The Soft Truth About Furries

The Soft Truth About Furries
The Furry Lifestylers
By Theresa Bane
©Buzzy Multimedia

For the longest time the only thing I knew about Furries was that they were the folks at the cons who wore animal costumes. I had no idea why some people chose to do that, but I also did not question the fact other people were dressed as Storm Troopers either. I had assumed in my naiveté that they were dressed up as some comic book or anime character that I was not familiar with.

And then I saw that episode of CSI. It is also known as episode 401 and is entitled “Fur and Loathing” a not so clever play on the title of the Hunter Thompson book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but then again we are talking about television, a media that must cater to the lowest common denominator.

As a general rule I do not like it when main stream media toe-dips into my world because they do so with no respect or consideration. As a Geek Orthodox individual I take offence to the unflattering light that my people are shown in. We are always made out to look like the freak, the social outcast, the one who does not belong. The TV People foster the evil notion that it is perfectly acceptable to pick on and harass us because that is our lot in life-to be a whipping boy so you can feel good about yourself.

So having seen that episode of CSI I knew that there had to be more to being a Furry than yiffing. I did a little nosing around and here is what I learned:

Plushies are not Furries. Plushies are people who collect stuffed animals, also known as plushophiles. Like anyone who collects anything-be it baseball cards or thimbles-they devote time and money into their collection, network with others who have a similar interest and can probably tell you more little factoids and bits of trivia about their stuff than you would ever care to know. These collections can be massive and may have special insurance policies taken out on them. Custom pieces especially made to order may be in the collection. Some collections are very specific, such as that they contain only teddy bears. This person would be called archtophilist.

Are there people who take this obsession “too far?” I don’t know. I have a brother who has hundreds of thousands of baseballs cards. I do not see the appeal in hoarding slips of cardboard with pictures of jocks on them. I have an uncle, a cigar aficionado, who has a special climate controlled and humidity proof room in his home for his cigars so that his cancer sticks can stay at the peak of carcinogen freshness. Another uncle of mine has a sub-basement filled with racks of bottles of wine that he will never drink but claims that just having the bottles is enough enjoyment for him. If that’s the case why not have your cake and eat it too, drink the wine and keep the bottle. I have uncles with more money than brains.

CosPlayers are not Furries. As another Buzzy Blog has already covered this more in-depth, I’ll say only this on the matter. CosPlayers (which mean Costume Players) dress up like their favorite anime characters. CosPlayers are most likely the people you see at the Cons, and in my opinion also include the Storm Troopers and Klingons. Although they are Sci Fi and not anime characters they kinda do the same thing: dress up, get into character and have a good time. I personally love to see these folks at the Cons and have scads of pictures of my sock monkey, Salty, with them on my website. It’s what I collect, photos of Salty in places and with famous people. (See image: Salty and TIMOTHY ZHAN)

So what the heck is a Furry!

A Furry is not what you think it is. According to the rules of Hoyle, a Furry is a fictional character (usually a drawing or animation) that is an animal with human characteristics. These characters oftentimes wear clothes, speak like people do and have goals and desires that are more in line with their human aspect rather than their animal nature. When I first heard that definition, Walt Disney’s very own Mickey Mouse immediately sprang to mind. Then I thought of Big Bird. I don’t know of a single parent who would snap their kid up and go running for the hills to protect their precious little one from that sort of exposure. The word Furry refers only to folks who are into the characters, ie: Furry Fandom. These guys are into the animation cells, drawings and books. They are fans of a genre. For instance: a Cheese Head is a person who is a fan (for whatever reason) of the Green Bay Packers; a Browncoat is a person who is a fan of the Joss Whedon TV show Firefly. If you buy animation cells from Walt Disney movies here’s a news flash for you-you are a Furry!

HOWEVER-people who buy or make their own costumes and dress up as a Furry character is as far as I can tell also called a Furry which makes for a small bit of confusion because they are supposed to be called a Furry Lifestyler. In addition to collecting art d’ Furry fandom and dressing up as the Furry characters they like these people also associate with the animal on some level (spiritual or emotional). Many have admitted to feeling that they were not wholly human.

Now, before you go jumping up and down and laughing and pointing a finger, I want to say for the record that I do not have a problem with this and neither should you. All things being equal, humans are some of the nastiest, meanest, and ill-natured animals on the plant. We could all do with a bit of improvement. I myself am a doggie-Mama, like lots of gals, and consider my little ones to be my doggie children. I am odd but not crazy.

But there are also many established and socially accepted institutions that re-educate their inductees into believing that they are not human either, and we have no problem with those people. For instance, Marines are mentally broken down and then built back up into believing that they are more than human, that they are super-beings capable of doing everything their government needs them to do. Much like high school football coaches do to the kids they coach. A nun upon taking her vows becomes literally a Bride of Christ and no one thinks her to be odd or strange. All of these people wear clothing to identify more easily with one another and to set them apart from the “norm” and we do not shun them.

I know what you’re saying, “But the CSI episode, there was yiffing**!” Yea, there was, but here’s the deal… everyone is a nut job. I dare say that you can take any group of people from any walk of life and find someone in that group who has what we would call a “sexual perversion.” How many times have you heard someone say “I just love a man in uniform!” Is that OK because it’s mainstream, because you personally approve of it, because society says it’s alright? Those are not good or valid reasons. Not but fifty years ago homosexuals were the social taboo, they were throw into asylums and castrated, right here in America. Even today there are a lot of places in the world where homosexuals are killed but I suspect that heterosexual yiffing would be OK.

So before this particular blog gets anymore, ya know, weird, let’s recap what we’ve all learned:
Yiffing used to mean “Yes!” but now it means “sex;” Plushies are not Furries but some Furries are plushies; Furries collect art; the guy at the mall who dress up as Santa Clause is CosPlaying; Furry Lifestylers wear costumes; CosPlay is dressing up as your favorite anime character when it’s not Halloween; CosPlayers are not Furries but some Furries are CosPlayers; on October 31st lots of people CosPlay and don’t even know it; Walt Disney is the biggest promoter and producer of Furry art; the guy inside the Big Bird suite is an actor and I personally love a guy whose all Halloween and hardware.

We live in such interesting times. I’ll be at Dragon Con this year, the 40 year old fat chick carrying around a sock monkey and taking pictures of it with folks wearing get ups that they don’t wear to work or school. I think this makes me a type of plushie, but I’m not sure. If you know, e-me.

QtR - Theresa Bane, Vampirologist and possible Plushie variant

**yiffing - a word that is used in the Furry Lifestyler community that has come to mean “having sexual intercourse.”

Related Reading:

Lomax Lamat

I always read your blogs because I find them interesting and humorous (and I want to win a prize) but this time I feel oddly educated as well. Thank you?

I too will be at Dragon this Labor Day and should I see you amongst the 150 thousand people attending I will be sure to meet the sock monkey that posed with Timothy Zhan. How odd.
Sarah Dorn

The truth about Furries is that a whole group of people could be effectively ostracized not just by society at large but even within fandom just because of one show on a fictional series like CSI. Not that I wasn’t skeeved out by that episode but after all it was just an episode. Thanks for clearing the air somewhat.
Mark T

Your take on Furries is very interesting but to tell you the truth I’m even more interested in your “Salty” the sock monkey and his/its photos with celebrities.
vanessa

This was very interesting to read. I thought all Furries dresses up and “yiffed” (I don’t know how to use this word). I didn’t know it had to anything with collecting or actually being interested in something. I never really thought about all the other people who dress up as characters, and the fact we don’t consider them weird at all. I agree with Mark T, these sock monkey pictures sound awesome.
- Loxy the Foxy
  
  That would be a major problem with everyone who dislikes it. They don’t bother looking into anything and don’t even know what they are talking about sadly. In actuality the word “Yiff” was supposed to mean “yes” and was eventually spun into “furry-related sex” So the verb of it is to yiff or yiffing. Past tense: yiffed. so on and so forth. Thank you for learning the truth!
Derek

im a bit of a furry, i mean i’m only 14 but i understand the concept of the furries and whatnot. i’m poor so rarely participate in conplays but will one day go to one dressed in a furry outfit. XD
Alexon

When I first read what furries are, I was shocked. Friday, Dec. 12th 2009 I found the answered to who I was. I just turned 15 on the 4th of Jan. Yesterday.

-Alexon, furaffinity
Toklan

Thank you for being one of few who are well informed and shed true light on the fandom. So oft are furries demonized and put under false stereotypes due to tv shows, miss-informed media coverage, or a select minority of the fandom. Again I thank you for being truthful and explaining what the fandom really is.

~Toklan the arctic fox
Pheonix Tigerborn

Thank you for this wonderful article, so many people decide that TV is fact and base the rest of reality on that assumption. One minor correction, not all people who dress up in fursuits are furry lifestylers. Some just like the chalange of building a costum or enjoy the Cosplay like any other Cosplayer.

Thanks again for a wonderful, well thought out blog,
Pheonix Tigerborn
Swiftrunner

I love the take on furries you’ve done here. You put us in just about a good a light as possible. Thank you for that.

Also, a big reason furries are seen as “sexual deviants” and whatnot is because of an unfortunate decision by the very first furry convention. They decided to try and attract more members by turning the whole thing into basically an orgy. Again, this was the VERY… FIRST… furry convention. Not only that, at the time, it was the ONLY furry convention (as I understand it.) Kinda hard to swing back from bad PR like that. And then there was the Vanity Fair article, and the CSI episode… guh. Crappy.

But I’m glad to hear you didn’t take the CSI episode at face value right off the bat, and you dug around and found the truth. Not a lot of people do that. Nice job.

Furry and proud of it,
Chakat Swiftrunner
http://theleosden.blogspot.com Desertlioness91

Hello~

I am a PROUD furry and I want to thank you SO much for posting this educational bit on what we are. I personally am NOT a yiffer, but I do dress in my fursuit and chill with my friends.

It is thanks to the media that we are seen as disgusting people, but whatever. Once again I want to thank you!

~Desertlioness
Dayoon

I just want to say thank u, ur one of the few people who actually understands that csi is not always true along with all the other media outlets which besmerch (i think i spelled that wrong) the name of furries.

I myself am a furry (arctic fox FTW!) and ive got so much crap about it from random people. i will be a fursuiter eventually, once i move out to be precise because my parents disowned me for being a furry. And yes, i do yiff, ill admit it, but thats because its fun, i dont (currently lol) yiff like they did on csi, but i may try it as many others have before

But once again, thank u, im glad u were able to see the ttrue side of furries

~Dayoon, the teenage blue and white arctic fox
darkhowler

I’m a long time furry =) though im a closet one. Around here not alot of people are ok with it. Like my girlfriend. For example is a outspoken enemy of the community, she doesn’t know I’m. One and I started hinting at it so she would find out but then I found out how she feels about them. Long story short I hide my secret life. Believe it or not only a small percentage of our subculture Actually fursuit, and not all of us are into yiff but as with any culture we do have people that take it to far at times and give the rest of us a bad reputation. In not saying I hate or don’t Have sex cause I do… With my girlfriend like with any culture there are good people and bad ones =)
- Margaret Wlody
  
  OhMy, it is not very healthy to hide something that is such a big part of your life from your s.o. but you already know that or you wouldn’t have posted it. Sounds like she needs to learn about the softer side of Furries not the hardcore porn. Maybe then she’ll be not only more accepting but she might join in now and then.