Taking"being a furry" too serious

[Nova]

Did you ever know or are there people who take being a furry too serious?

I mean not like a hobby.

I mean a person addicted like its must  a and her/his life or they will die and are totally into yiff and wear EVERY HUGGING DAY a fursuit.

 

Do people like that exist in the fandom?

If so thats sad.

[Sidewalk Surfboard]

Furries are srs bsns.

[Hux]

Go watch a YouTube video where someone makes fun of furries and see how many kids come crawling out of the woodwork to scream "NOT ALL FURRIES"!

Pretty much anyone who makes being a furry part of their identity and becomes sincerely offended when people disparage furries.

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

This guy it seems

 

[Tyranno]

I've seen it happen much more often to voraphiles to be honest - actually, I'm sure I've said this before, but thanks to the vore community, furries can't make me ashamed, embarrassed etc. I tend to just think "eh, fair enough; at least its not..."

Also - no, Nova, nobody's ever heard of that or otherwise knew about it ever.

[DrDingo]

There's a semantic problem with the naming of the furry fandom.

You see, when confused young teenagers are encouraged to keep saying "I'm a furry", it cements an idea in their head that it's a heavy, meaningful part of their identity

Fewer people would have that dumb sense of self-importance if people just said "I like anthropomorphism"

[Vallium]

3 hours ago, DevilishlyHandsome49 said:

This guy it seems

 

He has a badass suit, though

18 minutes ago, DrDingo said:

There's a semantic problem with the naming of the furry fandom.

You see, when confused young teenagers are encouraged to keep saying "I'm a furry", it cements an idea in their head that it's a heavy, meaningful part of their identity

Fewer people would have that dumb sense of self-importance if people just said "I like anthropomorphism"

Other fanbases have identifiers that doesnt make them have it as a central part of their identity, either.

[Toshabi]

5 hours ago, Nova said:

Did you ever know or are there people who take being a furry too serious?

I mean not like a hobby.

I mean a person addicted like its must  a and her/his life or they will die and are totally into yiff and wear EVERY HUGGING DAY a fursuit.

 

Do people like that exist in the fandom?

If so thats sad.

 

 

 

I love this topic more than anyone, but seriously, I think typing posts like this is way more annoying than someone wearing a 'Yiff me, bara daddy' shirt every day.

 

Either or, this topic is tired, beaten and overdone. If OP gave some good examples, I'd be game, but I'm not going to further humor this thread due to the sheer lack of effort in it.

[Troj]

There are some people who take it too far--mostly, kids who tend to take things too seriously in general, and lonely, bored, often socially-awkward types who lack other outlets in their lives for identity, meaning, and social connections.

But really, I feel like people over-hype this problem, and make it seem bigger and more serious than it really is for the most part. For every person who takes the fandom too seriously, there seem to be at least a dozen people nervously trying to police people to make sure they're not taking the fandom too seriously.

[Enigma]

I'm so offended by this thread >:v

[Red Lion]

On 10/22/2016 at 4:27 PM, DrDingo said:

There's a semantic problem with the naming of the furry fandom.

You see, when confused young teenagers are encouraged to keep saying "I'm a furry", it cements an idea in their head that it's a heavy, meaningful part of their identity

Fewer people would have that dumb sense of self-importance if people just said "I like anthropomorphism"

unfortunately I've seen a few people actively deny that being furry is the same as just liking anthropomorphism. There is a margin of users who thing being a furry is a lifestyle and won't even date outside the fandom. They also feel the need to "come out". Telling these people that furry is just an umbrella term for people with varying interests in anthropomorphic characters will get you told off by hardcore furries. 

[Tsuujou]

I had someone call me a "fake fur" for not liking a game featuring furries despite having very clear reasons why I disliked it. Not that I had any obligation to explain it, but it had nothing to do with the furry stuff in the game. 

Dude hounded me for like 5 months, checking my ass for anything he deemed "antifurry" from me. I told him furries were practically all I drew and he said it doesn't count because my stuff was sexual so there's still a huge chance I hate them. lmao

[Faust]

1 hour ago, Red Lion said:

unfortunately I've seen a few people actively deny that being furry is the same as just liking anthropomorphism.

I'd be one of those people. I self-identify as a fan of anthropomorphic art, not as a furry, because I don't personally enjoy dressing up in costume. I appreciate the skill and artistry involved in making a good suit and I think it's fun to have a few decent suiters around the place, but I'm mostly about the art.

Not that I'm going to argue the point if someone disagrees with that definition, it's a personal thing. I'm more than happy to be included under the general umbrella of the fandom, but if someone asks me if I'm a furry, I say no, I just like the art.

[Lopaw]

I've never been accused of "not being furry enough" but I have had a friend who knew for ages that I  drew anthro characters begin to call me a furry in a negative context, before jumping the gun and flat out saying that simply drawing any animal with a human figure is the B word. She mellowed out on her viewpoint after some explaining.

I also had a entire forum flip out in a similar way after drawing a pterosaur. Somehow the people there saw it as anthro (it wasn't) so I got flak constantly from then on.

[#00Buck]

It's a good thing I'm not a furry. 

[Enigma]

12 minutes ago, #00Buck said:

It's a good thing I'm not a furry. 

[Mayonnaise]

On 23/10/2016 at 5:35 AM, Toshabi said:

'Yiff me, bara daddy' shirt

 

Where can I get said shirt?

[Another Ampers&]

On 10/22/2016 at 0:24 PM, Nova said:

Do people like that exist in the fandom?

why the fuck has no one @'d me yet

[Zeke]

On October 22, 2016 at 0:24 PM, Nova said:

Do people like that exist in the fandom?

 

Do people like that exist? Yes, and those people are called "Lifestyle furries". They are either teenagers new to the fandom or adults with little to no social interaction outside of furrydom.

Is it a big problem? Not really but it depends on your perspective. It can be annoying to deal with a person who compares their identity to either their sexuality or a racial minority, and takes offense to any type of criticism to anything "Furry" related. 

[Nova]

5 minutes ago, Zeke said:

Do people like that exist? Yes, and those people are called "Lifestyle furries". They are either teenagers new to the fandom or adults with little to no social interaction outside of furrydom.

Is it a big problem? Not really but it depends on your perspective. It can be annoying to deal with a person who compares their identity to either their sexuality or a racial minority, and takes offense to any type of criticism to anything "Furry" related. 

Thanks for the response

 

[Zeke]

On October 22, 2016 at 1:12 PM, DevilishlyHandsome49 said:

This guy it seems

 

It seems this guy is in denial about how awful furries can be.

1 minute ago, Nova said:

Thanks for the response

 

No problem.

[Vallium]

2 hours ago, Lopaw said:

I've never been accused of "not being furry enough" but I have had a friend who knew for ages that I  drew anthro characters begin to call me a furry in a negative context, before jumping the gun and flat out saying that simply drawing any animal with a human figure is the B word.

People like that are so obnoxious.

[Red Lion]

3 hours ago, Faust said:

I'd be one of those people. I self-identify as a fan of anthropomorphic art, not as a furry, because I don't personally enjoy dressing up in costume. I appreciate the skill and artistry involved in making a good suit and I think it's fun to have a few decent suiters around the place, but I'm mostly about the art.

Not that I'm going to argue the point if someone disagrees with that definition, it's a personal thing. I'm more than happy to be included under the general umbrella of the fandom, but if someone asks me if I'm a furry, I say no, I just like the art.

I'm kind of the same tbh, I sort of like anthro art but have no interest in dressing up, going to cons or being heavily involved in the community. I'm still not entirely sure what the difference between explicitly furry work and work featuring anthro characters is. Anthro designs are used so differently it's really hard to tell where "Furry" does and doesn't apply. I do know that I tend to prefer works where the characters being animals isn't in the forefront of the narrative. Like in middle school I liked the Redwall series, the fact that the characters were animals had some impact on the behavior of certain characters and their culture but that felt more like a strong seasoning if you know what I mean. Like the plot is a really good meat and the anthro is garlic, the meat can stand on its own but garlic makes an already good thing better by adding an extra something.  I actually prefer that to something like zootopia (and I did really like zootopia) where the characters being animals is key to the story. In this case it's like the tomato sauce and meatballs to your spaghetti. Without the sauce all you have is noodles and that's really boring.  Then you have Disney's Robin Hood which has animal characters but aside from being a design choice it barely has any kind of effect at all. I see a lot of furries cite this one as being furry anyway even so having the characters be animals didn't even have a point. In this case I'd say it's just garnish. Kinda nice to look at but ultimately just aesthetic. Of these three I'd personally cite Zootopia as the most furry but I feel like in the end it's kind of just up to personal interpretation. 

.... Jesus fucking christ on a stick, I just made a long and elaborate food analogy in an attempt to answer the question "what is furry". I think I'd better go lie down for awhile. 

[CETME]

What fandom doesn't have those types of people in their ranks? 

[Snagged]

17 minutes ago, BlitzCo said:

What fandom doesn't have those types of people in their ranks? 

Probably none

But hardcore furries in particular are very distinctive to the public because some of them are wearing a fursuit in public

At least a super Star Trek fan keeps his enthusiasm inside (until you talk to him or notice all of his/her merch) 

[Xaende]

20 minutes ago, BlitzCo said:

What fandom doesn't have those types of people in their ranks? 

*nods*

All fandoms have people like that. Fan is short for fanatic, and fanatics tend to take their obsessions seriously. The term has been watered down somewhat, possibly due to sports and other things where the bar to being a fan is set quite low, but the most extreme fans are the most fanatical.

[Zeke]

16 minutes ago, Xaende said:

*nods*

All fandoms have people like that. Fan is short for fanatic, and fanatics tend to take their obsessions seriously. The term has been watered down somewhat, possibly due to sports and other things where the bar to being a fan is set quite low, but the most extreme fans are the most fanatical.

Not all fanatics are the same in each fandom or behave the same way. Like, an anime fanatic will always be different from a Furry fanatic in terms of how much they invest in their fandom. 

23 minutes ago, Snagged Cub said:

Probably none

But hardcore furries in particular are very distinctive to the public because some of them are wearing a fursuit in public

At least a super Star Trek fan keeps his enthusiasm inside (until you talk to him or notice all of his/her merch) 

There are some that will take their fanaticism to the extremes. Even Star Wars is guilty of this. 

[#00Buck]

7 minutes ago, Zeke said:

Not all fanatics are the same in each fandom or behave the same way. Like, an anime fanatic will always be different from a Furry fanatic in terms of how much they invest in their fandom. 

There are some that will take their fanaticism to the extremes. Even Star Wars is guilty of this. 

Only Anime fans have Waifu pillows.

That's dedication. 

[Zeke]

6 minutes ago, #00Buck said:

Only Anime fans have Waifu pillows.

That's dedication. 

And comic book fans. You can buy Justice league waifu pillows. There are even ones with Wonder woman boobies for extra comfort. 

Deadpool waifu pillows do not count. 

[Endless/Nameless]

only true trekkies. 

[#00Buck]

6 hours ago, Zeke said:

And comic book fans. You can buy Justice league waifu pillows. There are even ones with Wonder woman boobies for extra comfort. 

Deadpool waifu pillows do not count. 

I'm sure they must exist but I've never seen these at a con ever. The anime ones are all over the place. 

[axelthefox]

On 10/24/2016 at 7:59 AM, Xaende said:

*nods*

All fandoms have people like that. Fan is short for fanatic, and fanatics tend to take their obsessions seriously. The term has been watered down somewhat, possibly due to sports and other things where the bar to being a fan is set quite low, but the most extreme fans are the most fanatical.

 

Yup. Like there are some fans of Star trek who speak Klingon or some anime fans who speak Japanese and dress up as Naurto

[Red Lion]

1 hour ago, axelthefox said:

 

Yup. Like there are some fans of Star trek who speak Klingon or some anime fans who speak Japanese and dress up as Naurto

I remember girls from highschool who did that,they'd add random Japanese words to their conversations and blow fuck tons of money on pocky and that weird soda that was almost impossible to open. Heck you could have made a fortune selling them stuff that had Japanese writing on it. A few of them got in trouble for wearing revealing cosplay to school. 

It applies to every fandom, people who don't know or don't care enough to realize where their hobby is appropriate and where it isn't are really off putting and embarrassing to be around.   

[LazerMaster5]

23 hours ago, Red Lion said:

I remember girls from highschool who did that,they'd add random Japanese words to their conversations and blow fuck tons of money on pocky and that weird soda that was almost impossible to open.

What, ramune? Just read the instructions on the cap. It opens pretty easy.

Or just drink American pop like a normal person. You get more for your money and it is so easy to open, a monkey can do it.

[Red Lion]

3 hours ago, LazerMaster5 said:

What, ramune? Just read the instructions on the cap. It opens pretty easy.

Or just drink American pop like a normal person. You get more for your money and it is so easy to open, a monkey can do it.

Maybe I'm just really bad at it but when I got the marble thing loose from the top I still had trouble drinking past it. Wasn't worth the price or effort involved IMO. 

[Zeke]

On October 30, 2016 at 2:59 AM, LazerMaster5 said:

What, ramune? Just read the instructions on the cap. It opens pretty easy.

Or just drink American pop like a normal person. You get more for your money and it is so easy to open, a monkey can do it.

I like Ramune. Well...melon Ramune.

Other than that, I love giving people a bottle just to watch them struggle with opening it. 

Sunday, I did encounter some very "Enthusiastic" Star wars fans. As in, "I only watch the movies/cartoons" Star wars fans. Watching them shit bricks explaining the Sith race and stuff was my crowning Achievement. 

That, and making a woman jelly of my super thin body. 

[Troj]

Ramune is delicious, and you just have to tap the side and then press down firmly and hold for a second when opening the bottle to avoid a potential blow-up.

[Feverish]

Well there are people who really enjoy being a furry to the point of it becoming their lifestyle, nothing wrong with that really, if it isn't hurting anyone. But when it comes to putting that above the way everyone else lives, yeah that's a problem.

[PastryOfApathy]

I'm just going to use this thread as an excuse to post this picture.

[Tsuujou]

On 10/30/2016 at 2:59 AM, LazerMaster5 said:

What, ramune? Just read the instructions on the cap. It opens pretty easy.

Or just drink American pop like a normal person. You get more for your money and it is so easy to open, a monkey can do it.

Ramune > Coke/pepsi/dr.pepper/mountain dew and any other canned battery acid sold in the states that I didn't mention.

On 10/30/2016 at 6:20 AM, Red Lion said:

Maybe I'm just really bad at it but when I got the marble thing loose from the top I still had trouble drinking past it. Wasn't worth the price or effort involved IMO. 

I think they're meant to be consumed with a straw. That's how I usually do it.

[Caledonian]

On 22-10-2016 at 10:44 PM, WolfNightV4X1 said:

He has a badass suit, though

Other fanbases have identifiers that doesnt make them have it as a central part of their identity, either.

I'm a steampunk, and a whovian. 

[PastryOfApathy]

9 minutes ago, Caledonian said:

I'm a steampunk, and a whovian. 

I'm so sorry...

[Caledonian]

1 hour ago, PastryOfApathy said:

I'm so sorry...

I'm so, so sorry...

 

[FlynnCoyote]

Ehh, Furry's not too bad all things considered, but if I were to go full lifestyle on anything it would probably be something 40k. I hear research into bionics is coming along nicely, so hopefully by the time I get to fifty years old they'll be affordable enough to customize and I'll be able to realize my closet dream of becoming a full fledged necron.

 

Soon you fleshling bastards...

 

:v

[Vallium]

6 hours ago, Caledonian said:

I'm a steampunk, and a whovian. 

But the real question is...do you have a dumb sense of self importance because of it, do you go to walmart and work on a typical day in full gear and talk nonstop to strangers and coworkers about said thing?

Also haha, nerd! ( < 3 )

[PurpleTail]

Once you become infected with furryism, there's no coming back

*pounces* wanna yiff?

Someone please just shoot me, before I go running around the streets naked and barking at people

[Caledonian]

2 hours ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

But the real question is...do you have a dumb sense of self importance because of it, do you go to walmart and work on a typical day in full gear and talk nonstop to strangers and coworkers about said thing?

Also haha, nerd! ( < 3 )

I am currently wearing a doctor who themed sweater, a bowler hat, and goggles.

Does that answer your question?

This doesnt make me important, it does make me reCOGnisable

[Troj]

2 hours ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

But the real question is...do you have a dumb sense of self importance because of it, do you go to walmart and work on a typical day in full gear and talk nonstop to strangers and coworkers about said thing?

Also haha, nerd! ( < 3 )

I'd love to see more people cosplay steampunk et cetera at Wal-Mart or the like. It would definitely brighten my day.

Anywho, here's the difference I see: When someone just babbles on about the thing they like for the purpose of listing off its traits and qualities, I have limited interest in that. "And in episode 12, Spock goes to Twilight Sparkle and they ride their steam dirigible to Dr. Who, and then Chewbacca kisses Inu Yasha and blah blah blah." Oh god, kill me now.

When someone talks about how a hobby has enriched their life, identity, relationships, or their outlook on life, that's much more interesting to me.

What's interesting about the furry fandom to me is how it encourages people to build relationships, reflect on their identity, develop practical skills, and come out of their shell, all in the name of celebrating, creating and expressing these anthro animal characters.

When I share about the furry fandom with other people, these are the things I like to emphasize.

 

[Caledonian]

1 hour ago, Troj said:

I'd love to see more people cosplay steampunk et cetera at Wal-Mart or the like. It would definitely brighten my day.,

I went fully dressed up to an 1800's themed museum one day. That was fun. (people just kinda assumed i was crew. So nobody really batted an eye)

[Red Lion]

1 hour ago, Troj said:

I'd love to see more people cosplay steampunk et cetera at Wal-Mart or the like. It would definitely brighten my day.

Anywho, here's the difference I see: When someone just babbles on about the thing they like for the purpose of listing off its traits and qualities, I have limited interest in that. "And in episode 12, Spock goes to Twilight Sparkle and they ride their steam dirigible to Dr. Who, and then Chewbacca kisses Inu Yasha and blah blah blah." Oh god, kill me now.

When someone talks about how a hobby has enriched their life, identity, relationships, or their outlook on life, that's much more interesting to me.

What's interesting about the furry fandom to me is how it encourages people to build relationships, reflect on their identity, develop practical skills, and come out of their shell, all in the name of celebrating, creating and expressing these anthro animal characters.

When I share about the furry fandom with other people, these are the things I like to emphasize.

 

This

I think the determining point between tedious and interesting for me is creativity. I see some people sort of just collectively hoard one element and use it over and over again. Same color pallet, same kink, same character. The obsession with a limited interest makes someone's conversation or art feel very stagnant and that's just not something you can build a sustainable interest in if you don't share that person's taste. Ex; I like anime but will only read yaoi, everything is yaoi, if the movie/book/series we're talking about doesn't have a boy x boy ship I will make one whether that was relevant to the conversation or not. If you yourself aren't that into Yaoi then you're going to lose interest fast and stop seeking out this person for conversation.

On the other hand, someone who approaches their interest or hobby with a sense of variety and creativity can be instantly compelling. When there's some depth to the conversation I can be drawn into almost any subject at least a little.  Ex: I like anime and I'm starting to see some patterns between genres that have given me some insight about Japanese culture. I watched something recently that gave me an idea for this project I'm starting or I'm now inspired to make new art. Talking to people who take what they've seen and do something interesting with it are my favorite. Whether they make something or just have a new point of view and interesting theories I have a great appreciation for people who take things and build on them, adding their own unique perspective.