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Is it me or are Furries popping up in news stories more? It feels strange to bring it up, but I swear the fandom has been getting more media attention and a good amount of it has been positive. Yes, I know, it weirds me out too. The reason I’m writing this opinion piece is, in part, because of my own history in the fandom. I got involved with the Furry Fandom around 2009. If you were a Furry around that time you were under the shadow of, what I prefer to call, the “Vanity Fair Era”. Named that cause of the infamous article published by Vanity Fair titled, “Pleasures of the Fur”, in 2001. Which presented the Furry Fandom as a sexual fetish and only as a sexual fetish. Along with MTV’s Sex2K episode, “Plushies and Furries,” and the famous CSI episode, “Fur and Loathing,” in 2003 that painted a clear picture of the fandom to mainstream audiences. Supposedly we are about sex and only sex.

Of course that isn’t true. It’s a part of the fandom but it’s not what defines the fandom. Furries are people who love walking talking animals and how they show that love depends on the person. It is as silly for people as it is serious. You can have a fursuit or not. You can create artwork in the fandom or be an observer. It can be sexual for you and it cannot. We all have different levels based around that same love and as long as we are respectful and understand people’s different viewpoints we bring forward a beauty of community the Furry Fandom provides. Anyone who has been in or actually explores the fandom understands that, but with stories like CSI that wasn’t what people were seeing. It’s why for the longest time, and still to a degree, Furries don’t talk to the media because the media has done a poor job with representing us.

Which has lead to moments like the Inside Edition undercover story at FC in 2015 or several smaller press organizations trying to sneak in to get the right sound bite that fits into the ‘Furries as only a sexual fetish’ narrative. I remember when getting involved with the fandom watching those Uncle Kage videos about how to interact/ avoid the media or how he responded when the media went to him. There was no question about it. If you were a Furry under the Vanity Fair Era you were one of the lowest of the low. Someone to be openly mocked and ridiculed. Something you had to hide.

Now we are clearly out of the Vanity Fair Era. I can’t say when it ended, with history there’s rarely any cut off date, eras come in waves and in the last few years the previous wave has died down. As it was dying, around the start of the 2010’s, I began to come across several small articles now and again actually tackling the topic of Furries and what the fandom is about. Though the main word here is “small”, with coverage from local press outlets of a local convention or a furmeet with an even smaller audience. For a point of reference, the biggest outlet I can remember covering Furries outside of a sexual fetish was Buzzfeed. If you listen closely you can here several people clutching their pearls right now.

While the biggest story I can remember coming from mainstream presses at the time was the Gas Attack on Midwest Fur Fest in 2014 where one news anchor, who had no idea what Furries were, couldn’t stop herself from laughing. But it was after that, for some strange reason that this new wave of Furry stories really started to take off. There were still the standard small press stuff, along with coverage about the Fursonas doc, but then around 2016 we got hit with one of the biggest positive articles for the fandom. The Syrian Refugees at VancouFur. To say that story put the fandom under a new light would be an understatement. It was a watershed moment that spread like wildfire over social media.

Then we come to this year where the stories continue. Notably, popular writer Kyell Gold’s new book, “The Time He Desires,” getting featured on Slate’s LGBT Blog Outward, about tackling a gay immigrant Muslim romance involving furries in front of current events took social media by storm. Offering more exposure to Furry writers then anyone could ask for. Along with the obvious hate that came with it. Have you ever witnessed someone being triggered on Tumblr? Think of that, but with Nazis – which is funny to watch. Shortly after that, YouTube puts a Furry YouTuber, Rainy Chaos, on their Creators on the Rise bringing forward a lot of attention both good and bad. Rainy Chaos discusses her experience following the event.

So why are Furries being featured more? Hard to say. My best hypothesis would be that since the novelty of making fun of Furries has died down it has open us up more to be who we are and able to feature the full spectrum of the community. That’s not to say it’s all peaches and sunshine. As big as having these stories break out, it has also brought out a lot of the same hate that has haunt the fandom. Not to mention stories like the ridiculous Tonygate to the sad like the recent murders in Orange County to the disturbing from Philadelphia about the men arrested for pedophilia who were part of the fandom.

If there is a silver lining with the last two stories, it would be one – these monsters have been caught, and two – when the topic of the fandom came up they never tried to connect the fandom as the cause. These are tragic stories that just so happened in the Furry Fandom. No different than if the same stories came from a Trekkie, Anime, or Comic fandom. The only draw back I’ve seen is how several articles are using pictures of unrelated fursuiters, which can leave the impression that that person was a part of it. These stories do bring up the question of reasonability in the fandom, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The main thing I want to bring up with this moment in the fandom, is that things are changing. The fandom is not seen as it was over a decade ago. However, it still has a lot to prove. There will always be someone who will openly hate us, make fun of us, or make us out as the worse. But if we are given the chance, we can show who we are, all the good we can do, and occasionally step up if something bad happens close to us.

We now have a chance to bring a spotlight where we want it, rather than ducking if it catches us unaware.  How far do we go to get it? That’s an easy question with no easy answer. Till next time you crazy Fluffer Nutters. Stay amazing. Stay awesome. Stay you.

-Matthias

Titan Books have released a new science fiction anthology called Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone. It features an impressive roster of authors presenting stories set in the world of the original five-movie Planet of the Apes series, or in the world of the 1974 live-action TV series (which is not exactly the same world, but close). “The 1968 film Planet of the Apes was a seminal work of science fiction that inspired generations of filmmakers and authors. Now a who’s who of modern writers — including Kevin J. Anderson, Nancy Collins, Jonathan Maberry, and John Jackson Miller [and many more] — produces sixteen brand-new, exclusive stories… Each writer will explore a different drama within the post-apocalyptic world, treating readers to their unique visions and non-stop adventure.” Edited by Rich Handley and Jim Beard, it’s available now in paperback at Amazon.

image c. 2017 Titan Books

Here are a few teasers for various animated shorts to look out for. https://vimeo.com/189660015 https://vimeo.com/189658289 https://vimeo.com/194858943 https://vimeo.com/199976599 https://vimeo.com/195304018 And from the upcoming Dam Keeper film: https://youtu.be/qPDFUBg4nSc https://youtu.be/P5RodH6DCBA https://youtu.be/PpiZ0DmRFp0
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New members

We had four new members join the FWG in January—welcome to John Giezentanner, David Green, Gullwulf, and Devin Hallsworth! If you’d like more information about joining, read our membership guidelines.

Member news

If you’d like to be listed here, please post your sales/publications to the Member News section of the FWG Forum! It’s the primary source for these news bits.

Joel “Zarpaulus” Kreissman’s novel The Pride of Parahumans was published at the beginning of January by Thurston Howl Publications.

Fred Patten accepted stories from Dwale, Thurston Howl, and Jaden Drackus for Dogs of War II. Jaden’s short “Stealing the Show” also was accepted by Thurston Howl’s Wolves anthology.

Madison Keller had a story accepted into Tarl Hoch’s Purrfect Tails anthology.

Renee Carter Hall’s story “The Frog Who Swallowed the Moon” has been released as an audiobook on Audible (also available on Amazon).

Alice “Huskyteer” Dryden was interviewed for the Ursa Major Awards website. (Her short story “The Analogue Cat” won both the UMA and the Cóyotl Award for 2015.)

New markets

• Infurno: The Nine Circles of Hell is an anthology from Thurston Howl Publications, paying in contributors’ copies only. Looking for stories themed around Dante’s Inferno, from 2,500 to 8,000 words in length. Deadline: August 1, 2017. Submission Guidelines.

For ongoing markets previously covered but still open (and occasionally, open in the future), visit the FWG web site:

• Paying short story markets
• Non-paying short story markets
• Novel/novella markets

Remember to keep an eye on the Calls for Submissions thread on the forum, as well as other posts on the Publishing and Marketing forum.

Odds and ends

The Tuesday Coffeehouse Chats continue to take place on the FWG Slack channel, while the Thursday chats continue to take place on the shoutbox.

As usual, we’d like to keep recruiting you to the FWG Goodreads group: add things to our members’ bookshelf (see the instructions here on how to do that), start conversations, draw rabbit ears on other authors’ head shots, and so on.

Have a terrific month! Send news, suggestions, feedback, and wince-inducing puns on the word “fur” to furwritersguild@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.

Longtime creator, Roz Gibson, is running a Kickstarter for her final novel of the Griffin Ranger series The Monster Lands. Better known for her art like the character Jack Salem, the comic series City of Ice, and, one of my favorite, an amazing comic adaptation of The Killers song, Mr. Brightside. In recent years, she has expanded into the world of writing with her first novel, Griffin Rangers: Crossline Plains.

Now she is wrapping the story up, but needs your help to make it happen. As stated on the Kickstarter, The Monster Lands pick up where Crossline Plains left off. The Griffin Ranger, Harrell, wishes to find his missing daughter, but his journey will take him to our very own earth where he is captured and force to fight for his very life while hoping his fellow Rangers, Kwap and Tirrsill, can rescue him as they themselves are being hunted.

With a goal of 4,500, the money will go towards editing, cover art, and printing cost. Depending on what you donate, you can get e-books of books one and 2, backer exclusive artwork by Roz herself, signed copies of the books, original artwork, etc… The book will be available in paperback and Kindle and will be published by FurPlanet. If you are a fan of Roz’s work or just a big old nerd for griffins, then check out the Kickstarter and check out the first book. Till next time Fluffer Nutters. Stay awesome. Stay amazing. Stay you.

-Matthias

Hello Everyone!

We open this week's show with a discussion on poppers and eyesight damage. No, we're not talking about jalapeño poppers, but the kind of poppers you huff (if you huff jalapeño poppers please let us know). Known as VCR Cleaner, Tape Cleaner, or Leather Cleaner, this is a commonly encountered additive to sex that many people enjoy, and it is not well researched in terms of consequences to your long-term health. We look at one investigation that links damage to your vision to the usage of poppers and add another reason to consider carefully your choice to include them in your play.

Our main topic is on rebuilding trust in a relationship after a betrayal, cheating, or a rule violation. Relationships are never perfect and mistakes happen, but how to move beyond that mistake is not often discussed and it is consistently one of our more commonly asked questions. We look into this area of relationship healing and offer advice to both the offender and the hurt, as well as provide looks into our lives when we have been put on either side of this situation.

We close out this week's show with a discussion on love. What is love? Am I in love? What's love got to do with it? These are questions that singers and sages have asked for years but have yet to provide an answer. We hope to help one of our listeners figure out whether or not they are in love with their best friend and, if so, should they pop the question. 

For more information, including a list of topics, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 056 Rebuilding Trust (After Betrayal) - Are poppers bad for you (no, not the jalapeño poppers, heck)? Can there be love after betrayal? What is love-- and no, not the Beatitudes! All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction.

An Indiegogo campaign for a dark comedy about post world war III war against human-pig hybrid super soldiers with Danny Trejo? This is not a thing I would have expected today. Bullets of Justice on Indiegogo. [1] [1] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bullets-of-justice-movie-action#/
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Whoops! How did we miss this one? A year ago Graphix brought us Bunny vs. Monkey, a full-color all-ages graphic novel by Jamie Smart. What’s it about? Look at the title! Well now, it’s time for Bunny vs. Monkey: Book 2, just hitting the shelves. “Welcome to the Woods! A peaceful home, until…ZAP! ZAAPPP! ZAAAPPPPP!!! It’s Monkey in a hovercraft that fires lasers! Science and nature fight again! With robotic worms! Trojan mooses! And lemony doomsday devices! It’s the continuing battle between good and evil…It’s Bunny vs Monkey: Book Two!” You heard it here. Now check it out over at Goodreads.

image c. 2017 Graphix

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Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us a buck or two, we'd greatly appreciate it. www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Don't forget to hang out in our telegram chat, now w/ over 100 members!telegram.me/draggetshow ep 153 - Shit On The Boss's Desk - Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us …

Bonus video for today because there is a new Monkey King video is coming. “A sequel to Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons, the Monkey King is back. Now tamed by Tang Sanzang, Monkey King has become one of Tang’s disciples. Tang, Monkey King, Sandy and Pigsy band together to fight demons as they continue their journey west.”
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A new high-concept sitcom coming this March on ABC where a woman starts getting plagued by her old Imaginary friend. "Alice (Jenna Elfman) has her life turned upside-down when she falls for the love of her life Ben (Stephen Schneider)— an adorable, quick-witted divorced father with three kids. But when she ignores her fears of commitment and her ability to mother, Imaginary Mary, her childhood invention (voiced by Rachel Dratch), comes back to life to express Alice’s deepest fears and add more chaos to the situation. Imaginary Mary coming this March to ABC!"
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Hi,

So I just found out about furries and was hoping you could give me some advice on how to were a tail and ears with a school uniform because I go to a stupid private school and tips on how to start a furry blog to get more young furries involved in this because it is a great way to express yourself. And I wore my tail and ears to hang out with my friends and they just looked at me like they didn't know me and where very quiet to me and wouldn't walk to close to m. How can I get them to like me for who I am and not care about my tail and ears.
 
Fae (age 13)
 
* * *
 
Dear Fae,
 
It is a reality of life among mundanes (nonfurry humans) that they simply cannot relate to or understand people who are different. Except for a minority of enlightened people who are honestly not bothered by others who are of a different race, nationality, gender, sexuality, religion, or even income level, the vast majority of mundanes feel uncomfortable around others who are not very similar to themselves.
 
It is, therefore, naïve of anyone to expect such people to accept you for being you. They are victims of social pressures that make them conform to artificial “norms,” and reject anyone who doesn’t fit nicely into those norms. They are, frankly, to be pitied for leading such narrow-minded lives.
 
My advice? Do not wear your ears and tail around such people unless you want to be rejected by them. Do not wear them with a school uniform—or at school, period. This is why we have things like furmeets and furcons: they are places we can go and be comfortable being who we are around other furries.

Being a furry is like being a nudist: there's nothing wrong with the human body and being naked, but our society rejects that completely. Therefore, nudists only express themselves in places such as nudist camps and beaches. The same is true with furry. Mundanes feel uncomfortable around fur just as they are around naked flesh, it seems, so we end up being furry around others like ourselves.
 
Many Western cultures say that they are in favor of people expressing themselves and being themselves, but they are actually lying about that quite utterly and completely. That goes especially for furries.
 
Sorry to have to teach you this lesson, but you’re better off knowing now before you get severely hurt by a furry hater.
 
In the meantime, try to find furries in your area with whom you can hang out.
 
Hugs,
Papabear

Dear Papabear,

I am asexual, but my parents don`t seem to be capable of accepting my lack of a sexuality they always say, "Oh, you'll grow out of it," "Oh, you're just presexual." I have tried explaining to them that that`s acephobic, but it doesn't work. What do i do? 

Anonymous Creacher (age 11)

* * *

Dear Creacher,

You're 11 years old. You SHOULD be asexual. My God, you have not reached puberty yet! Don't worry about sex!!!! Spend some time being a child first.

You're parents are not acephobic. They are pointing out that it is too early for you to be worried about sex. 

Papabear

The folks at American Mythology: Dark (whom you may recall) have kicked things up yet another notch with the release of Werewolves vs. Dinosaurs vs. Yetis. They mean it. “Cade and Smith have been transported through a portal into a strange and deadly new realm. Now these unlikely allies need to get back to their own world, despite being hunted by ferocious Werewolves and Dinosaurs. And their temporary reprieve from danger is an illusion.  The mysterious Trench and his cowboy mercenaries are still tracking them and they are on the cusp of being caught in a horror free-for-all between Werewolves, Dinosaurs, and the legendary Yeti!” Created by Eric Dobson, Chris Scalf, and Matt Frank, this new full-color comic series premiers in February.

 

image c. 2017 American Mythology

Barry Dixon [1] is a youtuber that makes puppets and films and mostly around a cute bird named Dabchick. Yes Dabchick ... you are cute. [1] https://twitter.com/BarnabyJDixon
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We’ve mentioned the comic book series Animosity from Aftershock before. “The Animals thought, spoke, and took revenge. The dust has settled and the blood has dried, but a new force is rising in the West, ready to help Animal-kind seize power in the dark new world to come…” Now they’ve released a special off-shoot called Animosity: The Rise. “Spinning out from Marguerite Bennett’s hit new series Animosity is this special one-shot, illustrated by American Monster’s very own Juan Doe! Witness the devastating effects of ‘The Wake’ and how it affected other parts of the world on that terrifying day!” Interestingly, it appears that this concept is played for laughs (?). At least, that’s what the review over at AiPT would have you believe.

image c. 2017 Aftershock Comics

This week the hosts are all together and discuss things like Furry Fiesta, life being cheap in space, adventures to Waco, and dogs. We also get a few asks. Want to help support the show? We have a Patreon! www.patreon.com/knotcast Episode 337 - Say It With Beef

Not the sort of news article the furry fandom wants or needs, but I am posting it here because of its serious nature, and because it seems to have had limited coverage which is in danger of disappearing completely behind a paywall.

The original article was here:
http://www.theintell.com/news/crime/milford-man-charged-with-child-rape/article_cf00a42a-e4e4-11e6-8431-77cb8a46662f.html

and read:

Milford man charged with 2009 child rape

By James O'Malley, staff writer 21 hrs ago 0

A Milford man has been charged with raping an 8-year-old boy inside his home in 2009.

Kenneth C. Fenske, 57, of the 2700 block of North Old Bethlehem Pike, was arraigned Friday before District Judge Gary Gambardella on one count of child rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, according to court records.

Each charge against Fenske is graded as a felony of the first degree.

His arrest comes as the result of a joint investigation by Bucks County Detectives and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, court papers show.

According to a criminal complaint, the boy, now a teen, told investigators Fenske raped him several times in 2009 during a series of "furry" parties at Fenske's home.

"Furries" are adults who dress in animal costumes, the complaint says. For some, it is done as part of a sexual fetish.

The boy told police that Fenske, who went by the furry nickname "Lupine" and dressed as a red fox, would remove the costume during the episodes of abuse, the complaint says.

Arrest papers also reference an instance in which the abuse occurred at a "party apartment," but do not provide additional information as to the apartment's location.

The boy told investigators he was the only child present at these parties, and would go dressed as Kellogg's cereal mascot Tony the Tiger, the complaint says. The boy allegedly told investigators that during these parties he would play the video game "Rock Band" for a period of time until Fenske asked him to come upstairs where, in a guest bedroom, the abuse occurred.

A call to a cellphone number listed in the arrest affidavit and associated with Fenske went straight to a voicemail inbox for "Ken Fenske of Anapode Solar and Fensys Ltd." A message left Friday was not immediately returned.

State records list Fenske as owner of both Anapode Solar and Fensys Ltd., with both entities registered to his Old Bethlehem Pike address.

Court records show the district judge set bail at 10 percent of $750,000. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 13.

Fenske is the third man to be charged with abusing the same victim.

David R. Parker, 38, of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, is facing charges in his home county of child rape and related counts, as well as a handful of child pornography charges in a separate case, according to court records.

Jeffery Harvey, 40, of West Wyoming, Luzerne County, faces charges in neighboring Lackawanna County of unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a cellphone, involuntary deviate sexual assault and statutory sexual assault, court papers show.

According to arrest papers, Harvey was arrested June 28 when he thought he was meeting a teen boy for sex, but instead was greeted by agents with the attorney general's office.

The complaint says he allowed investigators to search his phone, where they found text conversations between Harvey and Parker about abusing the boy.

Upon his arrest June 29, police say, Parker admitted raping and abusing the boy over a number of years.

Messages left after-hours Friday with attorneys for Harvey and Parker were not immediately returned.


James O'Malley: 215-510-9372 email: jomalley@calkins.com Twitter: @omalley_intell