Whoooo are you, who, who, who who? In a popular episode of Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), a murder is under investigation in the weirdest of all circumstances, a furry convention (or party, I forget). They dressed in costumes, engaged in sexual acts, acts of jealousy and of course also indulged in their animal sides. If you talk to the person, you talk to them in the suit. They eventually pry the suit off of him. When talking about furries, this episode of this series is always brought up. It is still in the minds of people, bizarre, it stands out and of course, has upset the furry fandom. CSI is an over exageration, furries are not weird, furries are among the most open, unbiased people about their sexuality that I’ve ever met. There is so much prejudice against us! You’re not a furry you wouldn’t understand. These are just a few excuses furries give. And thus I begin a Yozuki Drive rant, the trouble and problems with furries.
What is a furrie? It is a fan of the fandom, as well as the actual character they prize so heavily. There is argument in the fandom exactly what constitutes a furry. The most often cited is “An anthromorphic animal”, that is an animal with human qualities. What they won’t tell you is the double sided standards - as well as the CSI episode isn’t far off the mark. Of the furry types you will see are (with examples):
Regular Animals - Varying intelligence levels, most of the time they can mimic humans rarely
Animals that act human, talk and mimic them, but remain animals - I’m looking at you Disney
Cartoon - Akin to Mickey Mouse, Looney Toons and Sonic the Hedgehog
Animated Anthromorphic - Talespin, Robin Hood, again Disney is notorious for it
Human Anthromorphic - Take a human body, and slap on an animal head, add the optional animal traits, as well as tail, but the body MUST remain human
Human Anthromorphic 2 - More human than animal, catgirls, dog boys,humans with animal features, this is most found in the realm of Anime
Fursuiters - Cosplayers - but rather than a costume, they wear an animal suit. Note these suits are always anthromorphic rather than an animal
Beastery - These are people who have sex with animals
Humans that act animal - Take a human, and make them think they are an animal trapped in a human body, they may or may not mimic humans
Hybrid - Mix any number of traits and personas, you’ll more often find it in the realm of fiction or say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Clothing - Furries, may or may not have clothing on, let alone the anthromorphic animals
Different furry fans will tell you differently, some will argue, but these are the most generic and most common types in the fandom. Do I personally view them all as furry? No. I will admit most of them are anthromorphic. I can remember getting into an argument with another artist about this. Human furries I see as the fursuiters, as artists or fans pouring over furry art, I think of the Human Anthromorphic (human body with animal head, features etc). Why? They are the only ones to bitch and moan, and they are the ones who I will be talking about.
Plain and simple, I view the majority of them as scum. Fursuiters? Why do you always wear anthromorphic suits? I’m sure there is actual animal suits out there, but I never see them? They’re always of a cute and cartoon style nature? You don’t normally dress up in another costume, but would glady dress in a fursuit, unlike a normal cosplayer/costume wearer who would wear any? Do NOT get me started on the fursuiters who body paint each other or engage in sex with each other - WITH the suits on. That is just wrong on so many levels. WRONG MAN, JUST PLAIN WRONG. My eyes they bleed! My brain wants to be erased! The trauma! Yes, there are decent fursuiters out there, the ones who treat it as a hobby and nothing more. However, for many it is a lifestyle with more deeply rooted beliefs. Sex, a lifestyle, mimicking animals, etc. There are some who believe they are an animal trapped in a humans body.
There is the artists, and they are varying degrees. The good ones, I’ve nothing against you, again it is just a hobby and you don’t treat it as something you live and breath. However, there is the scum, the ones who chap my hide. Every piece of art must be a human body with extreme animal traits. Tail? Check. Head, check. Does it need fur? Most likely. Hair? Do not forget to emphasize the gender, the gender is VERY important. These artists’ art is always of a sexual nature. By sex I mean extremely huge breasts, extremely huge hips, extremely narrow waist. The women are no better. Male furries are either muscular or have the whole dude thing going on. In a word - their art is attractive. Do I find it attractive? Hell no.
Furries are very open about their sexuality, and do not harbor prejudice, or so many will tell you. I would like to think, like any human, you have fantasies. If it can be a fetish or you can get a relationship with it, you’ve thought about it. Humans are weird like this, it is NOT just confined to furries. I’ve found furries are no more prejudice and open about their sex lives than the normal person.
The furries who treat it as a lifestyle and a tangent strike a BIG strike on my list - they’re very vocal. I’ve not met one yet, who has kept their yap shut on the matter. I’d like to believe there are sane ones who actually respect people who just wouldn’t understand their lifestyle.
But Yozuki, what right do you have to dictate what is sexual, obsession and wrong with furries? I used to be in the Sonic the Hedgehog community heavily. Furries arose. If you watched the comics long enough, about the time the cartoon characters started becoming a bit more… humanish, you’ll note the art of the majority of artists followed suite. I’m also a member of DeviantArt, I’m bombarded by furry art almost everyday. Hell, I used to draw the cartoonish style, from the Sonic fandom an all. For a short time I had them in the style of humans, but something didn’t feel right.
Furries are among the nicest people another furry has met. Yes, I’d imagine, because they have something in common with you. That’s called respect - it is not limited to furries, ALL humans are capable of it in some facility or another. Open about sexuality? Do not make me laugh. I’ve seen humans who have explored their sexuality and are very vocal about it. Vocal furries? The ones I speak of are very vocal - your average human does not try to get their voice out that much. We just don’t understand, and you’re biased and prejudice. I’m prejudice against the ilk that views furries in a sexual manner, the ones who MUST have their art or costumes JUST THIS WAY - and no other. I hate to break it to you, but any feature that differentiates gender to an extreme, what YOUR fandom is notorious for - is of a sexual nature in varying degrees. The genders exist for a reason - procreation and the continuing of our species.
You may be wondering why these types of furries are so upsetting. This is about the only type I see label themselves as a furry, and they follow the same patterns. Traditionally you do not call Sonic the Hedgehog a furry, let alone Bugs Bunny. The TMNT? Nah. You wouldn’t call them a furry either. You would call them animorphic. BUT, the biggest reason? This community is very vocal about anyone who doesn’t agree with them - and this is not just coming from me. They are extremely supportive and constructive towards their community - but they do not tolerate objective criticism from outside sources.
The worst are the artists of the extreme human/animal features, whom also fursuit. They are among the most jaded, bitchiest and vocal humans out there. Their way or the highway.
I stopped most of my association with the furry subcommunity that existed in Sonic, deviantArt and the like for a reason. I think they’re obsessed fanatics. CSI was not far off the mark. As for the ones who treat it as a hobby - kudos to you. You’ve earned my respect for not being a complete dumbass.
