That Horny Little Chestnut: Sex and the Furry Fandom

A screenshot from Entourage, which described a furry as "Someone who wants to fuck you like a stuffed animal."

If there is one thing that comes around time and time again within the furry fandom, it is sex. The whole issue of yiff has been one that has surrounded the fandom the longest, and the one that has attracted most media attention. Most media representations show furries as sex mad. Although when you consider that according to last issue's poll that the ninth most popular character in the fandom is a porn star, there may well be some truth to it.

You may also remember from the last issue of The Furtean Times that a survey published by the University of California, Davis Department of Psychology, found that 37% of furries are bisexual, 33% are heterosexual, 26% are homosexual and 8% were either unsure or of some other sexual orientation. Despite the fact that furries are more statistically likely to be attract to someone of the opposite gender, most representations of furries in the media depict them in gay relationships.

What is more, there are several depictions of furries as being both zoophiles and plushophiles, despite the 1997 Sociology of Furry Fandom study by David J. Rust stating that 2% of furries have an interest zooaphilia and less than 1% in plushophilia. However, the mainstream media appears to ignore this. Recently, there was an episode of the American sitcom Entourage (pictured) which features a plushophile woman, who is also a furry. One of the characters claims that a furry is, "Someone who wants to fuck you like a stuffed animal."

As a media student, I could rant on about the representation of furries and the way the negative publicity harms us, but I shall not. All I will say is this. You may say that, "It introduces more people to the fandom. Any publicity is good publicity." I say, "Tell that to Chris Langham. I can hear him saying, 'What? I've been found guilty of downloading child porn? Brilliant! Any chance of an interview with the News of the World?'"

The one thing I am interested in is why we furs are so interested in yiff? Why are so many of us are bisexual? Why are many furs kinky, and have fetishes like vore and unbirthing? I do have a few theories about it myself. For example, my belief about why there are lot of bisexual furries might be something to do with the tails. I do not want to sound all Freudian, but in a way, the tail is a bit like an extra penis, with the added benefit that it does not ejaculate spooge so you cannot get pregnant from it. If you have an extra penis, then you want to use it, do you not? With all that cock, who would not become a bit bicurious?

The fetish front is much simpler to explain. In a way, a furry is automatically a fetishist, because you have a fetish for fur. It is not what most people would consider to be a fetish like BDSM, but it is fetish is just like a leather fetish or a rubber fetish. Once you become interested in one fetish, they you want to explore other ones as well. It is part of human/furry curiosity to explore things that are quite interesting and unusual, and furries can be said to be somewhat unusual to starters.

I myself am bisexual. Outside of the fandom, only a few, including my parents know about my bisexuality, which they accept. I believe that you should be able to express your sexuality in way you want, as long as it safe, sane and consensual. I do not care if you are male, female, hermaphrodite, gay, straight, bisexual, an owner, a pet, a cub, a rubberfur, a pregfur, a macrofur, a microfur, a breathfur, a messy fur or a rotten fur, you should be proud and stand up for your rights. You should celebrate your sexuality.

I should also like to say that despite our representation, we should not censor our yiff. I believe that censorship blocks free speech. We should not clean our act; it is the mainstream media that should clean up theirs. For those furs who want to try and stop yiff, I say that you stop censoring the rest of us. If you do not like something, just avoid it.

If anyone from the mainstream media is reading this article, I would like to say this. Sure, talk about the yiffy side; it is part of furry culture just like the rest of it. However, there is a lot more to us than yiff. Read the comics, visit the conventions, and talk to actual furries. Learn for yourself that there is a lot more to us than sex.

And for those of you wondering, I'm male, single and 22 - Must have a good sense of humour; be from the Teesside area of the UK and preferably a non-smoker.