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Hello there everyone. We'll be giving away a pair of our white handpaws with black stuffed pawpads.

http://imgur.com/ZVEXEMj http://m.imgur.com/GPitGes

All you have to do for a chance to win them is follow us on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/MyFurCreations

Once we reach around 100 followers, we will pick one at random and private message them for their info. Nothing else is needed but a follow.

We also hope to do some Reddit only contest soon in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read this and good luck

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May be a strange question, but with visual medium being the predominate furry fare, does any one know of or, are blind or sight challenged (for the majority of their lives) and are part of the fandom?

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With Gamergate’s rabid sexism gaining traction in mainstream media, this seems like a good opportunity to review how we furries are doing. We have demographic similarities with gamer groups—we’re geeky and male-dominated with a heavy online presence—and, like gamer groups, we have had issues with sexism.

Any serious journalistic attempt to understand Gamergate, a loose banner for a small but loud group, inevitably starts with “it’s complicated”. After all, how can a small group of people ostensibly worried about ethics in game journalism end up earning a reputation for vile harassment of women? The short answer seems to be that there is an undercurrent of sexism within gaming, and that internet flamewars and clusterfucks over journalistic integrity have, for one reason or another, managed to attract a extreme misogynistic subset of the larger group.

(To put it another way: we know that geeky groups are precious about the art that inspires their fandom. Gamers concerned about changes in their community can be expected to react much like, say, serious Star Wars fans reacting over the sale of Star Wars IP to Disney. There is nothing wrong with intense advocacy against change, but there is a serious problem if this devolves into harassment and rape threats.)

Furry’s problems are similar in style to Gamergate. The most obvious touchstone is the drama that began in late 2010, when a prominent male artist was accused of sexual assault by initially one woman, and eventually several. The women involved were subjected to abuse that was similar in tone and style to the targets of Gamergate.

It is probably fair to say that misogyny within furry isn’t as extreme or widespread as it is within Gamergate. However we certainly have a problem, something we here at [adjective][species] have written about, on several occasions.

The most common response to the suggestion that furry is sexist? Denial. This is a natural reaction for anyone who has never personally experienced or noticed any sexism. It is also natural to see an accusation of sexism as an attack on furry, and so it’s natural to be defensive.

In the writing below there are several concrete examples of sexism, including review of a scientific study that demonstrates that women experience sexist behaviour within furry. I encourage you to read (if you haven’t already), digest, and share.

Furry’s sexism is largely a product of our demographics. We are around 80% male, and that affects the way we collectively respond to the world around us. Furry culture naturally reflects who we are, and we will naturally give more regard to things that are more important to more people.

So while it is right to say that furry is a sexist culture, it is not right to say that furries, themselves, are sexist. (Although some certainly are.) Sexism is part of our cultural wallpaper, always there but largely unseen. Here at [a][s], we are trying to draw attention to this, because we love furry and we want it to improve.

We have published several articles that explore aspects of furry and sexism in detail:

Eight-Twenty, by Makyo: an introduction to furry’s skewed demographics and the anatomy of inherent sexism.

A Bitch About Furry, by JM: an exploration of sexist language common in furry.

How to Pick Up (Furry) Women, by JM: for single heterosexual and bisexual men, how to get to know furry women in a respectful way.

Dogpatch Press on Women, by JM: a look at an egregiously sexist but well-meaning article published elsewhere.

Gay Furries and Sexism: A Recursive Loop, by WitchieBunny: how the preponderance of gay furries leads to reinforcement of misogyny.

Furry Women at Furry Conventions, by JM: hard data demonstrating the challenges that women uniquely face in furry environments.

Dear Papabear:

How are you? I'm mostly fine. While I am not exactly a furry (I still don't know if I am or not, but I am well informed of what does being a furry imply) I have enjoyed reading your column since a few time ago, and I like the way you help people with their problems. Unfortunately, this is the exact reason I'm writing this letter, I have a problem.

Now, my problem isn't that I'm not sure if I'm a furry or what to do if I really am a furry (I have had this question since I was 14). I can figure that out as I continue to live life. The real problem is that in a few hours I will turn 18. It might sound a bit dramatic for me to worry about my birthday, but the real problem is that I'm afraid to grow up.

I have always enjoyed the present, and don't yearn for the future as other teens do, however that has caused me to dislike growing up. I feel I'm just right at this age, plus being 18 means a lot of responsibilities (legal age in my country).

I knew I had a phobia because I have been distressed all month because of this. Then I thought I was okay, until my parents celebrated my birthday a day before the actual date (my dad cannot celebrate tomorrow, he loves me though). The moment I saw the 18 candles in the cake, and everyone congratulating me for "being an adult" I almost break to tears.

I know it is not the end of the world or my life, and that the legal responsibilities aren't my real fear, it's just an excuse I made up for anyone who asked, and I know changes are mostly for the better. While I can adapt almost to every situation, this feels different, I'm really feel scared, upset, and sad. 

I remember I have always wanted to stay young, almost like the kids in the series "kids next door" in which adults were villains, and that growing up is something bad. That could describe my situation (of course I don't see adults as villains)

I still feel like a kid (I'm really mature though, don't believe I act like a little kid) and this transition in my life really scares me. I feel I'm not ready.

I have a loving family which I also feel I'm leaving behind, not only because I'm growing, but because they are getting older too.

I also don't know what I'm afraid of exactly, because even though I'm afraid of growing up, I don't know why.

I could really use a good advice now, and if this letter manages to reach you, I would like to thank you for taking some time to read it. It would mean a lot to me.

Always your fan, either furry or not furry, with the heart of a child

Not quite a Furry
(maybe someday I can choose a more suitable pseudonym) 

* * * 

Dear Not Quite,

I believe that the reason a lot of people are furries is because, like you, they don’t want to “grow up.” This can be a good or bad thing, depending upon your approach. I’m going to borrow my mate Yogi’s story as an example. He likes to say, “I tried growing up once, but it didn’t work out.” This is in reference to his brief career selling insurance (he’s a radio and TV news professional). At a down point in his career, he took the job to make money, but quickly gave it up because it was so boring and not fun at all. More recently, when the broadcast media world changed for the worse, he lost his job as a news director and on-air personality. Instead of taking another dull-as-nails job, he started his own Internet radio station. It’s terribly hard work and the pay is not great (yet), but he is pursuing what he loves and makes him happy.

Many people fear growing up because they think it’s the end of fun. This is where choosing a career is vitally important. As they say, if you do something for a living that you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life. My early career in publishing was like that. I absolutely loved my days as an assistant and associate editor and looked forward to going to work (that changed as the business changed). When it became too corporatized for my taste, I went freelance. It’s been hard, but I get to sit at home (love the commute!) and read interesting books.

My first advice to you, therefore, is to find something you love to do and then turn it into your career passion. Don’t worry about what that passion is. People make careers out of all sorts of things! There are people who, for example, make custom skateboards or become dress designers or pursue sports professionally or train dolphins. Here’s an article about that you might like to read: http://www.more.com/reinvention-money/second-acts/turning-your-private-passion-career. 

The point is, finding something you love to do and making money at it will make you look forward to the future instead of the past.

Another issue is the fear of responsibilities: earning an income, paying taxes, taking care of your bills, buying a car, getting insurance, buying groceries and cooking for yourself, doing the laundry, worrying about local and world politics, etc. etc. etc. People want to be taken care of by their parents or other family; some people even get married because they hope their spouse will take care of them. They don’t want to have to deal with all the stuff that comes with taking care of yourself.

You mention that you feel unprepared for adulthood. I know how that can be. When I finished high school, my parents pushed me to go to a big university, so I was accepted at the University of Michigan. Absolutely. Hated. It. I have never felt so much like an anonymous number in my life. I was emotionally and psychologically unprepared for taking care of myself and never felt so lonely and afraid in my life. I was, sincerely, terrified. I had a meltdown and ended up going home and taking nearly a year off. Then, I went to a small local college and did much better.

I believe the problem, in part, was that my parents were overprotective and I was a shy and kind of hermit-like guy (I’m very different now LOL). My parents didn’t really teach me the fundamentals, such as taking care of a bank account, how to make new friends in an unfamiliar environment, how to handle and navigate a large bureaucracy such as a mega-university, etc.

My second piece of advice, therefore, is to ask your parents (I’m thinking this hasn’t happened yet) about such basics as managing money, cooking, cleaning, taxes, holding down a job, navigating through social life, and other issues involved in independent living. They should be your instructors on how to become a self-supporting adult. They can do a lot to ease the transition for you from dependent child to confident, independent adult. Use your parents (and any other family who might help, such as older siblings, uncles, aunts....) as a resource.

Growing up doesn’t mean you have to become boring (as Yogi found out). You don’t have to play bridge with the neighbors, complaining about taxes and your latest medical procedure. This is where the furry comes in! A big part of being furry is hugging the kid inside you. I can’t wait for Halloween, for example. I am putting on my Grubbs fursuit and handing out candy to the neighbor kids, making sure they get hugs and photo ops! Had a blast last year! Then, after that, I’m going downtown to see the costume contests and party. I’m 49 and still feel like a kid inside.

The transition from child to adult means you have to stop being childish, but it doesn’t mean you have to stop being childlike! Childish things include being selfish, not taking responsibility for your actions, and refusing to do the things that need to be done. But if you are childlike you maintain the wonder and joy of life. It is the childlike people in the world who make life special. People, for me, who come to mind in this area would be Jim Henson, Steve Irwin, John Denver, Jim Carrey, Carl Sagan, Jim Parsons, and Robin Williams. Did they have problems in their lives and have to act like adults? Certainly, but what amazing lives they lead (or led). (You might think Robin Williams is a bad example, given his suicide, but I don’t; his mental issues were another matter, sadly, but he still had that magnificent air of wonder about him).

In summary: find a passion in life; learn the ropes of being an adult; but don’t lose your grasp of your inner child. And stay furry! It helps!

Hugs,

Papabear

I'm thinking of wearing my suit to all my classes; I'll post photos with my teachers if that ends up happening. What's everyone else doing for Halloween?

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Hey guys! I'm kinda bored and I'm looking for a new book to read. So, what's everyone's favorite book/author?

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Even during the apocalypse dogs will still be dogs.

I speak both English and French, and was wondering how many other furs can speak more than one language. Bonus points if it's one of the "harder" languages that don't use a Latin alphabet (Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian etc.).

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Hi there. I've been a furry for a while but have never really done any furry art. All of my animal art ends up being feral or chibi style. I'm happy with my new chibi anthro style that I'm working on at the moment and wondered if anyone would like a free one. I warn you they will not be good but hey, they're free.

Comment below with a link to your sona or just describe it and I'll see what I can do. I will do 10 to start with.

Edit: It's 3:24 in NZ right now so I'll be checking the time signatures on the comments to select the last 7. Goodnight.

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Hello all my fellow fluffbutts. Sorry to make such a long post for such an easy question, but I feel like context is relatively important, so here we go.

I'm an aspiring electronic music producer. I've been working at it for about 2 years now, and I've tried everything from speedcore to deep house (And been fairly successful with many genres!). I don't suck, but I sure as hell ain't professional level of skill by any means, I don't think.

For a good while, I was producing and releasing things onto a couple of YouTube channels and SoundCloud accounts, not to mention trying to manage a Bandcamp as well. I was doing all this in the MLP fandom though, and before you start ranting about bronies please allow me to finish these next two paragraphs at least.

The reason I'm posting this message HERE and not on r/MLPLounge or something is because I've honestly stopped being as invested in that fandom as I was when I first started producing and releasing tracks. I've not really enjoyed the recent movies, the show has really kinda lost me for various reasons, and just generally it's gotten really eh overall.

Now, this and some heavy thinking and discussion with friends recently has led me to come to the conclusion that I should stop producing and releasing things into that fandom and instead start putting stuff in here with all you guys. The biggest reasons I came to this conclusion are that generally, I like this fandom better, the community is more pelasant, I'm more heavily invested in it, a lot of my best friends came from here, and I just feel like I fit in a hell of a lot more here than there. In short, y'all are awesome in more ways than one.

With all the context out of the way, I feel like I can just bluntly state the question I have after all this. Besides FurAffinity and maybe FurGather, where are good places to post my music? Is there such a thing as a furry specific music site or other generally good places to post?

Thanks for reading, love you all!

TL;DR: Where could I post my music that's good for getting exposure in this fandom?

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The furry fandom originated, according to most accounts, back in the late 80s, when a group of cartoonists got together to share their love of drawing anthropomorphic animals. Many old-time furries cite Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics as the earliest “modern furry” comic, and Gallacci’s table at a southern California science fiction convention as the focal point that led to ConFurence Zero. Wherever it started, furry fandom diverged quickly from science fiction in practice, if not in theory. Furry tracks at SF cons quickly grew to the point that organizers chose (or, according to some accounts, were asked) to start their own conventions. This began a divide between furry and SF/F fandoms that only grew as furry began to generate its own stories and novels more specifically relevant to its fans.

On the face of it, furry fiction would appear to be inseparable from science fiction. The main characters of furry stories are anthropomorphic animals, creatures that do not exist in the real world. What can that be but science fiction or fantasy? And yet SF/F has been as reluctant to embrace furry as furry has been to return to SF/F. There are SF/F stories with anthropomorphic animal characters, I am often reminded, but they do not seem to be as popular in the fandom as the home-grown furry books.

The central thing that makes a story furry is the quality of its characters. What makes a story science fiction is the idea behind it, the “what if” in a scientific sense. What makes a story fantasy is the worldbuilding (even urban fantasy builds a whole hidden world to graft onto our real one). These are pretty diverse concepts, and it should be easy when you look at them this way to see how a story can be one but neither of the other two–or could be furry fantasy or furry SF (fantasy and SF are traditionally separate, because when you build a new world for your fantasy story, the scientific “what if” loses its context; science fiction is traditionally at least based in the real world and real science).

If your story’s central idea is “how would the world change if everyone became an animal-person,” then that falls into the realm of science fiction (or, some might argue, fantasy, or slipstream; at the very least, it’s speculative fiction). If your story is about a new world in which everyone is an animal-person, then you are pretty okay with fantasy (my own Argaea series is sort of thinly fantasy, because there is no spellcasting nor anything else fantastical–except the characters). If your story is “how hard is it to be gay when society wants you to be straight, and also you’re a fox,” well. That’s not science fiction, and it’s not fantasy: it’s our real world with animal-people dropped in place of human people and the world changed to suit them. Scent markers become important and houses take on different shapes and sizes, for instance. But that’s not enough to make it a fantasy world.

So a subset of furry fiction is SF, and a larger subset is fantasy. But there’s a bunch of furry fiction that is just exploring human stories in the real world without enough fantasy or SF elements to appeal to readers of those genres. This seems to put furry into the realm of plain ol’ fiction, with furries a metaphor for people, or a way to have character types defined. But of course, making everyone a furry is a little far out for most modern fiction as well. Science fiction and fantasy fandoms have the most in common with furry fandom, and yet you can’t get past the fact that many SF/F fans don’t want to read furry stories–in some cases because they’re not weird enough.

I don’t think the fandoms need to merge or aggressively court each other’s fans, but I would like to see more communication between them. Furry is growing while SF/F is shrinking, or at least growing at a slower rate (if you exclude YA and video gamers and TV fans, which the core fandom continues to try to do), and yet the writing part of the SF/F fandom is chugging along just fine.

As furry fiction continues to grow and gain a wider audience in the fandom, I hope furries will look outside to what fantasy and SF are doing. There are some great stories being written in both fandoms, and though SF/F has the more accomplished stable of writers now, furry is on its way up. I think furry writers specifically could bring a lot of wonderful things back to the fandom from the SF/F books that are coming out now, things like cultural diversity and experimentation with literary forms, and sheer breadth of imagination.

Furry fiction has much to offer in return: the diversity of lifestyles in the furry fandom (QUILTBAG1 people are well represented and visible, and that is reflected in our fiction), and a way of reimagining our bodies and identities that is currently only skimmed in SF/F, an association with animal forms that has a rich literary and mythological tradition.

Some SF/F fans I’ve encountered won’t try any furry books–even the SF/F ones–but they’re missing out. Just because you don’t want to read all the books in a genre doesn’t mean you won’t want to read any. My “Dev and Lee” series has gained a pretty nice following among gay romance fans who recognize that at the heart of the story, there are people, no matter whether they have fur and tails or not. Do those people also want to read Kevin Frane’s excellent SF-furry novel Summerhill, which has a very minor gay romance in it? Not so much. But that doesn’t stop them from enjoying the furry books that do appeal to them.

Furry is not science fiction, nor is it fantasy–nor should it be. Furry is its own thing (I have heard from people who say “I just don’t want to read stories without furries in them”), and it has a vibrant, creative fandom. I am seeing more SF/F markets open to furry stories that otherwise fit their criteria, and more furries showing interest again in the SF/F world. This kind of cross-pollination of creative communities can only result in good things for both.

1. A more inclusive evolution of the acronym LGBT. See Julia Rios’ “Reaching into the QUILTBAG: The Evolving World of Queer Speculative Fiction” for more. –Ed. ↩

A few weeks ago I posted about a YCH I was holding and what not.

http://www.reddit.com/r/furry/comments/2imu5d/my_first_ever_ych_to_go_with_the_halloween_season/

YCH Post: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14724296/

It didn't really get much response but I was glad to have a response from a local group and it was very fun working on it. It took longer than expected due to lack of communication from the winner, but I was able to finally finish it and I'm very happy being able to finish my first YCH.

Completed Work: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14859211/

bows Thank you everyone~! It was a very nice experience that I hope to do more often.

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