Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

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Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Yes
149
78%
No
42
22%
 
Total votes: 191

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GreatKitsune
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by GreatKitsune »

Amazee Dayzee wrote:Its been 8 years since I've heard the term and I still don't know it, so what the heck is an otaku? :|
Sleet wrote:Basically a Japanese nerd. A slightly more broad term than an anime fan.
This. Anyone who watches anime, reads manga, plays a lot of video games or dating sims, collects bishounen or bishojou figures, or basically has any obsessive or n33t-like tendencies. (Excluding weeaboos. Best not to use that term.)

30 years ago it meant any sociopathic violent criminal, but that was mainly due to a newscaster's misuse of the term. In his defense, it wasn't really even considered a word at that point, much like, say, "pwn" at that point in English cultures.

In case you were wondering, no, I don't collect the figures.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Lawl. I never even thought that you did collect them.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JamesTCat »

Actually, I don't consider myself a furry. I prefer the Safe For Work stuff over the Dark Side stuff.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Douglas Collier »

The fandom isn't all NSFW - there are some of us outliers who try to slant the curve back toward the light side. :P
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JeffCvt »

It's not a requirement to be involved with the "dark side" of a fandom to actually be a member of it.

Our definition of a furry is someone whose enjoyment of media is increased by the inclusion of anthro animals. If you enjoy looking at clean furry art because it has walking/talking animals in it, then there's no real reason you can't call yourself a furry.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I thought that was a requirement too until I realized I was using anthro characters without even realizing I was a furry!
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by tsMKG »

Well, the media out there is only covering the dark side of the fandom :roll:

Google is also guilty of doing that. (Searching "furry animation" gives a lot of inappropriate results)
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Serence Frostbite »

that's what the media do, and that happens to every community , every fandom , every gaming group, etc..... so I don't think the media is a viable source to base our opinion on anything to be honest ^^".
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

The media I found is only viable for the news and not much else.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Serence Frostbite »

that includes the news yeah.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I don't think that the news has ever covered the fandom. At least over here.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JustAThought »

JeffCvt wrote:It's not a requirement to be involved with the "dark side" of a fandom to actually be a member of it.
The members of the dark side disagree. I asked.

In my opinion, you are correct, but what if the true nature of a fandom is inherently dark, but it has been perverted (in the most backwards sense of the word) to be something more likely to be accepted by whatever micro-culture the originator of the alternate form is from. In other words, it is something, but someone else wishes it was something else, so they made their own version that became inter-meshed with the original version. In other words, what if we are just swimming in the shallows of the ocean and thinking that it is a kind and forgiving thing based on what we see where we are? In other words, ducks.

Just a thought, but it is worth a thought, no?

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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JeffCvt »

As far as I'm concerned, being in a fandom is made up of of whatever you want it to be made up of, regardless of what other people think.

For example, I don't personally consider myself a Furry because I don't search out furry media, though I do enjoy it when I do happen to come across it. Some people may say that I'm just a little bit furry because I still enjoy furry media, but I don't even consider myself a little bit of one. Who's to say I'm wrong? The media? Some random guy I've never met? I don't like to get wrapped up in what strangers think too much because it's just... drama.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JustAThought »

Ah, but some random guy is the best source of opinion in this random guy's opinion. Or is that a self defeating victory?

What if there are some absolutes in the human psych. Certain structures in our brain that react in a similar way throughout our species to certain stimuli. I just wonder if some things elicit a common chemical response in all humans, regardless of awareness to it. Chemicals that can negatively affect our perceptions, specifically.

That is another way to phrase it.

Just expounding. And using the ol' thesaurus.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by axelthefox »

One thing i have noticed is that critics outside of the fandom always judge furry on the dark side of the fandom,yet when their fandom has a dark side as well. There is a dark side to anime,star wars,star trek and such,but yet furry gets singled out. Hopefully one day furry will get the respect other fandoms have.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JeffCvt »

The problem is that with other fandoms, there is generally a specific "thing" to base the fandom on. For example, the movies are what the Star Wars fandom is based around. So while the fandom may have the side best left out of the light, anyone looking in at it will assume that most of the stuff will be similar to what's in the movies.

The furry fandom really has no flagship "thing" to look at and base an opinion of it on. It's such a large and diverse fandom with no focal point that everyone can point to and say "that's what this fandom is based on." I think that's a big part of the problem.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by axelthefox »

Kinda confused. Cause i know Uncle Kage says the furry fandom is based on cartoons and such,and that the fandom has cartoonists,writers,perfomers and such.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Serence Frostbite »

well yes but the "base" for the furry fandom is pretty big and general compare to the rest, let's say Starwars fandom is around 1 franchise, Sonic fandom is around that one character, etc, while furry is "animals that has human characteristic" and that is really really big, like it can have literally anything in it. There's no one movie or one game franchise or one novel for the outsider to look at and have the gist of what this fan base is definitely about, it's just everything, if that makes any sense . :P
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JeffCvt »

What I mean is there is no "one" cartoon to say started the fandom or that there's "one" movie someone can point to and say "that's what being a furry is about."

Star Wars has the movies. Bronies have the cartoon My Little Pony. Even outsiders to Anime tend to see the big name programs like Naruto, One Piece, Attack On Titan, ect. come to the forfront. All of those are at least things that probably won't leave a negative first impression on someone who knows nothing about the fandom.

Furries... have nothing like that. People gain first impressions on whatever they find or are told about it. And it seems that a lot of people stumble across the less than family friendly parts of it and assume that's what it's all about. Because there is no one single family friendly thing to say "this is what being a furry is about and those things you saw are the exception to the rule", it's tough to convince people otherwise.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Sleet »

Also note that anime, which is a broad thing to be a fan of rather than a single thing, has its own stigma as well.

Though people are less likely to label adults and teenagers into it as "depraved" because anime isn't seen as "for kids" quite as much.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Well except for Pokemon and Digimon because I saw a lot of ads using kids for them.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Douglas Collier »

I'm guessing Zootopia will become the one movie - one to rule them all. :P
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

And then we have something positive people can refer to when somebody asks about furries. :)
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Radio Blue Heart »

If I had to credit a piece of pop culture for creating this fandom it would probably be "Robin Hood".
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

First furry movie that I actually watched.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by RandomGeekNamedBrent »

Looney Tunes was probably the original basis for the fandom, Robin Hood came around when the fandom got big, and now Zootopia will be responsible for the next generation.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by GreatKitsune »

tsMKG wrote:Well, the media out there is only covering the dark side of the fandom :roll:

Google is also guilty of doing that. (Searching "furry animation" gives a lot of inappropriate results)
Since when does the media show the positive side of any large fandom? :|

@Amayzee Even most news is biased.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by axelthefox »

GreatKitsune wrote:
tsMKG wrote:Well, the media out there is only covering the dark side of the fandom :roll:

Google is also guilty of doing that. (Searching "furry animation" gives a lot of inappropriate results)
Since when does the media show the positive side of any large fandom? :|

@Amayzee Even most news is biased.
Yup. I have seen news reports on stuff like the Pony fandom that make the fandom look bad.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by GreatKitsune »

Foxyfluff wrote:
GreatKitsune wrote:
tsMKG wrote:Well, the media out there is only covering the dark side of the fandom :roll:

Google is also guilty of doing that. (Searching "furry animation" gives a lot of inappropriate results)
Since when does the media show the positive side of any large fandom? :|

@Amayzee Even most news is biased.
Yup. I have seen news reports on stuff like the Pony fandom that make the fandom look bad.
For example: right now, there's a petition going on to get Assassination Classroom banned in New York because it somehow "encourages younger children to commit acts of violence in schools", even though the fanbase is made almost entirely of older teens and adults and the US release is rated TV-14. :roll:
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by axelthefox »

wat ^
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Radio Blue Heart »

That's a perfect example of how the corporate news in America, in an attempt to get higher ratings, will make out stories to be far more outrageous than they actually are. So, they say that not only are furries and bronies bad, but they are a threat to Western Civilization. It makes for good padding on slow news days.

Besides, the public at large would not even be aware of the fandom, let alone have a negative view of it, if it had not been for an episode of "CSI". That did incredible damage to the furry fandom.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JonnyNova »

I think the worst thing about all this is that because the dark side of the fandom is the only side that anyone outside the fandom recognizes, that's the main part that grows. That's gotten to the point that NSFW content has almost taken over the fandom. People have mentioned Zootopia as a positive example of furries in pop culture, but from what I've heard people are already ruining that, with the majority of fanart being NSFW. The stigma of furries just making porn out of everything is actually true in many cases. I know that "many" doesn't mean "all," but if that's become the norm for the fandom, then who's to say they're wrong? What if things like Housepets are the exceptions to the rule? Trust me, I hate the fact that when I first told my friends I was a furry, it led to a half hour explanation of how I'm not one of those furries. I don't want to see amazing things like Housepets or SaveState or all of the incredible artists who have emerged from the furry fandom become outcasts. I want to be optimistic that Zootopia can change people's minds, but if anyone becomes interested in the furry fandom because of Zootopia, then the first thing they'll probably do is look at things related to Zootopia. There's a strong chance they'll just get scared away by what they find, which further reinforces the negative image of the fandom.

Sorry to be so negative about the subject, but I guess I'm just a pessimist at heart.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by SuperStar »

JonnyNova wrote:And this is what keeps people in closets -_-

I think the worst thing about all this is that because the dark side of the fandom is the only side that anyone outside the fandom recognizes, that's the main part that grows. That's gotten to the point that NSFW content has almost taken over the fandom. People have mentioned Zootopia as a positive example of furries in pop culture, but from what I've heard people are already ruining that, with the majority of fanart being NSFW. The stigma of furries just making porn out of everything is actually true in many cases. I know that "many" doesn't mean "all," but if that's become the norm for the fandom, then who's to say they're wrong? What if things like Housepets are the exceptions to the rule? Trust me, I hate the fact that when I first told my friends I was a furry, it led to a half hour explanation of how I'm not one of those furries. I don't want to see amazing things like Housepets or SaveState or all of the incredible artists who have emerged from the furry fandom become outcasts. I want to be optimistic that Zootopia can change people's minds, but if anyone becomes interested in the furry fandom because of Zootopia, then the first thing they'll probably do is look at things related to Zootopia. There's a strong chance they'll just get scared away by what they find, which further reinforces the negative image of the fandom.

Sorry to be so negative about the subject, but I guess I'm just a pessimist at heart.
I totally understand what you mean. When I first "joined" the furry fandom, I was so optimistic. I was all like "yeah I know there's all that stuff, but that's just some furries, it's just that the worst stuff always speaks the loudest", but since then I've realized that really... it is the majority, there's no denying that. I mean, I still think have hope, but really, it's gonna take a lot for things to change.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Douglas Collier »

Before I discovered Housepets, I was strictly "anthro, not furry". Features such as plantigrade feet, long headfur, and unnatural color schemes were repulsive to me. After discovering Housepets, however, I learned to appreciate the creativity of "furry" stuff. I still avoid the large degenerate parts of the fandom, but the good things were enough to convince me to join the fandom, and I intend to stick with those good things.

As for Zootopia, the movie hasn't even come out yet. It's not all that surprising that some degenerate NSFW artists would jump on the chance to take advantage of characters without even getting to know them first - they got the jump on fanart by sacrificing context, which hasn't fully been revealed yet. Right now there's not too much context for more restrained SFW artists to go on, beyond what the trailers have revealed. We ought to wait for the movie to come out so more responsible artists can actually get the chance to meet the characters and draw them in character before we judge based on fanart.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Sleet »

You guys need to not let other people spoil a good thing for you. If you enjoy anthropomorphism, don't worry yourself so much over how other people handle it. You don't need to emulate them, and you also don't need to walk away if you don't like how they are.

At the end of the day it's just about talking animals and liking them and stuff. It doesn't have to be a big deal.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JeffCvt »

Sleet wrote:You guys need to not let other people spoil a good thing for you. If you enjoy anthropomorphism, don't worry yourself so much over how other people handle it. You don't need to emulate them, and you also don't need to walk away if you don't like how they are.

At the end of the day it's just about talking animals and liking them and stuff. It doesn't have to be a big deal.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by RandomGeekNamedBrent »

every fandom has a darkside, be it NSFW works or just a really annoying/jerkish subset. as was already mentioned, most fandoms are set around a specific work/set of works so those dark sides can be more easily written off as not being representative. But that doesn't mean other people won't see those dark sides as their first experience in the fandom.

If the dark side turned away everyone who didn't like it, it would be all that's left for anyone to see. So you have to fight through it and keep fighting to keep the light side visible, let people know it's still there, or the dark side wouldn't be just a side anymore. it would be the whole fandom, just like everyone thinks it is.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by D-Rock »

You know, I'm sitting on the sidelines here, just watching how these conversations are going, and it is rather enlightening.

There really are some benefits to being an outsider looking in. Get to observe quite a lot.
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by Dissension »

Let's do what we can to avoid focusing too much on the "dark side." The not-safe-for-work aspects of the fandom (violent, sexual, pornographic, fetishistic, whatever) don't define it. (Incidentally, NSFW doesn't mean pornographic by default, just that something wouldn't be appropriate for a workplace environment.) I promise people who think you have to be into every part of the fandom to be a member of our family are far more rare than some of you seem to believe. The best definition of a furry will always be "one who derives enjoyment from media based on the presence of anthropomorphic animals in said media." No further qualification is necessary. Do you like something more 'cause it has furry characters? Yeah? You're probably a fur. Welcome to the fandom!
JonnyNova wrote:And this is what keeps people in closets -_-

I've always kinda felt like this was pretty disrespectful to non-heterosexual and gender-dysphoric people, as though we were equating our enjoyment of a somewhat misunderstood thing with some very major struggles.

Now, as someone who's kind of a darksider, let's stop focusing on things that give us a bad reputation and discuss the family-friendly parts of the fandom we love. As many have so eloquently said, please don't let others' opinions impact your enjoyment of anything. The fandom is what you make of it. Get out there and make great things!
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Re: Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

Post by JonnyNova »

Dissension wrote:
JonnyNova wrote:And this is what keeps people in closets -_-

I've always kinda felt like this was pretty disrespectful to non-heterosexual and gender-dysphoric people, as though we were equating our enjoyment of a somewhat misunderstood thing with some very major struggles.
Hm that's true. I hadn't thought of that. I'll edit that out of my comment. Sorry if I offended anyone.
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