Be a Furry
• Salon: “‘The Lion King’ is an extraordinarily sexual film”: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries
• Uproxx: ‘Fursonas’ Offers A Dark Portrait Of A Furry Demagogue, And Some Complex Insights Into The Nature Of Acceptance

Those headlines will make some whiskers twitch!  I think the movie isn’t made just to cause a stir. It’s an honest and well told story aimed at your brain and heart.  (More about this below).  For info from other furries, see these:

• Flayrah – Interview: ‘Fursonas’ documentary director Dominic Rodriguez (Video the Wolf)
• Dogpatch Press – ‘Fursonas’ beats Zootopia as most important furry movie, coming soon on Video On Demand.

 

Coming soon – a special announcement about Fursonas, with partnership between Dogpatch Press and a high profile special event.

 

First, see the movie with a Furry audience at Biggest Little Fur Con in Reno.

The show is Saturday 5/14, 1-2 PM.  From the con events schedule:

“Fursonas is a four-year exploration into the complexities of furry fandom. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January, where it received the Spirit of Slamdance Award for bringing positive energy into the festival. Since then, the film has shown in select theaters across America to both furry and non-furry audiences… This special screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director, Video.”

A fan comment says why Fursonas stands out as both a good Furry movie and a Good Movie:

“This film is like no other furry fandom documentary. Rather than focusing on just the innocent facade Uncle Kage puts the furry fandom behind, This film puts you into the minds of many different members of the fandom; furries who are well known and admired to ones who are criticized for their conceivably “unfavorable” lifestyles. You will be shuffled between opinions as you watch the film shift its tone, leaving you with mixed emotions and showing nothing but the truth. This film is undeniably worth the watch!” – (Caffeinated_water)

About those fur-raising headlines – just my opinion.

The movie is being characterized from some writers as a “whistleblower” piece, or a takedown story about dictatorship by Uncle Kage, the CEO of Anthrocon.

Yes and No.  There’s a lot more than Kage in it, but he serves as a focal point.

The movie does criticize how some furries’ personal expression has gotten the outcast treatment.  That’s paradoxical to acceptance.  But in my opinion, the judgy treatment represents community tendencies more than one guy’s domination.  He’s not a villain.

I sympathize with the movie.  I also respect Kage, especially with last year’s PR coup of getting a Furry parade celebrated on the streets of Pittsburgh.  I think he’s doing a job and his heart’s in the right place.  He also makes the same mistakes as the rest of us when saying personal opinions in official capacity.

I also think the movie’s criticism is fairly gentle, letting words speak for themselves.

“Exposing the David Miscavige of Furries”  compares Kage to a leader of Scientology.  I think that’s grossly exaggerated by that writer.  Furries aren’t a cult, nobody is forced to be here, and there’s little exploitation without real ranks.

Dominic was banned from Anthrocon for using con footage without permission.  Permission wouldn’t happen without giving up extreme editorial control over his work.  Con organizers have admitted not watching the movie when they made the ban.

On one hand, the ban make’s Dominic’s point. On the other hand, it’s not exactly dictating if they’ve been put in the position of needing to be strict.  Who’s most to blame for this?  Society!  If furries weren’t a target for misrepresentation, it wouldn’t be such an issue.  The con can’t just look the other way for one person, because “big media” could get away with more.

Dominic made a conscious choice to use footage against the rule.  I think his choice is legit to get his movie out, because his heart’s in the right place too. It reminds me of pirate radio vs. FCC regulation, or local craft food vs. the FDA. It’s not bad to have regulations – it’s bad when individuals can’t have freedom without overdone standards meant for big business.

Lastly, I think there’s more dubious cherrypicking by a writer here: “‘The Lion King’ is an extraordinarily sexual film”: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries.  That’s an unfortunate quote out of context.  But that kind of risk is just part of having something worthy to promote.  Check the interviews – I think Dominic is doing a fantastic job and not “scandalmongering” or discrediting people.

See the movie for yourself and make up your own mind.

For those who might have missed it, this is from Wikipedia: “Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, a former San Francisco, California lawyer. It chronicles the daily lives of five anthropomorphic animals: A Pig, a Rat, a Zebra, a Goat, and a fraternity of crocodiles, as well as a number of supporting characters. Pastis has said each character represents an aspect of his own personality and world view.” The continuing comic strip can be found over at GoComics. Now, Andrews McMeel Publishing bring us the latest Pearls Before Swine collection in trade paperback. “In I’m Only in This for Me, the Pearls gang dares to tell the hard truths that the country needs to hear: The importance of prioritizing cheese over everything else, the sadly ignored capacity of bears to solve all of life’s problems, and the crucial Recognition Gap between women in bars and semi-obscure cartoonists with delusions of grandeur.  But beneath all the selfishness, absurdity, bungling crocs, and bazooka-wielding ducks, Rat, Pig, Goat, and Zebra continue to find that friendship can make life warmer, humor can make stupidity less annoying, and cheese really does make everything way, way better.” Check it out over at Amazon. This new book also includes some special collaboration cartoons between Mr. Pastis and Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson.

image c. 2016 Andrews McMeel Publishing

Hi Papabear!

I'm going to be a little more serious today.

I've recently been feeling very down because I've been so jealous of other people's lives and social lives. It hurts me deep inside and makes me feel like I've done nothing and wasted everything that I've done. I work so hard but people don't notice that. I just want to live a normal life. I only have 2 good friends and that makes me pretty depressed. One of my friends is foreigner and her parents don't even know about me and they won't let her EVER go with anybody. My other friend is a bad girl. I say this because she cusses and gets Fs. Teachers tell me to get new friends but I truly can't. No one is as trustful as they are. My mom works all day until 9 so I never get to see her. Middle school is coming up and I don't know how I'm ever going to survive. I feel like a failure. It kills me everyday. 

Please help, Papabear! 

Cici (age 11)

* * *
 
Dear Cici,
 
There is a lot going on in this letter, not just one question. The issues include: 1) you are jealous of other people who, I guess, you feel are more accomplished than you and have better social lives; 2) you don’t feel you get the recognition you deserve for working hard; 3) you want a “normal life”; and 4) you worry you only have two friends, one with whom you can’t socialize openly and another that people say you should stay away from.
 
To really get a firm grip on what caused all this, Papabear would need to sit with you on the couch for many hours. So I must talk in generalities because I don’t know all the information for your specific problems.
 
Regarding jealousy: Jealousy is an ugly green monster that eats the soul. You must remember that there will always be someone who seems more accomplished, richer, smarter, better looking, more skilled, more admired than you. Therefore, it is fruitless to play the comparison game. It’s a true cliché that the only person you are really in competition with is yourself. Be the best Cici you can be. More importantly, be the best person you can be. Be kind and considerate and helpful to others in the world—from people to animals to plants to the planet itself—and you will have much to feel proud about. Also, examine why you feel jealous of these people. Are you being realistic? Perhaps they are more popular because they are shallow and focus on their appearance or just pretend to like others and are afraid to be themselves. Perhaps they are rich because mommy and daddy gave them unearned money. The list goes on. I can only speculate because I don’t know who these people are or why you envy them. Remember, though, jealousy only hurts you. Set your own goals and work towards them and don’t worry about what other people are doing.
 
I don’t know what you mean by “I've done nothing and wasted everything that I've done.” If you’ve wasted what you’ve done, then the first part of that sentence is not true because you actually have done something. Anything you do is something you can learn from and grow from, so it is never a waste. Mistakes are just as valuable as accomplishments if you learn from them. Set realistic goals for yourself, and then try to meet them or even exceed them. Take it one step at a time and don’t be discouraged if sometimes you have to take a step backward.
 
As for #3, I don’t think there is such a thing as a “normal life.” I don’t even know what that means. Everyone has a different life and a different story. Each life is unique. Normal is a myth. If you try to live your life by some artificial or mythical standard of “normal,” you will always be disappointed. Live the life you were meant to live that is unique to you, not some bizarre society standard.
 
Friendships. Friendships form because two people like each other for who they are. If you like these two people and they like you, then that is all that matters. If you wish to make more friends then the way to do that is to socialize with people, especially doing things that you have in common. Take an interest in their lives and who they are and they will reciprocate if they like what they see in you. Here’s a nice article with some helpful advice on making new friends: http://www.succeedsocially.com/sociallife.
 
Finally, your mom. I’m sorry she has to work so much and you don’t have much time together. How about on the weekends, though? Unless she works seven days a week, there must be some time there. And, if she is busy doing things around the house, spend time with her by helping her with household duties. Although this isn’t “fun time,” it is still “together time,” and she will appreciate the help, believe me. Then, those things will be done more quickly and she will have time to do something more relaxing with you.
 
And finally finally! Don’t be so hard on yourself. Start by not saying things like “I feel like a failure.” When you start to say something negative about yourself, stop. Pause. Then think of something you like about yourself, such as “I’m doing better with my classwork” or “I’m doing better making friends” or simply “I’m a good person who cares about other people.”
 
In summary: stop comparing yourselves to others, set your own goals and work towards them, and stop being so down on yourself.
 
Hope that helps.
 
Hugs,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Black Angel, by Kyell Gold. Illustrated by Rukis.
St. Paul, MN, Sofawolf Press, March 2016, trade paperback $19.95 (vii + 379 pages).

Black Angel is the conclusion of Kyell Gold’s Dangerous Spirits trilogy that began with Green Fairy (March 2012) and continued with Red Devil (January 2014). The three novels are a powerful mixture of spiritualism, drugs, and adolescent angst, shifting between centuries and societies. They are also set in Gold’s larger Forester University anthropomorphic-animal alternate universe, with clear parallels to our own. Each of these three is complete, but assuming you will like Black Angel enough to want to read the others, readers are recommended to start all three from the first.

Solomon Wrightson (black wolf), Alexei Tsarev (red fox), and Meg Kinnick (otter) are three very troubled seniors at Vidalia’s Richfield High School. All three have left home. Sol, who has just realized that he is gay, is constantly nagged at home by his father to excel at sports. Alexei, who has come from Siberia on a student visa, is concerned by the silence of his sister back home; he is sure that their parents are intercepting their mail. The mannish Meg has gotten her parents to let her move into a decrepit apartment to be an artist. Her apartment has become a social center for the three. Sol’s traveling into the past in Green Fairy, and Alexei’s being haunted by a ghost in Red Devil, may be due to external causes in those novels, or – as the rational Meg scoffs – it’s all in their imagination.

“Hi. I’m Meg. I’m nineteen, and I’m fucked up.

That’s not a big secret, by the way. Pretty much anyone who knew me from about fifteen to now would tell you the same thing. Only back then I thought it was a good kind of fucked up.” (p. 1)

She’s not so sure any longer. Sol and Alexei are moving out to grow in their own directions. Sol is going to college, and Alexei has to get his student visa extended. Meg considers herself more rational and mature than either of them, but she is also aware that she’s stuck in an adolescent rut while they’re moving on with their lives. So she’s glad to have the apartment all to herself when Sol and Alexei move out, but not sure what to do next.

In addition to being an Art Institute applicant, Meg takes commissions over the Internet for fantasy art.

“‘I need to get caught up with these commissions first. You know I need to do like ten of them a month to make rent and food.’ And booze and weed, but I left those as understood.” (p. 67)

She considers starting an online comic strip, using an idea she’s had since her childhood for a story about Marie-Belle, a young muskrat living in the bayous around New Kestle [New Orleans] in the past who wants to become a voodoo priestess.

A parallel story appears in Chapter 6. Meg suddenly has dreams of Hannah, an adolescent otter in a rigid future Christian society who chafes at its restrictions on women.

“I sat bolt upright in bed, convinced I was soaked through, heart still pounding. The dark room, as silent as when I’d gone to bed, still seemed to echo with the call from my dream, the name, ‘Hannah!’

I’d never dreamed that vividly before. The meds had given me some fucked-up nightmares, but nothing that coherent, nothing with smell and dialogue and hunger in my stomach and the heat of sun and the cool of water, that left me rubbing paws through my fur surprised that it wasn’t still wet.

A dream like Alexi and Sol had had.

I made sure that I wasn’t hallucinating something from my dream coming back to my bed, the way Sol had, but it didn’t make me feel better when I didn’t find anything. Alexei’s dreams hadn’t brought back anything except a ghost.

The good news is, my ghost is a fifteen-year-old otter girl, not a scary Russian soldier. I laughed at that and then clutched my sides, breathing hard, laughter turning shaky and hysterical. It was like I was listening to myself laugh and didn’t have any control over it.” (p. 53)

To further complicate the plot, at nineteen Meg is also very concerned about her own sexuality – or lack of same. Is she heterosexual? Homosexual? Bi? Asexual? Why doesn’t she feel any urges when confronted with good-looking young otters or animals of other species?

Black Angel turns into three parallel stories, each told in full chapters. Meg’s predominate, but those of Marie-Belle the muskrat and voodoo – or is it vodou, not voodoo?– in her comic strip, and of Hannah the otter and her Christian cult in Meg’s dreamworld, are so rich that the reader will forget about the larger story while reading those. Meg grows increasingly afraid that she can’t keep them from taking her over.

[Meg is walking with Athos, her grey fox friend who supplies her pot but who also seriously cares for her. They are discussing her comic strip.]

“‘But you know that,’ he said. ‘Your comic was in Colonial times, right?’

‘No. 1915,’ I said automatically.

He said something about the style of the houses and I replied that they were old houses, all the while thinking, how did I know the date that certainly? I knew it was about a hundred years ago, but then why didn’t I answer ‘1912’? Or ‘a hundred years ago’?” (p. 83)

As Meg is drawn increasingly into her dreamworlds, and objects from those dreamworlds appear in the real world to increasingly confuse her, her friends – Athos (fox), Alexei and Sol, Mike (sheep), Bellie (raccoon), Eve (another raccoon), Alain (fox), Sherine (weasel), and maybe someone (or something) from either Marie-Belle’s or Hannah’s worlds – try to help her, despite herself.

Not only is this an excellent story, it presents several vivid word-portraits of life in three anthropomorphic societies.

[Meg’s present world.] “So I went to the [city] pool. Not many otters there, because they mostly have pools in their houses, or they live in that big complex on the river and swim there. But about every other major species demographic was there: foxes, wolves, mice, rats, deer, squirrels, cougars, rabbits – a million god-damn rabbits – and even a few bobcats, playing against the water-hating stereotype. The pool blasted Neutra-Scent and today had added in a cut-grass smell that was supposed to make it feel like a backyard pool.” (p. 32)

[Hannah’s futuristic world.] “‘Go on. What’s going to happen to me in church?’ Hannah dove before Angeline could answer, plunging through the water toward the roots of the nearest cyprus. She knew Angeline could follow easily, but when she surfaced by the trunk, only a few otters remained in the church water, and Angeline was not one of them.” (p. 103)

Besides word-portraits, this contains ten full-page interior illustrations by Rukis. Black Angel is a fine conclusion to the Dangerous Spirits trilogy.

Black Angel Cover by Rukis

– Fred Patten

• Buy on FurPlanet

Say what you will about Uncle Kage, but at least the fursuit parade runs on time. This week Savrin and Fuzz discuss a somewhat bizarre article, the second one in the recent past, to compare the chairman of Anthrocon to a fascist. We then get to the business of answering 3 weeks worth of emails and tumblr asks. They're all over the map.. but stick around til the end, theres a DRAMATIC READING by Fuzz included. We have a Patreon if you’re so inclined- https://www.patreon.com/knotcast Episode 313 - Furry Mussolini

Hi

So here is my question 

I have been in the fandom for 5 yrs now and I am currently with a relationship who doesn't understand my fascination with it and I did explain it to him (he was very understanding) however when we got to the NSFW side. He kinda hit me with a block in the road and here it is.

Does being aroused by the anthropomorphic characters in erotic situation count as Zoophilia?. As I am and he is in no way attracted to animals in any way or connection but this had stumbled me as although they are in humanoid bodies and 99% percent of the time with human "junk" as well as sentient and is supposed to be considered humanoid in setting, they also have animalistic facial and physical characteristic so it left me wondering does it or does it not count as such since I have had other thoughts about it with similar beings like Minotaurs or Argonians. So in a nutshell , Is being aroused to erotic anthropomorphic/furry pictures considered a sign of/or Zoophilia?

It would be most helpful to pls lend us your expertise to help settle a question and help bring a couple closer together. Thank you in advance 
(Here is an example of what I am talking about: Note it is the Man like and a print from Blacksad to help yuo understand my question:

link 1 http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/werewolf-comparison.jpg
link2http://www.granitassocies.com/images/photos/jazz-n-fun-s-club-est-une-affiche-de-la-serie-blacksad-realisee-par-juanjo-guarnido-et-diaz-canales_6686.jpg http://bd-erotique.askell.com/Guarnido/05.jpg- this one is a little tasteful but is not meant to be NSFW)

Cricket Meister
 
* * *
 
Dear Cricket,
 
No, being a furry and being sexually aroused, even a little, by anthro characters is not the same as being a zoophile. Zoophilia is sexual attraction to actual animals, especially in the sense of actually have sex with them. Only a tiny percentage or fraction of a percent of furries would describe themselves as being into zoophilia.
 
There are many reasons for the attraction to anthros, which I will be discussing in detail in my upcoming book. It’s important to note that the sexuality of such pictures as you shared has to do with a significant amount of human characteristics. Furries are, basically, humans with animal features, and that’s not the same as animals by any stretch of the mind.
 
Hope that makes you feel better.
 
Furry Hugs,
Papabear

Action Labs Entertainment are now the official U.S. distributors of the Soft Spots line of toys — 36 colorful puppies for kids to collect. Now this month Action Lab is premiering a new Soft Spots full-color comic book series for young readers, written and illustrated by M. Alice LeGrow. “The Soft Spots toy line gets the Action Lab treatment as young Sophia learns lessons of friendship with her colorful cast of pets… the Soft Spots!” According to Previews, each issue comes bundled with one Soft Spot Puppy plush.

image c. 2016 Action Labs

“The Lion King’ is an extraordinarily sexual film”: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries

THE SALON: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries


Furries are adults who assume creative/fantasy identities and dress up in fur suits. They are often ridiculed for their behavior, which is, by and large, assumed to be sexual. The new documentary, “Fursonas,” available on VOD now, attempts to demystify members of this subculture by—ahem—fleshing them out as humans.

Directed by Dominic Rodriguez (himself a furry, a wolf named Video), the film introduces characters like Diezel, who found his inner furry by working as a mascot; Skye, who enjoys the friendship and dance competitions at furry conventions; Freya, a mother who hopes her young daughter will find the same appreciation she does in costume; Bandit, who sees furry-dom as a way to memorialize his dog; and Grix and Quad, a gay couple who are equally comfortable in suit and out.

Then there is Uncle Kage, a chairman at furry conventions, who manages the way furries talk to and are represented by the media. He criticizes Boomer, a furry whose outfit is made of paper, not fur, and who went to the extreme of trying to legally change his name to Boomer the Dog, which is also the name of his favorite TV show/character; Chew Fox, whose appearance on “The Tyra Banks Show” discussed a furry taboo (apparently being a furry is like being in Fight Club); and Varka, who provides sex toys to furries, but is now fursona non grata at conventions.

“Fursonas” gives these men, women and animals an opportunity to express their thoughts about perception, tolerance and rejection. Salon spoke with Rodriguez about his film, his fur fetish and this fascinating subculture.

“Fursonas” attempts to debunk the myths about furries. Why do you think there is such curiosity, or misunderstanding regarding this subculture?

I think that when Uncle Kage was on a panel at a convention (Anthrocon), there was an insightful comment about the media, who came and pried into the underbelly about furry meetings being about sex. Because of defensiveness in the community and that attitude, there is more of a stigma. There’s a reaction from the community that thinks that the media is out to get us. That’s why we have to share all these other sides of furries. Being a furry is a positive beautiful thing in furries’ lives. People who aren’t furries want answers. They don’t understand something that they aren’t a part of.

How did you get the approval to make this documentary?

It was not approved by Anthrocon. The Anthrocon media policy is that if you are going to shoot [footage] there, you have to show the finished film to the board of directors. They recommend changes, and if you don’t make those changes you have to take that Anthrocon footage out. We didn’t, because we disagree with that policy. It’s against the rule, but it’s not against the law. We’re not looking to make the furries or the convention look bad. Scenes of Uncle Kage at the convention are available on YouTube for free. We weren’t sneaking around; we wanted to show what was right in front of our faces.

What were your criteria for the Fursonas you showcase in the film?

At first it was about finding people who would talk to me. I didn’t know anybody in the community. I reached out to people with costumes. Not everyone has a fur suit. I think the costumes are cinematic, and that the furries who wear them are passionate. They invest money and time in their suits and I wanted to talk to passionate people. I sent out 100 emails, half the people responded, and half of them spoke to me. I traveled to meet folks, but Boomer lives 20 minutes from my house. I wanted to get diversity. I didn’t know much about these people and their lives until I met them. People like Chew Fox, Varka and Uncle Kage were more people I sought out because I wanted to tell their story.

What observations do you have about why people become furries? Is it infantilization? Fantasy/role playing by unleashing the inner animal? Is it a mask to increase confidence? Is it a sexual fetish? Or all of the above?

For many people it incorporates all of the above. But for plenty of furries it is one of the above. There is enough of a sexual component to the fandom it can’t be ignored, but I don’t know how many people are into it sexually. That is not something that people are comfortable talking about. Which is totally fair. There is an innocence brought to it because of the silliness of putting on a costume, running around and having adventures. There was never a scene in the film where we explain why this person does it. It’s not about the why, it’s about the who. It was important to get to know the people. I don’t have any definitive answer.

How did you become a furry, and what have your experiences been?

For me, I was interested in this since I was 12. I thought so much about what made me a furry. My experience is just my experience. It’s not reflective of all experiences. I feel like it has something to do with growing up with the Internet and being obsessed with movies and cartoons. “The Lion King” is an extraordinarily sexual film. When I found furry porn, that was it for me. It’s really beautiful. When I think of the question “Can porn be art?” I think furry porn is the answer. You humanize it and bring it into emotion. Videos of people fucking takes the humanity away. For me being a furry started as a fetish. I don’t know why anthropomorphized anatomy does it for me. As I worked on the movie, I got more into the scene and there are so many aspects that I enjoy. I wasn’t into fur suits at first, and then, when I met Grix, he owned that character and made it approachable and fun. There was nothing awkward about that, and that inspired me to get a fur suit.

What can you say about the difficulties of “coming out” as a furry, which is addressed in “Fursonas?”

When you ask, “How do you come out to your parents as a furry?”—you don’t have to. I understand why people want to be honest with themselves. I feel like I didn’t choose this. That’s how deep it runs for me. That’s why people feel the need to come out. It’s so in line with their identity. I’m lucky—I have a really awesome family. They have been supportive of me talking about these things. But not everyone has supportive people around them. I understand how Diezel might feel, keeping his furry life separate from his work life. The movie is important to show people expressing themselves, but also acknowledge the difficulties of that situation.

“I hate to bring this up,” as Uncle Kage says journalists will ask, “but what is all this about sex in fur suits?” Were you tempted to depict sex scenes with furries?

I think that is part of the fun for me as a director and revealing things to the audience that has preconceived notions, and playing with those. Someone says a line and it puts the image in your head. But I didn’t want to hold back, so I needed to show the indulgence of Varka with the cum lube. That’s my money shot.

There has been controversy in the furry community over Chew Fox’s appearance on “The Tyra Banks Show.” She said something that was harmful to the community, but truthful for her. What are your thoughts on what she did?

I think that Chew Fox was not trying to hurt anyone. The most important thing was her being honest about herself. People will say she was trying to throw us under the bus. I don’t agree with that at all. I’ve had to go into the media and now talk about being a furry. I’m now very self-aware. I wouldn’t go on the “Tyra Banks Show.” It’s an exploitative treatment of its subjects. Boomer made a point about that there is no bad media. No matter what it is, there is some truth coming through. So when he goes on “Dr. Phil,” it’s more about him being on the show. “They can do what they want,” he says, “It’s me coming through, there is some truth coming through.” Many furries have responded well, and there’s a difference between how [they and] non-furries respond. A furry who interviewed me thinks Chew Fox was delighting in upsetting furries, and that’s wasn’t obvious to me at all.

How do you think your film will play with furry and non-furry audiences?

I wanted to make something furries and non-furries can get something out of. As far as who is going to accept furries, if you’re going to watch it to laugh at them, I hope you will be moved by these stories. But there are people you will never convince, and that’s fine. I’m more interested in furries’ reactions. It’s played well with non-furry audiences. It’s meant to be about more than this community and where they are right now. I’m interested to see how it will play with furries because we’re all passionate about being furries. I was terrified when I showed the film at a recent furry convention, but so far, all the furry screenings have been extremely positive experiences. It has provoked thoughtful discussion. We’re having conversations, and dialogue is positive.
More Gary M. Kramer.

-Dia

“The Lion King’ is an extraordinarily sexual film”: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries

THE SALON: Inside the fascinating, misunderstood world of furries


Furries are adults who assume creative/fantasy identities and dress up in fur suits. They are often ridiculed for their behavior, which is, by and large, assumed to be sexual. The new documentary, “Fursonas,” available on VOD now, attempts to demystify members of this subculture by—ahem—fleshing them out as humans.

Directed by Dominic Rodriguez (himself a furry, a wolf named Video), the film introduces characters like Diezel, who found his inner furry by working as a mascot; Skye, who enjoys the friendship and dance competitions at furry conventions; Freya, a mother who hopes her young daughter will find the same appreciation she does in costume; Bandit, who sees furry-dom as a way to memorialize his dog; and Grix and Quad, a gay couple who are equally comfortable in suit and out.

Then there is Uncle Kage, a chairman at furry conventions, who manages the way furries talk to and are represented by the media. He criticizes Boomer, a furry whose outfit is made of paper, not fur, and who went to the extreme of trying to legally change his name to Boomer the Dog, which is also the name of his favorite TV show/character; Chew Fox, whose appearance on “The Tyra Banks Show” discussed a furry taboo (apparently being a furry is like being in Fight Club); and Varka, who provides sex toys to furries, but is now fursona non grata at conventions.

“Fursonas” gives these men, women and animals an opportunity to express their thoughts about perception, tolerance and rejection. Salon spoke with Rodriguez about his film, his fur fetish and this fascinating subculture.

“Fursonas” attempts to debunk the myths about furries. Why do you think there is such curiosity, or misunderstanding regarding this subculture?

I think that when Uncle Kage was on a panel at a convention (Anthrocon), there was an insightful comment about the media, who came and pried into the underbelly about furry meetings being about sex. Because of defensiveness in the community and that attitude, there is more of a stigma. There’s a reaction from the community that thinks that the media is out to get us. That’s why we have to share all these other sides of furries. Being a furry is a positive beautiful thing in furries’ lives. People who aren’t furries want answers. They don’t understand something that they aren’t a part of.

How did you get the approval to make this documentary?

It was not approved by Anthrocon. The Anthrocon media policy is that if you are going to shoot [footage] there, you have to show the finished film to the board of directors. They recommend changes, and if you don’t make those changes you have to take that Anthrocon footage out. We didn’t, because we disagree with that policy. It’s against the rule, but it’s not against the law. We’re not looking to make the furries or the convention look bad. Scenes of Uncle Kage at the convention are available on YouTube for free. We weren’t sneaking around; we wanted to show what was right in front of our faces.

What were your criteria for the Fursonas you showcase in the film?

At first it was about finding people who would talk to me. I didn’t know anybody in the community. I reached out to people with costumes. Not everyone has a fur suit. I think the costumes are cinematic, and that the furries who wear them are passionate. They invest money and time in their suits and I wanted to talk to passionate people. I sent out 100 emails, half the people responded, and half of them spoke to me. I traveled to meet folks, but Boomer lives 20 minutes from my house. I wanted to get diversity. I didn’t know much about these people and their lives until I met them. People like Chew Fox, Varka and Uncle Kage were more people I sought out because I wanted to tell their story.

What observations do you have about why people become furries? Is it infantilization? Fantasy/role playing by unleashing the inner animal? Is it a mask to increase confidence? Is it a sexual fetish? Or all of the above?

For many people it incorporates all of the above. But for plenty of furries it is one of the above. There is enough of a sexual component to the fandom it can’t be ignored, but I don’t know how many people are into it sexually. That is not something that people are comfortable talking about. Which is totally fair. There is an innocence brought to it because of the silliness of putting on a costume, running around and having adventures. There was never a scene in the film where we explain why this person does it. It’s not about the why, it’s about the who. It was important to get to know the people. I don’t have any definitive answer.

How did you become a furry, and what have your experiences been?

For me, I was interested in this since I was 12. I thought so much about what made me a furry. My experience is just my experience. It’s not reflective of all experiences. I feel like it has something to do with growing up with the Internet and being obsessed with movies and cartoons. “The Lion King” is an extraordinarily sexual film. When I found furry porn, that was it for me. It’s really beautiful. When I think of the question “Can porn be art?” I think furry porn is the answer. You humanize it and bring it into emotion. Videos of people fucking takes the humanity away. For me being a furry started as a fetish. I don’t know why anthropomorphized anatomy does it for me. As I worked on the movie, I got more into the scene and there are so many aspects that I enjoy. I wasn’t into fur suits at first, and then, when I met Grix, he owned that character and made it approachable and fun. There was nothing awkward about that, and that inspired me to get a fur suit.

What can you say about the difficulties of “coming out” as a furry, which is addressed in “Fursonas?”

When you ask, “How do you come out to your parents as a furry?”—you don’t have to. I understand why people want to be honest with themselves. I feel like I didn’t choose this. That’s how deep it runs for me. That’s why people feel the need to come out. It’s so in line with their identity. I’m lucky—I have a really awesome family. They have been supportive of me talking about these things. But not everyone has supportive people around them. I understand how Diezel might feel, keeping his furry life separate from his work life. The movie is important to show people expressing themselves, but also acknowledge the difficulties of that situation.

“I hate to bring this up,” as Uncle Kage says journalists will ask, “but what is all this about sex in fur suits?” Were you tempted to depict sex scenes with furries?

I think that is part of the fun for me as a director and revealing things to the audience that has preconceived notions, and playing with those. Someone says a line and it puts the image in your head. But I didn’t want to hold back, so I needed to show the indulgence of Varka with the cum lube. That’s my money shot.

There has been controversy in the furry community over Chew Fox’s appearance on “The Tyra Banks Show.” She said something that was harmful to the community, but truthful for her. What are your thoughts on what she did?

I think that Chew Fox was not trying to hurt anyone. The most important thing was her being honest about herself. People will say she was trying to throw us under the bus. I don’t agree with that at all. I’ve had to go into the media and now talk about being a furry. I’m now very self-aware. I wouldn’t go on the “Tyra Banks Show.” It’s an exploitative treatment of its subjects. Boomer made a point about that there is no bad media. No matter what it is, there is some truth coming through. So when he goes on “Dr. Phil,” it’s more about him being on the show. “They can do what they want,” he says, “It’s me coming through, there is some truth coming through.” Many furries have responded well, and there’s a difference between how [they and] non-furries respond. A furry who interviewed me thinks Chew Fox was delighting in upsetting furries, and that’s wasn’t obvious to me at all.

How do you think your film will play with furry and non-furry audiences?

I wanted to make something furries and non-furries can get something out of. As far as who is going to accept furries, if you’re going to watch it to laugh at them, I hope you will be moved by these stories. But there are people you will never convince, and that’s fine. I’m more interested in furries’ reactions. It’s played well with non-furry audiences. It’s meant to be about more than this community and where they are right now. I’m interested to see how it will play with furries because we’re all passionate about being furries. I was terrified when I showed the film at a recent furry convention, but so far, all the furry screenings have been extremely positive experiences. It has provoked thoughtful discussion. We’re having conversations, and dialogue is positive.
More Gary M. Kramer.

-Dia

Quite a packed show this week, filled with lots of links in our roundup, short news, a fantastic interview with one of our favorite furry creators and finally an email segment kicked off by a hysterical fan made animation.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Shia’s morning routine
• Fursuiter in Norway wins home makeover contest
• Fursuiters invited on stage during scottish band’s concert
• Izotope Audio Pro Essentials – What is Sample Rate?
• AshDingo is creating a trans documentary
• Majira’s Furry Puns
• Suspect in baltimore TV Stations bomb situation shot
• Little Skamp causes full minute of dead air on NPR take your child to work day
• New furry convention in Spain
• Zootopia wolf gets name – Larry

News:

• Exposing the David Miscavige of Furries
• Weasel Apparently Shuts Down World’s Most Powerful Particle Collider

Interview:

Fredrek Phox aka Matthew Gafford, creator of “A Fox In Space,” a fan made animated cartoon series about StarFox.

Kotaku: Star Fox Fan Animation Is A Love Letter To Classic Cartoons

Star Fox Animated Series Patreon Preview Video

Episode 1: A Fox in Space – S01E01 – “Don’t Call Me Star Fox”

Patreon: Patreon.com/AFoxInSpace

Twitter: @AFoxInSpaceShow

Picarto – https://picarto.tv/AFoxInSpace

KnowYourMeme: FredrykPhox

Watch Video Email:

• Enzo – “Fursuit Gay”
• Gladwin – “
• Faros Kalin – “Retiring my fursuit for the wrong reasons?”

FC-233 Landing Strippers - Quite a packed show this week, filled with lots of links in our roundup, short news, a fantastic interview with one of our favorite furry creators and finally an email segment kicked off by a hysterical fan made animation.

Quite a packed show this week, filled with lots of links in our roundup, short news, a fantastic interview with one of our favorite furry creators and finally an email segment kicked off by a hysterical fan made animation.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Shia’s morning routine
• Fursuiter in Norway wins home makeover contest
• Fursuiters invited on stage during scottish band’s concert
• Izotope Audio Pro Essentials – What is Sample Rate?
• AshDingo is creating a trans documentary
• Majira’s Furry Puns
• Suspect in baltimore TV Stations bomb situation shot
• Little Skamp causes full minute of dead air on NPR take your child to work day
• New furry convention in Spain
• Zootopia wolf gets name – Larry

News:

• Exposing the David Miscavige of Furries
• Weasel Apparently Shuts Down World’s Most Powerful Particle Collider

Interview:

Fredrek Phox aka Matthew Gafford, creator of “A Fox In Space,” a fan made animated cartoon series about StarFox.

Kotaku: Star Fox Fan Animation Is A Love Letter To Classic Cartoons

Star Fox Animated Series Patreon Preview Video

Episode 1: A Fox in Space – S01E01 – “Don’t Call Me Star Fox”

Patreon: Patreon.com/AFoxInSpace

Twitter: @AFoxInSpaceShow

Picarto – https://picarto.tv/AFoxInSpace

KnowYourMeme: FredrykPhox

Watch Video Email:

• Enzo – “Fursuit Gay”
• Gladwin – “
• Faros Kalin – “Retiring my fursuit for the wrong reasons?”

FC-233 Landing Strippers - Quite a packed show this week, filled with lots of links in our roundup, short news, a fantastic interview with one of our favorite furry creators and finally an email segment kicked off by a hysterical fan made animation.

Quite a packed show this week, filled with lots of links in our roundup, short news, a fantastic interview with one of our favorite furry creators and finally an email segment kicked off by a hysterical fan made animation.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• Shia’s morning routine
• Fursuiter in Norway wins home makeover contest
• Fursuiters invited on stage during scottish band’s concert
• Izotope Audio Pro Essentials – What is Sample Rate?
• AshDingo is creating a trans documentary
• Majira’s Furry Puns
• Suspect in baltimore TV Stations bomb situation shot
• Little Skamp causes full minute of dead air on NPR take your child to work day
• New furry convention in Spain
• Zootopia wolf gets name – Larry

News:

• Exposing the David Miscavige of Furries
• Weasel Apparently Shuts Down World’s Most Powerful Particle Collider

Interview:

Fredrek Phox aka Matthew Gafford, creator of “A Fox In Space,” a fan made animated cartoon series about StarFox.

Kotaku: Star Fox Fan Animation Is A Love Letter To Classic Cartoons

Star Fox Animated Series Patreon Preview Video

Episode 1: A Fox in Space – S01E01 – “Don’t Call Me Star Fox”

Patreon: Patreon.com/AFoxInSpace

Twitter: @AFoxInSpaceShow

Picarto – https://picarto.tv/AFoxInSpace

KnowYourMeme: FredrykPhox

Email:

• Enzo – “Fursuit Gay”
• Gladwin – “
• Faros Kalin – “Retiring my fursuit for the wrong reasons?”

[Live] Landing Strippers

IDW Publishing have a new full-color Disney comic miniseries coming out later this month: Disney Magic Kingdom Comics. “IDW’s Disneyland 60th anniversary anthology is here… collecting decades of Disney’s park-themed adventure comics! Carl Barks’ Scrooge McDuck travels from the Mark Twain Riverboat to a Beagle Boy battle; then Donald and Mickey investigate the strange disappearance of the Country Bear Jamboree!” Hmm, we’d like to solve that last one ourselves! Featuring works by Carl Barks, Thad Komorowski, Victor Rios, Don R. Christensen, Al Hubbard,  and Massimo Fecchi. Previews has more.

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

Pic: UltraGor

There was a hunt for a missing giraffe…

Zarafa is a furry superstar lately.  But he didn’t go looking for notoriety.  It happened one night after a show when his treasured purple giraffe fursuit was stolen from his car.  It led to community-wide support, and miraculous recovery of the suit. Now people recognize him on the street.

Credit is due to Neonbunny, the show DJ, for pounding the sidewalk to spread flyers.  How many promoters would do it for one show goer?  Dedication like that built a local scene for furry dance parties.

Finding the suit flipped around the loss to amazing extremes beyond Zarafa and a circle of furry friends.  The support drew notice from local media, and they found it irresistible to share:

• SAN FRANCISCO FURRIES NOW TARGETS FOR ROBBERY.
• Identity Theft: Furry Furious Until Stolen Suit Recovered.

The San Francisco Bay Area Furry scene drew a journalist from New York.

A new surprise came two months later.  Another news article covered Zarafa’s night out and loss of his suit.  The journalist had been on the scene, but not with intentions to write about drama like that.

Whitney Kimball originally contacted me through Dogpatch Press.  She was looking for leads for a story about older people who may have discovered Furry fandom in later life. (I told her the word was “greymuzzle”). I pointed her to Zarafa, Neonbunny, and Spottacus.

After my introductions, they handled the rest.  Whitney learned about Neonbunny’s “Furries vs. Drag Queens” dance party.  Soon she was flying from New York to San Francisco to be there.  (That’s dedication, right?)  I had nothing else to do with the resulting article (although I’m told the main graphic seems to show me in the background. Nice!)  It’s exciting to share it:

How the furry community rallied when Zarafa Giraffe lost his head – by Whitney Kimball.

It’s a kickass article, according to the feedback.  Have you read many others that talk about the “lightning bolts” you get from wearing a fursuit?  (It invited more interest too – Zarafa was then contacted by Zoomin TV, a euro outfit doing video news for niche channels.) Spottacus said:

‘This is wonderful… it sets the right tone, weaves several threads into a great story with exactly the right feeling, and captures the essence of what is going on inside the head inside the fursuit.”

One furry friend (and journalist in real life) had an interesting comment:

@Spottacus @DogpatchPress Also, Patch, this article needs to go in some type of Furry Hall of Fame. Do we have an award for media coverage?

— Zeigler IRL (@ZeiglerJaguar) April 25, 2016

Why don’t we have an award?

The Ursa Major award seems to be all for fiction, even if there’s an “other” category. Fred Patten is a member of the award committee.  He told me: “what to do about non-fiction works with regard to the Ursa Majors is being discussed.”  

Everyfur knows how the furry community regards the dreaded “THE MEDIA”. It starts with supersensitivity, and maybe a hate/hate relationship.  Attention from them seems to cause a defensive crouch with claws out.

But furries are in many ways created by the media. It’s an internet-based subculture of fans. With “The Year of Furry” happening, and furry movies blowing up the box office, I think it’s a good time to stop dancing around this frenemy.

The quality of Whitney’s article makes me want to do more than share. It made me talk about establishing an award because of the story. Whitney liked that:

“WOW, I think that is the most flattering feedback I have ever gotten in 6 years of writing!! Thank you for featuring the story, Patch, I really appreciate it! And I’m happy to hear that the news coverage is improving in general. That Vanity Fair piece was just godawful.”

If “the media” is mostly bad, reward it when it’s good.

If they’ve spread negativity before, it’s part of notoriety that now draws them back.  That’s a monster they helped to create.  Now the more interest grows, the more you have power to say “no” if they ask for access.  Making them work to do better would flip the dynamic.  It would be smart to own that power and award good attention.

Well written articles are coming with growing frequency. It makes me want to start a short list of the best. Here’s a few that I would list for special recognition:

• You Can’t Get Inside – by mouse at The Hooded Utilitarian.
• CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention – by Jennifer Swann at Vice.
• How the furry community rallied when Zarafa Giraffe lost his head – by Whitney Kimball at The Kernel.
• Fursonas Takes On the Secretive World of Furries—and the Movement’s Furrious Fuhrer – by Matt Coker at OC Weekly.

What do you think about an award name?  How should it be organized?  Who could pitch in? 

Look for a second article here soon about more spotlight on Bay Area Furries.

Just another day in San Francisco! @AlastairGSD, me, @ZantalScalie,& @chairoraccoon #FursuitFriday pic:@LoboLoc0 pic.twitter.com/lITrXqU4Wv

— Zarafa (@Zarafagiraffe) April 29, 2016

OMG! @LoboLoc0 does amazing work! A shot from our SF photoshoot last Sun,in front of the Painted Ladies of Alamo Sq. pic.twitter.com/R53FAGZzV4

— Zarafa (@Zarafagiraffe) April 23, 2016