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TigerTails Radio Season 8 Episode 11
The latest episode of TigerTails Radio. For previous episodes, visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk From: TigerTails Radio Views: 15 2 ratings Time: 02:00:02 More in People & Blogs

Just wondering if anyone out here is Australian. If so is there anyone from WA? Story is that I have not ever met another furry in person and was wondering if you are actually out there...

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In recent months, several [adjective][species] contributors, including myself, have been writing about issues faced by women who participate in the furry community.

In general, we’ve suggested that furry isn’t a welcoming environment for many women. We are male-dominated, and we don’t always do enough to reduce or prevent deliberate or accidental sexist behaviour. Many women avoid socialising in large furry groups, and many others choose to stop associating with furry altogether.

We have presented a wide range of evidence that supports this point of view, all of it necessarily either indirectly inferred from Furry Survey data, or based on anecdotal evidence. This evidence is certainly good enough for the basis of discussion, but many furries felt we were either inventing a problem that doesn’t exist, or exaggerating the issue.

Last week, the IARP published some hard data. And it doesn’t make for nice reading.

IARP volunteers handed out surveys to attendees at this year’s Furry Fiesta, held February 21 to 23 in Dallas, USA. 246 surveys were returned, out of 1884 total attendees. You can see their results in full, with discussion, here:

https://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/past-results/2014-furry-fiesta

As part of this research, they ran a focus group comprising of 21 women. They asked about experiences of sexism:

• 68.4% of women agreed that the fandom was an intimidating place for women
• 22.0% of women felt that women in the fandom were looked down upon. 66.7% of women felt that women in the fandom were put on a pedestal or revered. Those two variables were found to be highly correlated (r = .61, p = .008). The researchers also noted that past research on hostile and benevolent sexism has suggested that both forms of sexism often go hand-in-hand.

Aside from the questions asked by the IARP, there was also some open discussion in the focus group, to explore other common experiences. Among the themes expressed:

• Several participants indicated that ‘inappropriate touching’ was a problem at conventions, with furries feeling entitled to hug or to touch them because they were in suit, cosplaying, or simply for being a female.

• Many women expressed frustration over having male friends who would try to make a relationship sexual, or who were friends with the goal of one day becoming more than ‘just friends’. In a similar vein, relationship statuses seemed to be a barrier for many women, who found it difficult to make male friends when they were in a heterosexual relationship.

I urge you to read the whole thing.

I also recommend that you share and discuss the results in social fora, be that Twitter, Fur Affinity, Reddit, or wherever your furry social networks exist.

The IARP’s Furry Fiesta research is notable in that their sample of 21 female furries is a fairly large proportion of the total number of women at the convention (assuming that women made up about 10% of the total turnout, which is typical as far as we can tell). But it’s also worth pointing out that they weren’t able to talk to those women who chose not to attend the convention.

Convention attendees tend to be older than the average furry, and they tend to have been involved with furry for longer. It is reasonable to guess that the women who attend cons are those who are less subject to unwelcome attention, or less affected by unwelcome attention.

To put it another way: furry women who attend a convention have usually got a pretty good idea of what to expect, and they have concluded that any negative experiences associated with spending a few days at a convention are outweighed by the positive experiences. Necessarily, this means that the women who attend are less vulnerable—they are older, more experienced, and more capable of dealing with unwelcome behaviour—compared with women who didn’t attend.

Yet 68% of these women—the ones who are less vulnerable—agreed that furry is an intimidating place for women.

This, to me, is incredibly strong evidence that women (as a group) have a different experience within furry than men (as a group). It is ridiculous to suggest that 68% of men—the older, the more experienced, the convention-going, the less vulnerable men—find furry to be intimidating.

As it turns out, I was at a convention myself last week: Confuzzled, the biggest UK convention that gets bigger and better every year. One night, I was chatting to a (male) friend of mine who introduced me to a (female) friend of his. As we started chatting, she happened to make reference to her boyfriend.

This was, I learned, a coping strategy. When she meets new, male furs in a social environment, she has learned that mentioning her boyfriend helps reduce the regularity with which she receives unwelcome attention. Like the women in the IARP’s focus group, she often has to deal with “male friends who would try to make a relationship sexual, or who were friends with the goal of one day becoming more than ‘just friends’“. For her, this is something she has to do in a convention environment, to help make sure the positive experiences outweigh the negative experiences.

Furry is not alone. Many other male-dominated groups fail to create environments that are welcoming for women: other fandoms, sports fans, gaming communities. Very few men in these groups are outright sexist or want to be intimidating towards women—the problems are largely caused by invisible cultural norms. It takes specific effort to change things.

So what can we change?

Firstly, we can acknowledge that the problem exists. We can share evidence of the problem, be that scientific evidence like that presented by the IARP, or stories of negative experience.

Secondly, we can act as advocates for women. We can do this by challenging people who think that women have it easier than men*, and those people who think that the problem doesn’t exist.

* the IARP Furry Fiesta survey found that 42% of furries feel that the fandom treats women too positively

Thirdly, convention organisers can take steps to be more welcoming for women. This might include a women-only convention orientation session, to introduce women to the convention policy on sexual harassment and key security staff (as well as being a venue for women to meet and support each other through their experiences).

Fourthly… well, that’s something for each of us to think about. It’s a complex and pervasive problem, and it’s not going to disappear in a hurry. But it can get better, with time, and with the efforts of thoughtful and caring furries. Like you and me.

The panels and the time stamps at which you’ll find them in the recording:

Why Write Furry – 0:01:20
NFSW – Writing Furry Erotica – 1:00:30
Writing For Beginners – 1:47:50
Writer Traps – 2:29:15

The Fangs and Fonts crew held four writing panels at Fur-Eh 2014. We recorded them all so that everyone can listen to them. Please note the second panel is NSFW since it discusses erotica. Also apologies that the questions were not repeated and so it may be hard to hear what was asked

Hope you enjoy!
If you like what you hear, tell a friend
Send us any feedback you have
Email: podcast@fangsandfonts.com
Twitter: FangsAndFonts
Website: www.fangsandfonts.com

Ep 22 – Fur-Eh 2014 Panels - The panels and the time stamps at which you’ll find them in the recording: Why Write Furry – 0:01:20 NFSW – Writing Furry Erotica – 1:00:30 Writing For Beginners – 1:47:50 Writer Traps – 2:29:15 The Fangs and Fonts crew held four [...]

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Author: Dear Papa Bear, Sorry in advance about the mess and tangle of words and ideas in the upcoming text… Is this a good idea? This question deserves a long story, to begin, I’m gay. Simple right? Not really… Anyways, to officially begin, ever since last year, grade 7 or high school. (Canada schooling)… I’ve had a […]

Author: GreenReaper The winners of the 2013 Ursa Major Awards for the best anthropomorphic literature, artwork and websites published in 2013 were announced May 31 at a ceremony during Califur 10. Many categories had undisputed leaders; others were very competitive. Slightly Damned edged out Twokinds by just ten points in Best Graphic Story (which it […]

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Dear Papa Bear,

Sorry in advance about the mess and tangle of words and ideas in the upcoming text...

Is this a good idea? This question deserves a long story, to begin, I'm gay. Simple right? Not really... Anyways, to officially begin, ever since last year, grade 7 or high school. (Canada schooling)... I've had a crush on this guy right, let's call him Luca. So, when this crush started to develop, I decided to tell him I like him, so I did and he took it very well. He said, "Hey, I don't care that much, well, I care that it's me but, you have the right to like anyone right? But I don't want to be more than a friend. Cause, I need a friend like you." So to this I responded in like, as in, I responded by saying, "oh, ok, thanks for the understanding, it means a lot to have a friend like you..." 

So we remained friends for the past year and this year. Catch is he isn't that much more than an acquaintance, but then again, we still considered each other friends. So anyways, we remained that way for the two years, and now, my heart is just exploding with feelings that I can't contain anymore. My idea was to invite him camping with my family and I, (I sent an email asking and still haven't got a response.) And now I think that by doing that it could've wrecked all my chances with him... I did take precautions by saying, since we don't know each other that well, it may be a good idea to have your parents meet me and vise-versa. 

So, it doesn't stop here, when I send him an email, he never responds. So this time I'm worried he won't respond again... And I'm scared to think of what will happen, I'm scared of rejection etc... But my logic behind this idea was that maybe if I become closer to him I might have a greater chance with him. And I'm scared to talk to him, to ask him, I have barely enough courage to tell him to check his emails. Which I will do tomorrow... But, I feel like that this while idea was a bad one, and I'm starting to regret it. Please let me know if you think if this was a good idea and if you have any suggestions to reduce the amount of fear I have about everything. And you readers who read this.

Thanks,
Steve (age 13)

* * *

Hi, Steve,

I think it might help you to look at this scenario from Luca’s point of you. Imagine that you are approached by a guy who, to you, is not much more than an acquaintance, though a friendly one. Suddenly this guy says he has a crush on you, which would be a bit of a surprise to you, yes? I mean, you don’t know him that well and suddenly he says he has loving feelings for you. So, being a nice guy, you try and let him down easy, expressing that you are flattered but would just like to be friends.

Next thing you know, you are being asked to go camping with his family, people whom you know even less well—if at all. Wouldn’t this make you uncomfortable? The other guy says, “Let have our parents meet each other and discuss the trip.” You might be like, “Huh? This is weird; don’t you have some closer friends to ask on a camping trip? Ohhh, I get it, you still have a crush on me, and you want to get me alone in the woods somewhere, don’t you.”

Can you see how this line of reasoning might come about? And, if you do, can you see why he might be avoiding you now? Private invitations to camping trips with one’s family are best left for those who are already very close friends (Papabear would never camp out with people he doesn’t know). For those who you are just starting to get to know, it’s much better to do something like a movie or another public activity, and preferably one that lasts just a few hours, not days like a camping trip does.

It’s understandable that, at age 13, you got a little head over heels in love and it kind of stopped your brain from thinking things through. Excusable at 13, most definitely, but older readers of this column could pay heed, as well.

You may have already scared Luca away, and it will be very hard to get him back, I predict. Take it as a lesson learned that in matters of the heart it is not just your feelings—no matter how sweet and romantic—that matter.

This isn’t meant as discouragement, Steve. Next time, look for a spark in the other person as well. Yes, there are times when love at first sight can happen, but more typically falling in love occurs over time. I admire your boldness in one so young, but it’s okay to let love come to you, sometimes, too.

Hugs,

Papabear

Alien VS Chicken!

I'm new to doing commissions and I'm not sure if I'm over charging or under charging here is the price sheet and here is my gallery

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