Just curious about the furry fandom

[Ashton]

I apologize, that was not the message I wanted to convey. I 100% support furries and I am into the anthro and furry artwork myself. To me he was implying that was what went down, but I have no evidence from him to confirm or deny that assumption or implication.

No worries, most people dont think about the implications because they're not slapped in the face with them all the time (and I'm not going to lie, there *is* a faction that does that, but think about this... in the dead of summer, in 100* weather, go put on a sweater, heavy coat, snowpants, skimask, gloves, and boots and start running around your yard. Sound fun? that's probably *more* comfortable than doing... you know what... in most fursuits is...)

[Rosewind]

Fursuit cleaning is all about the spray. There's a special spray you can get to clean a suit after you wear it; it helps keep it clean and smelling nice. Also a lot of suits are poorly ventilated by design, so that can also play a role in how often they need to be cleaned. I think the biggest thing is to bathe before and after wearing it. A lot of people I've met have no concept of personal hygiene, much less that of a shower -- and that IS accurate to some of the fursuiting group. So gross...

[Ashton]

I think the biggest thing is to bathe before and after wearing it. A lot of people I've met have no concept of personal hygiene, much less that of a shower -- and that IS accurate to some of the fursuiting group. So gross...

I want to emphasize that again it's a *small* part of the *small* group of furs that fursuit and overall NOT a representation of the whole! (unlike what the media will tell you)

...and some of us *DO* take showers... and base out suits of 4-way stretch fur so they are easier to wear and to clean (not to mention a LOT cooler)

[Lux]

Ah yes... con crud. Not just at furry conventions but all conventions there will always be some for whatever reason will not bather. or, they'll think spraying themselves with Lysol will be a good substitute.

Remember the 6, 2, 1 Rule when going to any con:

6 hours of sleep minimum.

2 meals a day minimum

1 shower/ bath a day minimum.

It's good for you and others.

[LaydeeKaze]

I very recently up sticks and left the furry fandom.

It's okay if you don't want to get too socially involved with them. As in, you just wanna have a character, maybe look at art on FurAffinity or something...

You can't really define what 'furry' is, as it's different for everyone. I'm probably going to repeat what other's have said, but I'm going to voice my honest opinion.

From what I've gained having been in that storm of a fandom. Furries are either;

1. Fursuiter : Spend ridiculous amounts of money on a suit to wear to 'furmeets' (Admittedly, I was one of those)

2. Artist: Delves into drawing either full on animal characters, or anthro (animal with human characteristics). I'd say about 50% of the time it's porn.

3. Have some form of 'lol I was a wolf in my past life so I'm going to make every living day pretending to be one'

4. Generally desperate people who change their gender just to 'get action'.

Almost every furry has a 'fursona'. Sort of like how us Bronies have our own pony OC. For example, mine was a blue/grey koala:

If I'm completely honest, there's only a few routes you can go down being a 'furry'.

A. End up on the wrong side of the fandom full of the sort of socially awkward people you should really NEVER mingle with.

B. Casually browse, like a bit of art, draw a bit of art. whatever.

C. Be a therian.

4. ...well, yeah. some seem to just live off 'yiffing'. I'd stay away from that side if I were you.

But that's my personal opinion. I took a wiiiide step away from furries for the right reasons. Lost a hell of a lot of friends in the process. But hey, I have Bronies now, and as far as I've seen, Bronies seem to have standards :B

EDIT:

Whilst I'm at it, I've noticed a lot of fursuit bashing xD Erm. There's only a small minority of fursuiters who use suits for the wrong reasons... or don't know how to keep suits clean. I've mingled with a lot of UK fursuiters and most of them knew/know how to look after their suit. So, it's only the unhygenic people that tend to not bathe and fabreeze/clean their suit after use.

My suit, that I'm TRYING to sell... xD

FA address is of the photographer x3

[Sparkleheart]

From what I've seen, the furry fandom has some pretty horrible people in it, and some pretty awesome people. Which group you end up with depends on your ability to recognize them early on and steer clear of the folks you want nothing to do with. Well, and luck so that you don't get entrenched with the worse side before you learn how to tell the difference.

Not gonna lie, the furry fandom really does have some f***ed up people in it, and "navigating" around them is a lot more important than in the brony fandom. Sorry to hear your time in the fandom didn't go so well, Kaze.

[MrMeep]

I was part of the Furry fandom with Laydee Kaze about half a year ago, and can conclude in saying that I strongly recommend not joining it.

Bronies have common ground, and the fandom is founded on a show which teaches morals and standards. Furries are not, they are a selection of people which.. for the majority.. use the fandom as a means of getting laid or finding 'cheap' partners as they are too socially awkward to do so in real life.

Now you may think 'Oh well I'm trolling', or 'I've just had bad experiences'. I've had bad experiences yes, but I'm not trolling. I have a very level headed opinion of the fandom which I have concluded from viewing many different aspects of it.

Over here in the UK, I was on Tv describing what Furries were to a (pretty crappy) ITV2 show. I was asked by the studio to go down, as every single other person they asked on the biggest Furry forum had turned down the opportunity, as they were scared they'd be made out as being bad people. I worked with the producers, organised a group of friends and headed to London and recorded what was a very good piece of publicity for the fandom. Uncle Kage (one of the most famous and well respected Furs) met me at a convention to say it was the best piece of media he'd ever seen portraying the fandom.

All fun and games? Not really.. practically EVERY single Furry on the forum that they'd scowered hated me. I received death threats, abuse, insults, everything. I got nothing but **** from it before they'd seen it, people saying they were going to find me and kill me for accepting. Then after seeing it, no apologies or anything.. in fact.. some people still hate me for it, even though they like the publicity.

That's one experience, the others, are extremely similar in nature. I have lost count of the times I have attended meets and have been inappropriately touched, groped, flirted on, spanked or something else of the sort. Almost every single furmeet, and numerous times. I have been asked to go to peoples house, very bluntly, for dirty business. There have been furmeets where people sit in corners and grope each other, there have been furmeets where people have literally masturbated in the corners of venues. It is disgusting.

But this is what the fandom IS. The fandom prides itself on being something which everyone can get enjoyment out of in the way they see fit, and prides itself on being open and accepting of almost all things. This openly accepting environment has allowed a LOT of its members to openly, and inappropriately display a highly intrusive sexual manner, which has become the standard. In the few times i had complained about these public sexual acts (which let's remember, are illegal), I had been labelled as a troll, and homophobic.

This is a terrible fandom, there are a few nice people in it.. but the nice people I've met are either 1 or 2% of the people who visit furmeets, or the extremely popular furs on FurAffinity, which are hard to get in contact with.

Stick with Bronies.. trust me.

[DrMaxwell]

I was part of the Furry fandom with Laydee Kaze about half a year ago, and can conclude in saying that I strongly recommend not joining it.

Bronies have common ground, and the fandom is founded on a show which teaches morals and standards. Furries are not, they are a selection of people which.. for the majority.. use the fandom as a means of getting laid or finding 'cheap' partners as they are too socially awkward to do so in real life.

Now you may think 'Oh well I'm trolling', or 'I've just had bad experiences'. I've had bad experiences yes, but I'm not trolling. I have a very level headed opinion of the fandom which I have concluded from viewing many different aspects of it.

Over here in the UK, I was on Tv describing what Furries were to a (pretty crappy) ITV2 show. I was asked by the studio to go down, as every single other person they asked on the biggest Furry forum had turned down the opportunity, as they were scared they'd be made out as being bad people. I worked with the producers, organised a group of friends and headed to London and recorded what was a very good piece of publicity for the fandom. Uncle Kage (one of the most famous and well respected Furs) met me at a convention to say it was the best piece of media he'd ever seen portraying the fandom.

All fun and games? Not really.. practically EVERY single Furry on the forum that they'd scowered hated me. I received death threats, abuse, insults, everything. I got nothing but **** from it before they'd seen it, people saying they were going to find me and kill me for accepting. Then after seeing it, no apologies or anything.. in fact.. some people still hate me for it, even though they like the publicity.

That's one experience, the others, are extremely similar in nature. I have lost count of the times I have attended meets and have been inappropriately touched, groped, flirted on, spanked or something else of the sort. Almost every single furmeet, and numerous times. I have been asked to go to peoples house, very bluntly, for dirty business. There have been furmeets where people sit in corners and grope each other, there have been furmeets where people have literally masturbated in the corners of venues. It is disgusting.

But this is what the fandom IS. The fandom prides itself on being something which everyone can get enjoyment out of in the way they see fit, and prides itself on being open and accepting of almost all things. This openly accepting environment has allowed a LOT of its members to openly, and inappropriately display a highly intrusive sexual manner, which has become the standard. In the few times i had complained about these public sexual acts (which let's remember, are illegal), I had been labelled as a troll, and homophobic.

This is a terrible fandom, there are a few nice people in it.. but the nice people I've met are either 1 or 2% of the people who visit furmeets, or the extremely popular furs on FurAffinity, which are hard to get in contact with.

Stick with Bronies.. trust me.

Wow. Just... wow.

[Rosewind]

I've met Uncle Kage before and attended many of his different panels -- he's a real riot with 2 (who is also amazing). That's an interesting take on the furry fandom -- a few bad apples really do spoil the bunch. Unfortunately, the story that you've shared, Meep, is a really poor representation of the fandom; it's more a description of the negative side of furry convention culture.

There has been debate whether bronies and furries are one and the same, and I think they share many different aspects and distinct similarities -- but at the end of the day, they really are just labels. We have many non-brony people on this forum that enjoy FiM, but do not consider themselves bronies; likewise, there are people that can appreciate anthropomorphic characters in popular art and culture, and they may not consider themselves furries either. I suppose it's a matter of who you ask. I've met my share of really awful bronies, but I know they do not represent the fandom (or its untasteful deviance) as a whole. This forum is concrete evidence of that.

[MrMeep]

I've met Uncle Kage before and attended many of his different panels -- he's a real riot with 2 (who is also amazing). That's an interesting take on the furry fandom -- a few bad apples really do spoil the bunch. Unfortunately, the story that you've shared, Meep, is a really poor representation of the fandom; it's more a description of the negative side of furry convention culture.

There has been debate whether bronies and furries are one and the same, and I think they share many different aspects and distinct similarities -- but at the end of the day, they really are just labels. We have many non-brony people on this forum that enjoy FiM, but do not consider themselves bronies; likewise, there are people that can appreciate anthropomorphic characters in popular art and culture, and they may not consider themselves furries either. I suppose it's a matter of who you ask. I've met my share of really awful bronies, but I know they do not represent the fandom (or its untasteful deviance) as a whole. This forum is concrete evidence of that.

Unfortunately, my experiences are based off many furmeets and online experiences, and only two cons (with one being fairly small). Although I was to call my post biased, I would say that the only area I may be biased on, is that my experiences are drawn from the British side of the fandom.

The British furries and well, American furries to draw a comparison seem to partake in the fandom differently. The small natrue of Britain means that furries in the UK seem to partake in more ... non-internet activities, mainly because the meets are statistically held closer to the person as the country is smaller. In America, you could have a person's nearest furmeet be literally further away than the length of the UK

This nature of the fandom means people tend to know each other more than American furries know each other for example. Maybe this has something to do with the incredibly high amount of drama that the UK fandom endures and creates.

I'm sorry if my depiction isn't to your liking, I can appreciate that ^^ I did however intend to write it as honestly as possible, and the honest truth to me after about 4 years of participation, is the post I created.

I will however correct some bias points for you...

- My experience is particularly.. bad I'd say. If anyone was to give them a go, you wouldn't have as bad of an experience Some furries are very nice.

- I still believe the majority of the fandom is sexually orientated, however you can find groups/people that want nothing to do with it, although they are rarer than those who enjoy the sexual nature.

Also yeah I've seen the "Are bronies == furries" debate. I concluded that I didn't think it mattered, and that people can label themselves whatever they want, however it would appear that the fandoms are different yet share a lot of similarities. There seem to be a few fandoms which have strong links with each other, for instance, both fandoms have a LOT of gaming aspects, and a lot of art aspects, but nobody says "Bronies or Furries == Gaming or Art". I guess it's because people who join fandoms tend to be the people who spend a LOT of time on the internet, and thus, these people tend to share the same hobbies

[weesh]

Also a lot of suits are poorly ventilated by design, so that can also play a role in how often they need to be cleaned.

wait, why would you poorly ventilate a suit by design?

[MrMeep]

wait, why would you poorly ventilate a suit by design?

Because they have to It would cost a LOT of money to properly ventilate a foam mesh covered in fur x3

[weesh]

Oh.

I thought Rosie was saying that they purposefully designed to have less ventilation than was possible.

It makes sense that they are hard to ventilate so I couldn't understand why you would intentionally do less.

[SilverSwirl]

You could always use your TF2 spy costume with an animal mask lol

[MrMeep]

Oh.

I thought Rosie was saying that they purposefully designed to have less ventilation than was possible.

It makes sense that they are hard to ventilate so I couldn't understand why you would intentionally do less.

Most furries think that seeing any area of skin is 'breaking the illusion', so you have fur down to your neck on a fursuit head. Then remember the logistics of it. You can't fursuit in the rain.. so it'll most likely be a nice day. You've also put, essentially, a 5 to 10 inch thick head of fur and foam on your head, with the only ventilation being through eye mesh. You also have your hands covered in fur, your feet lugging big paws around and occasionally have a huge tail which weighs you down.

That said, it's still actually quite fun. I sold my fursuit, but here I am wearing it...

[SilverSwirl]

I'd wear a Tanuki suit from SMB 3 and that's where I'd draw the line.

[Ashton]

Who says Fursuits have to be poorly ventilated and miserably hot?

(high resolution version)

Also... I just want to agree that it sounds like the UK Furs are a bit more... British... than the American furs... (which is hilarious in hindsight) the UK as a whole seems to be more like that...

Yes, we have the same problems in the US Fandom, but it's not nearly as pronounced. I actually know dozens of other furs who have never seen anyone perform an inapropriate act in public at a con, and these range from 'house party' size all the way up to ConFURence and AnthroCon (the latter iirc being the largest furry con in the WORLD)

You did accurately describe the bad side of furry, but there's plenty of good sides too and clean sides. The media doesnt like to show it though...

And need I remind you all of the public view of the bronies (Creeps, pediphiles, plushophiles, etc) and the reality (90% normal people, and of the 10% abnormal, 9% of that is just 'odd' or at worst 'grimdark' with 1% or less being really truely "bad")

[Rosewind]

Oh Meep, you're sharing your experiences and opinions -- and I actually agree with what you're saying, I'm just responding with some perspective, so you haven't really said anything that wasn't to my liking (and even if you did, it wouldn't really matter since you are just sharing your opinions on the topic).

By that token, the pony meetups I've been to in this area have been sourly disappointing. I've met a few good people (most of them at furry meetups/conventions), but the pony specific ones were not very enjoyable to me. In fact, some of the people I met were downright vicious and rude. I know they are not an accurate representation of the pony fandom, but if they were all I had to go on (as you said you do, since the UK furry scene is more compact), I probably would have different perspective about the brony community. Maybe the bronies just don't like pegasisters encroaching on their cliques around here?

[MrMeep]

Oh Meep, you're sharing your experiences and opinions -- and I actually agree with what you're saying, I'm just responding with some perspective, so you haven't really said anything that wasn't to my liking (and even if you did, it wouldn't really matter since you are just sharing your opinions on the topic).

By that token, the pony meetups I've been to in this area have been sourly disappointing. I've met a few good people (most of them at furry meetups/conventions), but the pony specific ones were not very enjoyable to me. In fact, some of the people I met were downright vicious and rude. I know they are not an accurate representation of the pony fandom, but if they were all I had to go on (as you said you do, since the UK furry scene is more compact), I probably would have different perspective about the brony community. Maybe the bronies just don't like pegasisters encroaching on their cliques around here?

Oh I know I hadn't annoyed you or anything Just felt my post was perhaps a tad bias. In reality, from the experiences I've had, I strongly dislike Furries and their fandom, but still try to give a balanced view on it x3

[Rosewind]

Dislike it, by all means. There's plenty to dislike, and you're certainly not wrong for wanting to do so. It only takes a few ignorant people to spoil a good thing -- take a look at Derpygate, for example. That doesn't mean you should give up liking what brought you into the fandom in the first place, though!

Meeting a few unfriendly people who also happen to watch FiM didn't mean I had give up on pony; I just won't hang out with them anymore!

[SilverSwirl]

Going to first meetup on the 14th of July, it is with the MN Bronies Facebook group. They also have a page on the Rainbow Dash Network too. Keeping my fingers crossed on how it's gonna turn out! One guy has my undying love as he is coming down to get me from Whinnyapolis and driving back up to get me there! I've been trying for 3 months to get up there as Rosewind knows. So I mean, your mileage may vary.

[CloudRunner]

I know I'm going to be hated about this next part, I'm actually a small part of the furry fandom. Please don't hate me for this.

[QuickLime]

I know I'm going to be hated about this next part, I'm actually a small part of the furry fandom. Please don't hate me for this.

If you had read this thread you would see there is no hate here

[Ashton]

I'm just going to leave this here...

 

 

And on a side note... Still proud to be a furry! =^_^=

[Wysteria]

Furries have always disturbed me... I mean, I don't really mind people dressing up in suits every now and then and meeting other people just as a hobby. It's kind of cute and fun. But when they feel like they have to dress up in order to socialize or feel "truly like themselves" that's when I'd call a psychologist.