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A Furry Is Feeling Isolated . . .
Bucky
* * *
Dear Bucky,
It sounds to Papabear as if you’re dealing with two things here: chronic depression and your difficulty fitting into the furry community when you are living in an isolated area. Whether or not the two problems are related, Papabear isn’t sure, but let’s see what we can do here.
First of all, your feeling that you have “nothing in common with most furs.” The only thing furries have in common with each other is their love of anthropomorphic characters. Although there is a preponderance of teen and twenty-something white furries, for the most part they are about as diverse a group as you can find. Pretty much every religion, socioeconomic level, education level, race, sexual orientation, and species interest is represented.
Papabear does not know what your particular background is, but I’m sure there must be some furries who are similar to you in some way and/or share interests with you. One thing you can do is look for them on places like Facebook and Furry4Life, both of which have a number of specialized groups. Papabear belongs to groups specializing in greymuzzles, bears, gay furs, and pagan furs, for example. If you don’t find a group for you, you can start one that is appropriate for you and then put the word out about it to try and get people to join you.
This can help you in the virtual world, but then there is also the real world. Geographical isolation can be a problem, especially if you don’t have the means to travel very far. Have you tried finding a local furmeet group. There is a site (http://furries.meetup.com/) that I wish more people would take advantage of. There are only 16 groups on it at the moment, but you could try starting your own meetup group in your area.
The gist of this is that you might have to take some initiative on your own to form a kernel of a furry group that meets your personalized needs.
If the cause of your depression is your lack of connection, Papabear hopes that some of the above advice may help you. If, though, your depression is caused by something else, then please write again and provide more detail about yourself, and I’d be happy to write a follow-up to you.
Bear Hugs,
Papabear
Does anyone else feel as though they have a thing where they can identify other furries?
First day of sophmore year, I saw a girl for no more than an hour and detirmined she was a furry, although she didn't really show any signs of it. I decided to talk to her since I didn't know anyone in that class and knew I could get along with her. Just two weeks ago, she officially said she was a furry after I said that furries are pretty coll and showed her some drawings. I think islt is kind of like one of those things like parents recognize parents.
submitted by Kyxx[link] [13 comments]
Hey guys
hey people of the furry subreddity i need some help im not good at drawing and i would really like some help on my fursona picture i have the design in my head and what i want it to look like im just not good at drawing so message me if you would like to help and i will explain it to you or message me and i will give you my skype and we can talk through there thanks alot
submitted by FluffyWolfPanda[link] [4 comments]
My first fursuit. (I'm not really a horse, but this is the best I could do with twenty bucks.)
Captain Crunch-the oral razorblades of cereal
my first fursona drawing, Thanks AxelSparkster!
Read These: ‘Dangerous Jade’ and ‘Green Fairy’
In honor of our triumphant (ha!) return, we’re giving you a two for one deal with our new review structure, the Weasel Wordsmith Recommends list, aka Read This Shit.
Yeah… we’re still working on the title. In the meantime, the first two entries are books that are connected, only in that their titles mention similar colors.
Dangerous Jade
By Malcom “foozzzball” Cross
Published by FurPlanet
It’s rare to have both a straight romance, and a non-scifi heavy mixed-species story in the fandom, but Cross provides both in his tale of mistaken identity, betrayal, and margaritas. Dangerous Jade, while set in a future of genetically engineered animal people, feels like a very contemporary romance. The tale of Jade and Carl shifts tones repeatedly, at times playing out like a comedic farce, and others a melodramatic look into the inherent dishonesty of relationships. It’s a character piece more than a plot driven story (and one that wraps up a little too neatly for my taste), but Cross uses it to showcase his skill at getting inside the head of his protagonist. A short read at about 75 pages, Dangerous Jade is an excellent amuse-bouche to a meatier piece of work we will likely see soon from Cross.
Green Fairy
By Kyell Gold
Published by Sofawolf Press
Green Fairy should be a welcome addition to the collection for Gold fans, especially those that favor Waterways over Out of Position. And it’s worth mentioning that Green Fairy is Gold’s first all-ages novel. It’s a tale of high school wolf Sol struggling with family, friends, and coming out. Not new ground by any means, but Green Fairy breathes life into the story with a side tale of the Moulin Rogue and French aristocracy. Gold expertly captures the feeling of high school and the pitfalls that come with it. Small town teen angst, combined with well meaning but strict parents, and “evil” jocks are staples of the genre, but are used effectively without becoming stereotypes. He manages to convey coming of age so well that his characters are sometimes frustratingly, believably juvenile. The twist, while intentionally obvious, propels the story into a new area for Gold and his Forrester universe. The other half of the story accents the teen drama with some harsh doses of historical reality, but they serve well to compliment and drive Sol’s transformation.
So, then, what's your personality type?
This is completely related to the subreddit, I swear! Yesterday, Aberguine had a question about why furries are... er, furry. They suggested that it might have to do with personality types. I just wanted to see if I could get you to post your (I believe Myers-Briggs) personality type. =)
(If you don't know yours, here's a list of them. If you'd rather take a test, I'm sorry but it's hard to find good free ones. If someone has a link to share, that would be awesome.)
Well, to start off, I'm either INFP or INTP.
A quick note: If you're serious about learning about this kind of thing, you might want to try more than one test and read about it on more than one website. =)
submitted by Kavyle[link] [54 comments]
Furries Arriving In Town For Annual Anthrocon Convention
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/furries-arriving-in-town-for-annual-anthrocon-convention/
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — If you haven’t seen them around town yet, you could very soon.
Raccoons, squirrels and other furry creatures – they’re back in Pittsburgh beginning today.
It’s the start of the annual Anthrocon Convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
According to organizers, Anthrocon began in 1997 as Albany Anthrocon and has been growing ever since.
People interested in Anthropomorphics, otherwise known as “furries,” are converging on the ‘Burgh dressed as different kinds of animals.
They are expected to come from as far away as Japan and Australia.
Organizers say the convention will include acting workshops and seminars, costume-building, animation, writing as well as art and design.
The event runs through June 17.
Thousands of 'Furries' return to Pittsburgh for annual Anthrocon convention
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/thousands-furries-return-pittsburgh-annual-anthroc/nPWCY/
Photo gallery link: http://www.wpxi.com/gallery/entertainment/anthrocon-2012-returns-pittsburgh/gh7Y/#1699798
PITTSBURGH — Thousands of "furries" have descended upon Pittsburgh for the 2012 Anthrocon convention.
Anthrocon is the largest anthropomorphics convention in the world with a membership of nearly 4,400 in 2011, according to the convention’s website.
Anthrocon has been holding its annual convention in Pittsburgh since 2006.
Members call themselves “Furries,” and the Anthrocon convention in Pittsburgh brings together thousands of devotees of anthropomorphics from near and far, in a relaxed social atmosphere.
Anthropomorphic or “humanized” animals have been with us since the dawn of civilization, the Web site claims. From the gods of ancient Egypt to the advertising icons of the modern day, people of every culture have created fanciful creatures simply by imbuing animals with human traits, according to the convention's Web site.
All of the finer aspects of anthropomorphic, or more commonly, "Furry" fandom, are celebrated at the convention. Its program of events includes workshops and seminars in acting, costume-building, animation, writing, art and design, and more. It also hosts an extensive art show where the best in anthropomorphic artwork is offered for sale.
The convention runs from June 14 to June 17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
UnFurled: Episode 49 – FurEh is Coming
On Money
Like many of those who who identify as members of the furry fandom, I joined at a relatively young age. I was reminded of this, recently, when a friend from years ago came out to visit, this last weekend. When he and I were talking most frequently, that was eleven or twelve years ago, which would’ve made me (gulp) fourteen or fifteen. I’ve been dwelling on that point for the last few days, as I worked up the outline of the rest of this article, and things finally fell into place when I consider who I was and where I was in life at that time. I was young, for sure, and just getting into the whole furry thing, watching artists on Yerf and VCL (and Side7 and Elfwood, oh man…) create these awesome drawings, most of which seemed to be spur of the moment things, or works of art created for the sake of creating art. Some, however, were commissions, and that was something I just could not fathom.
An artist – someone I didn’t even know – would draw whatever I told them. For money!
It boggled the mind, to be sure. I found the concept amazing, and spent all of thirty seconds researching the idea before noticing the price of a commission: $50. At the time, I made that much in two months of allowance. Once I could drive, my allowance went up, but then I was expected to pay for my own gas as I drove back and forth a few times a week between my mom’s and dad’s houses in the decidedly fuel inefficient junker I had been lent. It wouldn’t be until I was a few years into college that I paid an artist for a commission of my character.
Money plays a not insignificant part in our fandom. While art was, for a while, the thing that everyone tried, there was still a growing, core group of artists that provided much of the output and garnered much of the attention by offering a steady stream of commissions and filling our VCL feeds, at first, and then our FA watch lists. For those who are unable to draw their characters to their own satisfaction, all it took was a few bucks, or a few hundred, dropped on a commission, a short, or long, wait, et voila, your character in a visible format to share with the world. The financial transactions became more pronounced as fursuiting began to gain in popularity, as the core group manufacturing some of the most visible fursuits was even smaller, and the price point higher. Finally, conventions offer their own unique financial burden for those involved, whether it’s simply the cost of attending one’s local convention or the price of airfare halfway around the world to attend a con in another country.
However, there seems to be some additional doxa surrounding money within the furry fandom. The “poor fur versus the rich fur”, for example, is a trope that plays itself out regularly in the comments on images and journals on FurAffinity, particularly on the post of an artist offering commissions. It usually begins with an “I would, but I can’t afford it” comment, and can often spiral into an argument from there. Much has been written on this in the past, as this seems to stem from the idea of the poor envying the rich and the lifestyle that they represent, but in this case, the leisure either perceived or imagined, takes the format of numerous commissions, a fursuit, and regular attendance at popular conventions.
This ties into another example of the layers of meaning around money within the fandom: being judged on the amount and status of one’s material possessions, usually in the form of commissions. A good example would be the non-artist who commissions countless pieces and reposts them all to FA, garnering followers and social status by spending money. That is, of course, a cynical way of looking at it, and perhaps a more kind-hearted explanation is that the individual is very much into the visual representation of their character, and has the money to spend to make that happen. Either way, the fact that the idea of a member of the fandom gaining social standing by purchasing drawings of themselves, as it were, points to the fact that this is something we take into account on some level when interacting with those around us. After all, if someone has plentiful drawings of their character in a myriad of styles, it’s certainly easier to picture interacting with them in some sort of furry world during RP, to name only one perceived benefit.
The idea goes beyond just the consumers, however, and extends even to the creators. We all know the overextended artist, ever taking more commissions without finishing the previous batch, their work-load piling up as they offer reassurances with one hand and sketch-stream commissions with the other. Or there is also the under-priced artist, who has decided on $5 as a good price for a sketch, $10 for color, $15 for shaded despite the obvious quality of their work and the time spent on it. There are countless additional tropes involving the artist and the role they play with the audience and their patrons, however, and many surround the idea of money within the fandom.
“So what, you ridiculously wordy fox?” I hear you saying. ”What’s the big deal? We’re a subculture dominated by westerners, and those western types tend to be capitalists; is it really so surprising that money would play a large factor in our fandom?”
Well, no, it’s not surprising in and of itself. Within a western capitalist society, money is exchanged for goods or services in order to represent a fair trade for work performed. To extend that into our own social group is only second nature: we offer money in return for the work of rendering our characters visually, for a costume that we can put on in order to act the part, or for the chance to go visit hundreds (or thousands – hey folks at AC!) of like-minded individuals in one spot for a wonderful weekend or two a year.
What is interesting, however, is the complex interaction between cash-money and social currency, which features prominently in our interactions. I’m not kidding when I say “complex”, either. Social currency and financial currency are two topics that are, on the surface, linked: by creating something worth buying, you are, in effect, making something which has improved your social standing. Capitalist societies don’t necessarily work this way, of course, and so the relationship between the two exists in a sort of tension revolving around worth: “is this worth something?”, “am I worth what I’m paid?”, “what worth would I gain by having more images of a fox-man I claim is me?”. Rather, it’s likely more instructive to examine the ways in which money aids and hinders social currency within the fandom.
The number one way in which having more money would aid one’s social standing is by being a party to the act of creation. The root concept of a commission is that of two parties, the artist and the patron, working together to create an item worth something by each contributing something of worth. For the artist, this is their talent, skill, and time; and for the patron, it is their ideas and character or characters – the subject matter. Money changes hands, here, and social currency is boosted. The purpose of the money is to offer something in exchange for the patron’s boost in social currency; the artist can create their own by producing works that are not commissions, such as their own personal art or art to sell in one form or another.
Perhaps a more simple example, however, is the convention. For a convention, the attendee is willing to exchange money for social interaction. Social interaction of any kind works into one’s social standing, and increasing the outlets and venues for that interaction helps to diversify one’s standing. It always helps to prove that one is not simply some sort of program on the Internet, nor a meat popsicle incapable of interacting with others.
Where does money hinder social currency, then? Well, one of the primary ways in which the two oppose each other is the increased divisiveness that is inherently part of a financial class-structure. The whole rich/poor distinction can be taken on an individual basis and split further into richer-than-me/poorer-than-me and does play a factor in our lives no matter how much we intend to keep it at bay. Being able to interact effectively across perceived financial boundaries is part of learning to live within a hierarchy, after all. Within the fandom, this shows its face in myriad ways: the artist who takes on several inexpensive commissions to make rent, the fan who overspends in order to be able to attend a convention, or even the aforementioned comments on commission posts about not having enough money and the wrangles that ensue.
Beyond that,however, financial and social currency do not map exactly onto each other. That is, a monetary expenditure is not correlated one hundred percent with a social currency gain. At times, it can seem to be the opposite – when one first gets a commission from an artist of some renown, the number of page-views skyrockets, new faves, new watches, and new comments all seem to come in a flood. However, comparing that with the faves, comments, and views of some other commissioners, even of the renowned artist’s post of the same image, can be a little disheartening. It’s in our nature to compare, as was mentioned, and noting that our own meager following seem to be the only ones appreciating our post as compared to that of the artist shows what appears to be a disparity in gain: we gained our social status through our financial contribution, and it’s up to us to ensure that the gain was worth the money we spent.
This division of worth is a complex and difficult one to understand, of course, and I know that I am oversimplifying greatly here by leaving out aspects such as personal and aesthetic worth gained from things such as commissioned art and fursuits, not to mention the intensely personal gain experienced from seeing a loved one at a convention felt by many. However, it was enough to broach the subject: money is one of those strangely simple ideas that has grown strangely complex ancillary meanings over time, and the concept is not made any simpler by pitting it against the nuances of social standing and currency that are so important within our subculture.
There is still room to explore, of course. Without spoiling too much of what I have planned, I would like to explore both the concept of business and its interaction with our subculture – whether it’s a furry business or a non-furry business targeting furries – as well as more from the creator’s side of the trade, and what all it means to take money in order to produce a representation of someone else’s character. An exchange, whether of trust and social standing or of simple monetary funds, is a complicated thing, and we are continually carving out our own niche, making our own markets, and coming across our own problems in that arena.
Review: ‘Flight of the Godkin Griffin’, by M. C. A. Hogarth
Remember if you see Uncle Kage at Anthrocon
Re: Tomorrow's FoxTrot
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If Jason were 10 years older, he'd think this hybrid is the coolest
thing ever, based on what I see on Equestria Daily:
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Ron
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