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Dear Papa Bear,

A friend of mine has recently discovered that he's bisexual, and because I was basically the first friend he had in the fandom, he turns to me for advice regarding his sexuality, among other things.

He's also been raised as a Christian from a Roman Catholic family. They haven't actually been to church for a while, but by the sounds of it, they do hold their faith dear to their hearts. Also, he told me that no matter what anyone tells him, he knows that "god loves him no matter what", so he clearly doesn't have any problem with being both a Christian and bi.

Unfortunately, his mother does. I'm not sure how, but she's discovered that he's a both furry and bisexual, and she's not happy about him being either. He told me that beforehand, she continuously told him that she loved him. Now, even though he told her all the right things when she wanted to know what being both furry and bi meant, she didn't want to believe any of it. And now, whilst he hasn't been kicked out of the house, it did result in him telling her he was planning to move out in the next few years.

Still, I gave him what advice I could, like suggesting that he should give her some time to come to her senses and perhaps realise he's still the same son she raised, as well as offered him countless links to organisations and helplines I thought he'd find useful (including one forhttps://www.gaychristian.net , just in case you were thinking of putting their link in your reply)

When I asked whether or not she believed sexuality was a choice, he told me that she thinks the fandom has made him bi. Whilst this is, of course, a ridiculous thing to believe, I didn't know how to answer. I told him that being a furry doesn't transform someone into being gay, bi, or whatever, and he completely agrees, but I didn't know what to say to back it up. Whilst I'm for certain that there have been clues in his past to say he likes both sexes, he's only discovered and accepted his sexuality since joining the fandom, so I didn't know what I could say that would prove the fandom hasn't made him this way.

So, my question is this... what can he tell his mum which will help him to defend the fact that he hasn't 'become' bi since joining the fandom, and that the way he feels is a perfectly natural way to feel?

Also, if you don't mind a small question on the side (pardon me for breaking your 'one question per letter' rule), I was thinking of writing an open letter to his mum as an attempt to give her a wake-up call. Would you recommend this? I want to tell her how I feel, but I don't want to accidentally make matters worse.

For a friend in need,

Charleston

* * *

Dear Charleston,

A very controversial and difficult topic is this. My own personal beliefs on it are actually still evolving somewhat. If you don’t mind a kind of wishy-washy answer, my current thinking is this when it comes to nature vs. nurture: it’s a bit of both. The debate has been ongoing among biologists, anthropologists, psychologists and other professionals forever and a day.

On the one paw, it is clear that nature created two sexes for human beings and that the purpose of this is for the two sexes to get together, mate, and produce offspring (it’s also true that this is not the only natural model for reproduction). It is, furthermore, true that sexuality exists not just for breeding but also for social bonding, which is why it is okay to have sex without necessarily having a goal of popping out a kid.

Another thing that is true is that homosexuality is found in nature. Some scientists theorize that the percent of homosexual animals in a species’ population increases as population increases (i.e., it is a method for keeping population explosions from occurring). To irritate a right-wing person, you might ask them if they think some whitetail deer “choose” to be gay (if they say yes, they would be saying that animals have free will and make intellectual choices, which would result in Winnie-the-Conservative-Pooh sighing, “Oh, bother!”)

To complicate things further, there is growing evidence that contamination in the environment is actually having an effect on people’s hormones and sexual development. One problem, for example, is that women on birth control pills are excreting hormones through their urine into toilets, which gets into the water supply, and has actually been blamed on causing young girls to become sexually mature earlier. Diet and pollution are clearly affecting girls (http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/06/puberty-comes-earlier-and-earlier-girls-301920.html). There is also some evidence that young boys, while growing larger penises, are actually also having a harder time ejaculating and are becoming less fertile (low sperm counts). The effect of these hormones has been pronounced in fish (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-105466/Fertility-timebomb-drinking-water.html) and if it affects fish, it probably affects us, as well.

Anyway, in nature, it is the norm for a certain percentage of the population to tend toward homosexuality; environmental conditions can increase or decrease this percentage. A fascinating 2012 study (http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/scientists-think-they-have-found-out-why-people-are-born-gay141212/) explains how homosexuality can continue in a population, even though homosexuals don’t, usually, breed, and it also explains why twins can have one being gay and one being straight (some anti-gay people who feel it’s a choice have used twin studies to say it is not genetic—well, folks, here’s the reason why it still can be—science!)

That’s on a whole-population scale. Now, on the individual level, Papabear believes that no one is born 100% straight or gay. We tend to have proclivities toward one or another, and environmental factors can strongly influence them. Take me as an example. I didn’t realize I was gay for 40 years (though, in retrospect, there were clear signs). A big reason was I was never exposed (er, pardon that choice of word) to gay people except through the media, which portrayed all gay men as very effeminate, which didn’t appeal to me. The trigger came on the Internet, when I discovered gay bears: masculine homosexuals. I was hooked. That was my trigger.

Therefore, in one sense, your friend’s mother could be considered correct (though she likely didn’t reason it out the way I just did here) in that something like sexy furry art could “turn” or, more correctly, “trigger” a homosexual response. The difference is that his mother thinks this turns a straight person gay, but the truth is that it could awaken homosexual feelings that have always been present, but were hidden (either consciously or subconsciously).

And that’s how you explain it to her in a way she might understand. Whether she accepts this or not is up to her.

But here’s the more important point.

It shouldn’t matter one effing bit whether her son is straight, bi, pan, asexual, or gay. He’s her son, and she should love him no matter what.

Love the person.

As for writing to his mother yourself, I’m not sure I would recommend that. She will just think you are a gay furry trying to “recruit” her son and she will ignore the letter or, perhaps, even get angry by thinking her son put you up to it. So, no, don’t do that. Instead, talk to your buddy about this letter and see if it helps.

Wishing him luck!

Hugs,

Papabear

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• siriusdog($35-$250): https://www.furaffinity.net/commissions/siriusdog/

• PalmarianFire(Price varies on what you want done-animation/avatar, etc): http://www.furaffinity.net/user/palmarianfire/

• TheAlmugator($6-$20-special more): http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17471659/

• /u/embarrassingshit($5-6 busts/$10 full body):Sample-http://i.imgur.com/n3xhmzh.jpg

• /u/sullystuffz($1-$5): http://sullystuffz.deviantart.com/

• lenkagime ($5-$25): http://imgur.com/a/t0phV

Y'all know the drill! And we've made it to 10! I hope this has helped you guys!

Oh, and due to a suggestion by /u/furrythrowawayaccoun, I'll be putting the commented ones up here for easy access.

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What do you artist out there use to make your art? Whether it is physical or digital, I'm interested in what hardware, software and mediums y'all like to use.

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https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neonworks.furfeed&hl=en

I published an Android app to compile lots of furry feeds, primarily /r/furry into an android app.

If you have any suggestions for the app, any bug reports, any issues, please let me know!

29th August Update:

• More YouTube channels to watch
• Security update
• New theme
• Updates from the Developer (Me!)'s twitter

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One of the mostly instantly-viral furry phenomena this summer has been the “opening credits” for an anthropomorphic “80’s cartoon TV series” called Super Turbo Atomic Mega Rabbit. The “leaked video footage” certainly looked the part of an 80’s cartoon show, and speculation ran wild — especially with posts popping up all over the Internet on various forums, asking pointedly “Does anyone remember this series?” Well, more recently, the truth has come out: STAMR is the creation of a UK team of animators and animation fans. The “opening credits” were directed by Wesley Louis and his team. Now, having come out of hiding on the Internet, the STAMR crew are actually trying to create a real episode of the imaginary show they’ve made so popular. To that end they are selling copies of a book called Groundworks, featuring production art and character designs from the creation of the STAMR short. Furry.Today has a link to the site, as well as the short (which now features proper credits!).

image c. 2015 WTL Productions

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Don't worry, you didn't miss Chapter Three if you've been following this, I'm just a dummy and I started the story with a "Prologue" that later became "Chapter Zero" and now for simplicity I've renamed it "Chapter One", so now you can say "The second chapter" and actually mean Chapter Two.

Quiet Falls in its entirety.

It took me a long while to write this mostly because of me being a lazy ass who didn't feel like writing for a bit there. I'll try to get another chapter out sooner to make up for it, but I'll have to see what I feel like doing. I don't want to get burnt out, because, you know, that'd be bad.

Also, you might've seen where I started streaming recently. I'm not sure how much writing on this story I'll end up doing in those streams, but I just wanted to let you guys know I do actually write in those streams. And I talk about things. And answer questions. And other stuff. I mean, I'll do that out of streams, but if you wanna hear it with extra swearing and in my voice, then there's your opportunity.

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"Hey, can anyone draw my fursona for free pls" DAMN STRAIGHT It's time for a limited selection of peeps to get a drawing of their fursona's exceptionally handsome face! I could draw 2, 3, 7, 42! OR NONE AT ALL! There's only one way to find out! And that's by asking in the comments!
Edit: I knew I'd get a handful of comments but rest assured I'll be working on them throughout the next few days. I'll do my best to respond to as many comments as I can! Some may just be later than others... like, days later.

Edit 2: There's 15 requests left after today (or at least that's how many there were when I counted) and I'm gonna try and do'em over the following week, so just you wait you guys. I probably can't handle anymore requests for now so if you're new to this thread I'm gonna have to apologise and say that you'll have to wait 'till next time.

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As my name implies, I'm a Miacid, the common ancestor to canines and felines. Who else has fursonas are either extinct or endangered species?

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