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submitted by Lol33ta
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submitted by wolffan98
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Guest post by Howl. This piece appears in Furries Among Us, a collection of essays by several furry writers, recently published in paperback by Thurston Howl Publications. You can read the [adjective][species] review of Furries Among Us here.

Thurston Howl, as he appears in Furries Among Us. Pic by Sabretoothed Ermine.

The name’s Howl. I am a folf dog (fox-wolf-dog hybrid), and I’m here to talk to you about sex! (This sounds like the most nightmarish way to start a sex ed class in high school. For that matter, furries and sex ed should just never mix.) So, many of you may know the term “furry” can hardly be spoken in public without someone assuming you’re talking about a fetish. Furries are people who just like having sex in fursuits, right? I remember “coming out”[1] as a furry to a friend of mine, and he said, “Aren’t those the suits with the holes in the crotch area?” That was a major face-palm (or face-paw) moment for me. Furries definitely have an unwarranted sexualized stigma in today’s society. From my experience, the furry fandom has been about community, belonging, and just friends having a good time. However, there are certainly other aspects, such as art, fiction, music, fursuiting, conventions, and more. So, am I saying that sex is absolutely not a part of the fandom? Well, while sexuality is probably more important than sex in the fandom, I would (and do) argue that sex is a part of the fandom but not a separate aspect.

Let me start this by reiterating that the fandom’s greatest value is its reliance on inclusion and community. No matter what your hobbies are, your favorite films, sports, books, or alcoholic beverages[2], furries will accept you. This goes the same for sexual preferences. Whether you are gay, bi, straight, trans, pan, or anything outside and in-between, furries will be glad to have you around. As they are this accepting, they also are open[3]. Sex and sexuality are simply not taboo topics for furries. No, this doesn’t mean that furries meet at coffee shops and discuss their favorite sex toys, but it means that in private or online, most won’t shy away from making sex jokes, sharing sex stories with close friends, or asking each other questions that their conservative high school sex ed never covered. They even have some unique sexual terms that further separate sex from the realm of taboo. Instead of the colloquial “fuck,” furries say “yiff,” supposedly being the sound foxes make when they have intercourse. “Murr” is another common sexual term that is a general sound of pleasure. One might use it in response to getting a back rub or the like. Also, furries tend to call their significant others “mates” as opposed to “boyfriend,” “significant other,” or the ever-abhorrent “bae.” Note that none of these are terms for new ideas; they are simply animal variants of common sexual ideas. However, sex manifests itself in the furry fandom in more than just its lingo.

As Kyell Gold mentions in his article in this collection, furry literature does something that gay porn just doesn’t: it enables for sex to be integral to a meaningful LGBT relationship, whether it is for young or mature audiences. College-aged furries can read about coming-out and sexual intimacy in the same novel now, something that can be notably harder to find in mainstream fiction. As he also notes, many furry novels have an Adult rating on them even if they have just one adult scene, while many mainstream erotica novels do not have any kind of warning. With that said, one can see how sex, at least in furry literature, functions as an integral, or at least important, aspect of real-life relationships that mainstream literature usually does not capture in the same way[4]. Some sample authors of erotic furry fiction are Kyell Gold and Rukis. I feel no need to expound on furry erotica, as you could simply read Kyell Gold’s article elsewhere in this collection.

Furry art is likewise open. On April 26, 2015, I searched FurAffinity (the main art archive for furries) for the word “fox[5].” Including NSFW (Not Suitable/Safe For Work) images, there were 667,477 results. When I shifted the toggle to Only SFW (Suitable/Safe for Work) images, there were 489,470 results. That means that roughly 73% of all fox images have a General or lightly Mature audience rating. There are several archives for furry art, including FurAffinity, e621, SoFurry, and various tumblrs. I feel absurd for quoting “The Rules of the Internet” here from 4chan (2007). Rule 34 states, “If it exists, there is porn of it.” This is very true even for furries. From The Lion King erotic art to Mickey Mouse nude pictures, if you can name an anthropomorphic character, some artist has probably drawn it having sexual relations with another. However, from my experience, most furries look at this kind of art not as porn[6], but with erotic appreciation. I have looked at furry art with friends, and it becomes a game of who can find the “hottest” art; it’s not an intimate action. Many furries really do just admire the art. It is a sexually open fandom, and that openness plays into their art as well as their literature.

Now, let me address a myth I have definitely heard more than once. Myth #1: Furries like to have sex with animals. Absolutely not. The idea of furry is not “becoming an animal.” It is about a completely new physical idea, the hybridization of human and animal. If such a creature was to exist, would it be ethical to have relations with it? I will not pretend to have the answer, and I acknowledge that many would be against it, but I also know that many would be perfectly okay with it as long as the being possesses human intelligence. Comparing furry to bestiality is akin to comparing homosexuality to bestiality: it just doesn’t make sense. When a furry admires an erotic pose of a feline anthro character, they might say he has a cute tail. Maybe his human chest is very muscular. Maybe his clothes are so tight that they reveal all his muscles, all his curves…I don’t know if I was trying to be evocative just then, but I assure you I could do much better (and have done better, in my last furry work Where Carnivores Meet, #shamelessplug). While the furry fandom is sexually open, this doesn’t mean that everyone in it is sexual. Even if a furry does “paw off”[7] to an erotic art piece, that does not signify the person wants to go into a barn and have intercourse with a horse.

Myth #2: Furries have sex in fursuits. This one is almost laughable. When I hear this, I ask them how much they think a fursuit costs. Usually, they might say two or three hundred dollars. Then, I have the pleasure of telling them it can be upward of two or three thousand dollars. Most furries aren’t willing to cut holes in the fronts of their expensive suits for sex purposes. Fursuits are for social acting (see Keefur’s article). Yes, there are furries who have sex in fursuits, but probably not more than people who have sex in space suits. Yes, fetishes exist, but the furry fandom is not a fetish.

With all of this said, there are two further aspects of furry sexuality I would like to discuss. One is stereotypes. Despite the fact that furries do not rely on sexuality, furries do apply sexual stereotypes to some people based on their furry identity, or fursona. For example, if someone is a fox, they are typically considered to be submissive, hypersexual, teasing, and on the receiving end. Wolves are usually dominant sexually. Bears (as is similar to the LGBT term) are larger in weight and usually hairier. Sometimes, the sexual stereotype is loosely based on existing folklore and/or mythology. With foxes being more cunning in fables, and with “foxy” being a word to describe a lusting female, a fox furry is definitely considered more sexual than others. Other times, as with bears, the fursona describes the body type stereotypically. Note however that exceptions abound. I have seen foxes who are “tops,” bears who are skinny, and wolves who are submissive. Some furries actually get annoyed when they are labeled by their stereotypes, though this is usually a mild annoyance. I would argue that when choosing one’s fursona, it’s important to also understand the cultural connotations for those animals inside the furry fandom

For furries who are interested in anthropomorphic sex outside of art and actually wish they could explore anthropomorphic sex, there actually are options. There are fox tail butt plugs, werewolf dildos, and dragon penetrables. However, sites that sell these items usually label these products with names, such as “Rex the German Shepherd,” “Chance the Stallion,” and “Fenrir the Wolfdragon” (BadDragon website). These kinds of names personify the characters, separating them from animals, and bringing the toys back to “furry.”

Overall, it should be easy to see how sex does exist as an element of the furry fandom, though it is far from an exclusive one. It is tied loosely to different aspects of the fandom. Art and novels don’t require it; it is simply that the furry fandom is just so open with sexuality and sex that it is acceptable to discuss it freely.

[1] Since I’ve already come out of the closet as a gay man, can we call the furry’s coming out “coming out of the kennel?” I think this idea has great potential, and I now lay copyright to it.
[2] For some reason, I still get looks when I’m drinking a mojito, and my colleagues are drinking beer. Mojitos are manly drinks, right?
[3] To those particularly witty furries trying to make a dirty joke here, stop.
[4] To clarify on this, I find that most mainstream novels either entirely skip the sex scenes while alluding to them, such as, “He led me to his bedroom, and I flicked the lights off,” or more graphically describe the sex scene but through derogatory language, making it an unclean or taboo act.
[5] I chose to search for the word “fox” because foxes are simply awesome, and we’re not narcissistic at all.
[6] I say this, but I’m sure there are those laughing, saying, “Yes, we do!”
[7] The furry term for masturbation.

Guest post by Howl. This piece appears in Furries Among Us, a collection of essays by several furry writers, recently published in paperback by Thurston Howl Publications. You can read the [adjective][species] review of Furries Among Us here.

Thurston Howl, as he appears in Furries Among Us. Pic by Sabretoothed Ermine.

The name’s Howl. I am a folf dog (fox-wolf-dog hybrid), and I’m here to talk to you about sex! (This sounds like the most nightmarish way to start a sex ed class in high school. For that matter, furries and sex ed should just never mix.) So, many of you may know the term “furry” can hardly be spoken in public without someone assuming you’re talking about a fetish. Furries are people who just like having sex in fursuits, right? I remember “coming out”[1] as a furry to a friend of mine, and he said, “Aren’t those the suits with the holes in the crotch area?” That was a major face-palm (or face-paw) moment for me. Furries definitely have an unwarranted sexualized stigma in today’s society. From my experience, the furry fandom has been about community, belonging, and just friends having a good time. However, there are certainly other aspects, such as art, fiction, music, fursuiting, conventions, and more. So, am I saying that sex is absolutely not a part of the fandom? Well, while sexuality is probably more important than sex in the fandom, I would (and do) argue that sex is a part of the fandom but not a separate aspect.

Let me start this by reiterating that the fandom’s greatest value is its reliance on inclusion and community. No matter what your hobbies are, your favorite films, sports, books, or alcoholic beverages[2], furries will accept you. This goes the same for sexual preferences. Whether you are gay, bi, straight, trans, pan, or anything outside and in-between, furries will be glad to have you around. As they are this accepting, they also are open[3]. Sex and sexuality are simply not taboo topics for furries. No, this doesn’t mean that furries meet at coffee shops and discuss their favorite sex toys, but it means that in private or online, most won’t shy away from making sex jokes, sharing sex stories with close friends, or asking each other questions that their conservative high school sex ed never covered. They even have some unique sexual terms that further separate sex from the realm of taboo. Instead of the colloquial “fuck,” furries say “yiff,” supposedly being the sound foxes make when they have intercourse. “Murr” is another common sexual term that is a general sound of pleasure. One might use it in response to getting a back rub or the like. Also, furries tend to call their significant others “mates” as opposed to “boyfriend,” “significant other,” or the ever-abhorrent “bae.” Note that none of these are terms for new ideas; they are simply animal variants of common sexual ideas. However, sex manifests itself in the furry fandom in more than just its lingo.

As Kyell Gold mentions in his article in this collection, furry literature does something that gay porn just doesn’t: it enables for sex to be integral to a meaningful LGBT relationship, whether it is for young or mature audiences. College-aged furries can read about coming-out and sexual intimacy in the same novel now, something that can be notably harder to find in mainstream fiction. As he also notes, many furry novels have an Adult rating on them even if they have just one adult scene, while many mainstream erotica novels do not have any kind of warning. With that said, one can see how sex, at least in furry literature, functions as an integral, or at least important, aspect of real-life relationships that mainstream literature usually does not capture in the same way[4]. Some sample authors of erotic furry fiction are Kyell Gold and Rukis. I feel no need to expound on furry erotica, as you could simply read Kyell Gold’s article elsewhere in this collection.

Furry art is likewise open. On April 26, 2015, I searched FurAffinity (the main art archive for furries) for the word “fox[5].” Including NSFW (Not Suitable/Safe For Work) images, there were 667,477 results. When I shifted the toggle to Only SFW (Suitable/Safe for Work) images, there were 489,470 results. That means that roughly 73% of all fox images have a General or lightly Mature audience rating. There are several archives for furry art, including FurAffinity, e621, SoFurry, and various tumblrs. I feel absurd for quoting “The Rules of the Internet” here from 4chan (2007). Rule 34 states, “If it exists, there is porn of it.” This is very true even for furries. From The Lion King erotic art to Mickey Mouse nude pictures, if you can name an anthropomorphic character, some artist has probably drawn it having sexual relations with another. However, from my experience, most furries look at this kind of art not as porn[6], but with erotic appreciation. I have looked at furry art with friends, and it becomes a game of who can find the “hottest” art; it’s not an intimate action. Many furries really do just admire the art. It is a sexually open fandom, and that openness plays into their art as well as their literature.

Now, let me address a myth I have definitely heard more than once. Myth #1: Furries like to have sex with animals. Absolutely not. The idea of furry is not “becoming an animal.” It is about a completely new physical idea, the hybridization of human and animal. If such a creature was to exist, would it be ethical to have relations with it? I will not pretend to have the answer, and I acknowledge that many would be against it, but I also know that many would be perfectly okay with it as long as the being possesses human intelligence. Comparing furry to bestiality is akin to comparing homosexuality to bestiality: it just doesn’t make sense. When a furry admires an erotic pose of a feline anthro character, they might say he has a cute tail. Maybe his human chest is very muscular. Maybe his clothes are so tight that they reveal all his muscles, all his curves…I don’t know if I was trying to be evocative just then, but I assure you I could do much better (and have done better, in my last furry work Where Carnivores Meet, #shamelessplug). While the furry fandom is sexually open, this doesn’t mean that everyone in it is sexual. Even if a furry does “paw off”[7] to an erotic art piece, that does not signify the person wants to go into a barn and have intercourse with a horse.

Myth #2: Furries have sex in fursuits. This one is almost laughable. When I hear this, I ask them how much they think a fursuit costs. Usually, they might say two or three hundred dollars. Then, I have the pleasure of telling them it can be upward of two or three thousand dollars. Most furries aren’t willing to cut holes in the fronts of their expensive suits for sex purposes. Fursuits are for social acting (see Keefur’s article). Yes, there are furries who have sex in fursuits, but probably not more than people who have sex in space suits. Yes, fetishes exist, but the furry fandom is not a fetish.

With all of this said, there are two further aspects of furry sexuality I would like to discuss. One is stereotypes. Despite the fact that furries do not rely on sexuality, furries do apply sexual stereotypes to some people based on their furry identity, or fursona. For example, if someone is a fox, they are typically considered to be submissive, hypersexual, teasing, and on the receiving end. Wolves are usually dominant sexually. Bears (as is similar to the LGBT term) are larger in weight and usually hairier. Sometimes, the sexual stereotype is loosely based on existing folklore and/or mythology. With foxes being more cunning in fables, and with “foxy” being a word to describe a lusting female, a fox furry is definitely considered more sexual than others. Other times, as with bears, the fursona describes the body type stereotypically. Note however that exceptions abound. I have seen foxes who are “tops,” bears who are skinny, and wolves who are submissive. Some furries actually get annoyed when they are labeled by their stereotypes, though this is usually a mild annoyance. I would argue that when choosing one’s fursona, it’s important to also understand the cultural connotations for those animals inside the furry fandom

For furries who are interested in anthropomorphic sex outside of art and actually wish they could explore anthropomorphic sex, there actually are options. There are fox tail butt plugs, werewolf dildos, and dragon penetrables. However, sites that sell these items usually label these products with names, such as “Rex the German Shepherd,” “Chance the Stallion,” and “Fenrir the Wolfdragon” (BadDragon website). These kinds of names personify the characters, separating them from animals, and bringing the toys back to “furry.”

Overall, it should be easy to see how sex does exist as an element of the furry fandom, though it is far from an exclusive one. It is tied loosely to different aspects of the fandom. Art and novels don’t require it; it is simply that the furry fandom is just so open with sexuality and sex that it is acceptable to discuss it freely.

[1] Since I’ve already come out of the closet as a gay man, can we call the furry’s coming out “coming out of the kennel?” I think this idea has great potential, and I now lay copyright to it.
[2] For some reason, I still get looks when I’m drinking a mojito, and my colleagues are drinking beer. Mojitos are manly drinks, right?
[3] To those particularly witty furries trying to make a dirty joke here, stop.
[4] To clarify on this, I find that most mainstream novels either entirely skip the sex scenes while alluding to them, such as, “He led me to his bedroom, and I flicked the lights off,” or more graphically describe the sex scene but through derogatory language, making it an unclean or taboo act.
[5] I chose to search for the word “fox” because foxes are simply awesome, and we’re not narcissistic at all.
[6] I say this, but I’m sure there are those laughing, saying, “Yes, we do!”
[7] The furry term for masturbation.

submitted by Largoes
[link] [comment]

submitted by Dukurow
[link] [11 comments]

Dear Papa Bear,

A friend of mine has recently discovered that he's bisexual, and because I was basically the first friend he had in the fandom, he turns to me for advice regarding his sexuality, among other things.

He's also been raised as a Christian from a Roman Catholic family. They haven't actually been to church for a while, but by the sounds of it, they do hold their faith dear to their hearts. Also, he told me that no matter what anyone tells him, he knows that "god loves him no matter what", so he clearly doesn't have any problem with being both a Christian and bi.

Unfortunately, his mother does. I'm not sure how, but she's discovered that he's a both furry and bisexual, and she's not happy about him being either. He told me that beforehand, she continuously told him that she loved him. Now, even though he told her all the right things when she wanted to know what being both furry and bi meant, she didn't want to believe any of it. And now, whilst he hasn't been kicked out of the house, it did result in him telling her he was planning to move out in the next few years.

Still, I gave him what advice I could, like suggesting that he should give her some time to come to her senses and perhaps realise he's still the same son she raised, as well as offered him countless links to organisations and helplines I thought he'd find useful (including one forhttps://www.gaychristian.net , just in case you were thinking of putting their link in your reply)

When I asked whether or not she believed sexuality was a choice, he told me that she thinks the fandom has made him bi. Whilst this is, of course, a ridiculous thing to believe, I didn't know how to answer. I told him that being a furry doesn't transform someone into being gay, bi, or whatever, and he completely agrees, but I didn't know what to say to back it up. Whilst I'm for certain that there have been clues in his past to say he likes both sexes, he's only discovered and accepted his sexuality since joining the fandom, so I didn't know what I could say that would prove the fandom hasn't made him this way.

So, my question is this... what can he tell his mum which will help him to defend the fact that he hasn't 'become' bi since joining the fandom, and that the way he feels is a perfectly natural way to feel?

Also, if you don't mind a small question on the side (pardon me for breaking your 'one question per letter' rule), I was thinking of writing an open letter to his mum as an attempt to give her a wake-up call. Would you recommend this? I want to tell her how I feel, but I don't want to accidentally make matters worse.

For a friend in need,

Charleston

* * *

Dear Charleston,

A very controversial and difficult topic is this. My own personal beliefs on it are actually still evolving somewhat. If you don’t mind a kind of wishy-washy answer, my current thinking is this when it comes to nature vs. nurture: it’s a bit of both. The debate has been ongoing among biologists, anthropologists, psychologists and other professionals forever and a day.

On the one paw, it is clear that nature created two sexes for human beings and that the purpose of this is for the two sexes to get together, mate, and produce offspring (it’s also true that this is not the only natural model for reproduction). It is, furthermore, true that sexuality exists not just for breeding but also for social bonding, which is why it is okay to have sex without necessarily having a goal of popping out a kid.

Another thing that is true is that homosexuality is found in nature. Some scientists theorize that the percent of homosexual animals in a species’ population increases as population increases (i.e., it is a method for keeping population explosions from occurring). To irritate a right-wing person, you might ask them if they think some whitetail deer “choose” to be gay (if they say yes, they would be saying that animals have free will and make intellectual choices, which would result in Winnie-the-Conservative-Pooh sighing, “Oh, bother!”)

To complicate things further, there is growing evidence that contamination in the environment is actually having an effect on people’s hormones and sexual development. One problem, for example, is that women on birth control pills are excreting hormones through their urine into toilets, which gets into the water supply, and has actually been blamed on causing young girls to become sexually mature earlier. Diet and pollution are clearly affecting girls (http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/06/puberty-comes-earlier-and-earlier-girls-301920.html). There is also some evidence that young boys, while growing larger penises, are actually also having a harder time ejaculating and are becoming less fertile (low sperm counts). The effect of these hormones has been pronounced in fish (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-105466/Fertility-timebomb-drinking-water.html) and if it affects fish, it probably affects us, as well.

Anyway, in nature, it is the norm for a certain percentage of the population to tend toward homosexuality; environmental conditions can increase or decrease this percentage. A fascinating 2012 study (http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/scientists-think-they-have-found-out-why-people-are-born-gay141212/) explains how homosexuality can continue in a population, even though homosexuals don’t, usually, breed, and it also explains why twins can have one being gay and one being straight (some anti-gay people who feel it’s a choice have used twin studies to say it is not genetic—well, folks, here’s the reason why it still can be—science!)

That’s on a whole-population scale. Now, on the individual level, Papabear believes that no one is born 100% straight or gay. We tend to have proclivities toward one or another, and environmental factors can strongly influence them. Take me as an example. I didn’t realize I was gay for 40 years (though, in retrospect, there were clear signs). A big reason was I was never exposed (er, pardon that choice of word) to gay people except through the media, which portrayed all gay men as very effeminate, which didn’t appeal to me. The trigger came on the Internet, when I discovered gay bears: masculine homosexuals. I was hooked. That was my trigger.

Therefore, in one sense, your friend’s mother could be considered correct (though she likely didn’t reason it out the way I just did here) in that something like sexy furry art could “turn” or, more correctly, “trigger” a homosexual response. The difference is that his mother thinks this turns a straight person gay, but the truth is that it could awaken homosexual feelings that have always been present, but were hidden (either consciously or subconsciously).

And that’s how you explain it to her in a way she might understand. Whether she accepts this or not is up to her.

But here’s the more important point.

It shouldn’t matter one effing bit whether her son is straight, bi, pan, asexual, or gay. He’s her son, and she should love him no matter what.

Love the person.

As for writing to his mother yourself, I’m not sure I would recommend that. She will just think you are a gay furry trying to “recruit” her son and she will ignore the letter or, perhaps, even get angry by thinking her son put you up to it. So, no, don’t do that. Instead, talk to your buddy about this letter and see if it helps.

Wishing him luck!

Hugs,

Papabear

submitted by EmbarrassingShit
[link] [23 comments]

submitted by wolfofthenightt
[link] [5 comments]

• siriusdog($35-$250): https://www.furaffinity.net/commissions/siriusdog/

• PalmarianFire(Price varies on what you want done-animation/avatar, etc): http://www.furaffinity.net/user/palmarianfire/

• TheAlmugator($6-$20-special more): http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17471659/

• /u/embarrassingshit($5-6 busts/$10 full body):Sample-http://i.imgur.com/n3xhmzh.jpg

• /u/sullystuffz($1-$5): http://sullystuffz.deviantart.com/

• lenkagime ($5-$25): http://imgur.com/a/t0phV

Y'all know the drill! And we've made it to 10! I hope this has helped you guys!

Oh, and due to a suggestion by /u/furrythrowawayaccoun, I'll be putting the commented ones up here for easy access.

submitted by LeatherHog
[link] [21 comments]

submitted by Kerri12
[link] [6 comments]

submitted by kentkentkent
[link] [2 comments]

submitted by Nitram_Hu
[link] [52 comments]

submitted by _Ravi_
[link] [8 comments]

submitted by thecowardlyfox
[link] [47 comments]

What do you artist out there use to make your art? Whether it is physical or digital, I'm interested in what hardware, software and mediums y'all like to use.

submitted by MatrialEagle
[link] [14 comments]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neonworks.furfeed&hl=en

I published an Android app to compile lots of furry feeds, primarily /r/furry into an android app.

If you have any suggestions for the app, any bug reports, any issues, please let me know!

29th August Update:

• More YouTube channels to watch
• Security update
• New theme
• Updates from the Developer (Me!)'s twitter

submitted by neonthewolf
[link] [10 comments]

submitted by CityFursuits
[link] [1 comment]

submitted by QuickFennec
[link] [9 comments]

submitted by SeruleBlue
[link] [44 comments]